Jacob Alting (27 September 1618 – 20 August 1679) studied in Groningen and was ordained as a Church of England priest. He was named professor of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at Groningen University in 1667 after holding the chair of oriental languages since 1641. His publications were overseen in 1687 by Balthasar Bekker, and argued with Maresius on biblical exegesis when the latter accused him of

heterodoxy In religion, heterodoxy (from Ancient Greek: , + , ) means "any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position". ''Heterodoxy'' is also an ecclesiastical jargon term, defined in various ways by different religions and ...

(1688). Alting was born in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, where his father Hendrik Alting was a professor. The 1618/1619

Synod of Dort The Synod of Dort (also known as the Synod of Dordt or the Synod of Dordrecht) was a European transnational Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy caused by the rise of Arminianism. ...

forced the family to move to

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

in 1622 and to

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

in 1627. He was involved in various refutations of Spinoza's

Tractatus Theologico-Politicus The ''Tractatus Theologico-Politicus'' (''TTP'') or ''Theologico-Political Treatise'', is a 1670 work of philosophy written in Latin by the Dutch philosopher Benedictus Spinoza (1632–1677). The book was one of the most important and contr ...

(TTP) and eagerly began drafting up arguments from the writings of Ezra and Nehemiah for a refutation of the ' Theological-Political Treatise' being published by the Cartesian Deventer theologia
Antonius Perizonius

References

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Profile at Groningen University
1618 births 1679 deaths Dutch Calvinist and Reformed theologians Dutch philologists 17th-century philologists Dutch orientalists Academic staff of the University of Groningen 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians Writers from Heidelberg {{Netherlands-academic-bio-stub