Johann Andreas Danz (1 February 1654 – 20 December 1727) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Lutheran theologian Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

and

Hebraist A Hebraist is a specialist in Jewish, Hebrew and Hebraic studies. Specifically, British and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Hebrew language and literature were commonly known by this designation, a ...

Life

Johann Andreas Danz was born at

Sundhausen Sundhausen is a municipality in the Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis district of Thuringia, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and ...

, a village just outside

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

in central Germany. His initial schooling was provided locally at the village school, but his exceptional scholastic potential was soon brought to the attention of the local duke, Friedrich of Gotha who took on responsibility for funding his higher education. When he was ten he was sent away to school in

Friedrichroda Friedrichroda () is a town in the district of Gotha, Thuringia, Germany. It is situated at the north foot of the Thuringian Forest, 21 km by rail southwest of the town of Gotha. It is surrounded by fir-clad hills and possesses numerous han ...

, some twenty kilometers distant. Four years later, in 1668 he was enrolled at the prestigious "Gymnasium" (secondary school) in

, at that time operating under the direction of

Andreas Reyher Andreas Reyher (4 May 1601Julian calendar, Julian - 12 April 1673Gregorian calendar, Gregorian) was a German teacher, education reformer and lexicographer. Life Provenance and early years Andreas Reyher was born at exactly midday in :de:Hein ...

who combined the two roles of school head and pioneering advisor on education reform to The Duke. In 1673 he moved on to the University of Wittemberg,

matriculating Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

on 17 September. He studied

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

and

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 ...

, and received his

Magister degree A magister degree (also magistar, female form: magistra; from , "teacher") is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education. The magister degree arose in medieval universities in Europe and was originally equal to the doctorate; ...

in Philosophy on 16 October 1676, four days after defending his work and surviving his "inaugural disputation". The list of eminent scholars who taught Danz during his three years at the University of Wittemberg is a long one. Three, in particular, can be picked out on account of the extent to which they encouraged him to build and then deepen his knowledge of "Oriental languages", a term which at the time denoted languages having their origins in the more populated regions of the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. These men were the theologian Johann Wilhelm Hilliger (1643–1705), the orientalist-lexicographer Andreas Sennert (1606–1689) and the philologist-theologian Theodor Dassov (1648–1721). Some posthumous sources focus exclusively on Danz's scholastic legacy as a

, but it seems that, especially during the earlier part of his academic career, his interest was caught by a range of middle eastern languages, also including in particular, the Aramaic languages and dialects. Inspired by what he had learned during just over three years at Wittemberg, during 1677 Danz relocated to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

where, starting on 22 April, he embarked on an intensive period of study with the great Hebrew scholar, Esdras Edzardus (1629–1708). Others whom he met in Hamburg while studying with Edzardus included Dauidis Hieronymi, one of more than a hundred Jewish students and scholars whom Esdras Edzardus baptised into Christianity over the years, without on any way seeking to denigrate their Jewish heritage: the practice was considered worthy of note by commentators, however. Together Danz and Hieronymus read the (linguistically challenging)

Zohar The ''Zohar'' (, ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material o ...

. He also met Jacob ben Abraham Fidanque, a controversial and briefly prominent Hamburg rabbi originally from Portugal. From Hamburg he moved across to

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, where during 1679 he briefly studied "Oriental languages" with Johann Benedict Carpzov at the university, before returning to Wittemberg, participating in a number of disputations and sharing in the teaching responsibilities there. Before the end of 1680 he had moved again, becoming a member of the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

on 2 November 1680. It was at Jena that he received his

Habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

(higher university degree), a defining development in terms of his life-long university career. Danz's principal teachers following his enrolment at Jena were Georg Götze and

Friedemann Bechmann Friedemann Bechmann (26 May 1628 – 9 March 1703) was a German Lutheran theologian. Life Friedemann Bechmann was born in Elleben, a small town in the principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, a short distance to the north of Erfurt. His fath ...

. That same year, on the recommendation of his long-standing sponsor Duke Friedrich of Gotha, he was offered and accepted an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

ship at the university. It was, in the words of one source, "on the orders of his prince" (''"auf Befehl seines Fuersten"'') that in 1683 Johann Andreas Danz set out on horseback for what became a two-year study tour across and beyond the German lands. The trip became a major networking exercise, enabling him to get to know many of the leading

Orientalists In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...

and other scholars of the time. His first destination was

Gießen Giessen, spelled in German (), is a town in the German state () of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 university students. Th ...

where he met David Clodius and Kilian Rudrauff. He then moved south and joined up with the Pietist theologian (and pioneering genealogist)

Philipp Spener Philipp Jakob Spener (23 January 1635 – 5 February 1705) was a German Lutheran theologian who essentially founded what became known as Pietism. He was later dubbed the "Father of Pietism". A prolific writer, his two main works, ''Pia desider ...

, before moving on again, this time down the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

where he stayed relatively briefly. His next destination was

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 ...

, home to one of Europe's top universities during this period. Here he was able to get to know, among others, the theologian-historian

Friedrich Spanheim Friedrich Spanheim the Elder (January 1, 1600, Amberg – May 14, 1649, Leiden) was a Calvinistic theology professor at the University of Leiden. Life He entered in 1614 the University of Heidelberg where he studied philology and philosop ...

, the theologian-philologist Antonius Hulsius, the French Protestant scholar

Étienne Le Moine Étienne, a French analog of Stephen or Steven, is a masculine given name. An archaic variant of the name, prevalent up to the mid-17th century, is Estienne. Étienne, Etienne, Ettiene or Ettienne may refer to: People Artists and entertainers * ...

and the classical theologian-commentator

Johann Friedrich Gronovius Johann Friedrich Gronovius (the Latinized form of Gronow; 8 September 1611 – 28 December 1671) was a German classical scholar, librarian and critic. Born in Hamburg, he studied at several universities and travelled in England, France and ...

. He also moved across to

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

where he was able to expand his circle of academic heavy-weights to include the

Johann Leusden Johannes Leusden (also called Jan (informal), John (English), or Johann (German)) (26 April 1624 – 30 September 1699) was a Dutch Calvinist theologian and orientalist. Leusden was born in Utrecht. He studied in Utrecht and Amsterdam and ...

, the philologist

Johann Georg Graevius Johann Georg Graevius (originally ''Grava'' or ''Greffe''; Latin: Joannes/Johannes Georgius Graevius; 29 January 1632 – 11 January 1703) was a German classical scholar and critic. He was born in Naumburg, in the Electorate of Saxony. Life Graev ...

, the theologian

Hermann Witsius Hermann Witsius (Herman Wits or in Latin Hermannus Witsius; 12 February 1636 – 22 October 1708, aged 72) was a Dutch theologian. Life He was born at Enkhuizen. He studied at the University of Groningen, Leiden, and Utrecht. He was ordained i ...

and the Dutch reformed theologian Melchior Leydecker. He spent the winter in the United Provinces, also finding time to visit the great commercial centres of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, and then, on 17 March 1684, set sail for

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, where he spent the summer of 1684, visiting the two great universities at Oxford and Cambridge. Initially he had to stay longer than planned with the priest Gerhard Martini in

due to having broken a leg. His principal interlocutor at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

was the distinguished orientalist

Edward Pococke Edward Pococke (baptised 8 November 160410 September 1691) was an English Orientalist and biblical scholar. Early life The son of Edward Pococke (died 1636), vicar of Chieveley in Berkshire, he was brought up at Chieveley and educated from a ...

. At

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

those whom he met included the noted Hebraist scholar John Spencer, the brilliant mathematicians

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...

and the orientalist

Edmund Castell Edmund Castell (1606–1686) was an English orientalist. He was born at Tadlow, in Cambridgeshire. At the age of fifteen he entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, gaining his BA in 1624-5 and his MA in 1628. Appointed Professor of Arabic in 166 ...

. By the end of the year he was back in

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, where he

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

and briefly studied as a post-graduate student at the university on 21 November 1685. While in the Netherlands he also had the opportunity to spend time at the universities Franeker and

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 ...

, expanding further the number of his acquaintances and the extent of his own international reputation. He returned by way of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

and

Helmstedt Helmstedt (; Eastphalian: ''Helmstidde'') is a town on the eastern edge of the German state of Lower Saxony. It is the capital of the District of Helmstedt. The historic university and Hanseatic city conserves an important monumental heritage o ...

. Towards the end of 1685 he accepted a job at

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

as Associate Professor of

Holy Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

and

Oriental Languages Asia is home to hundreds of languages comprising several families and some unrelated isolates. The most spoken language families on the continent include Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Japonic, Dravidian, Indo-European, Afroasiatic, Turkic, ...

, taking up the appointment in January 1686. After the death of

Johann Frischmuth Johann Frischmuth (18 March 1619 – 19 August 1687) was a German Orientalist. Life Johann Frischmuth was born in Wertheim a small town and regional centre in the hills to the west of Würzburg. His father, a baker, was also called Johann Fr ...

during the summer of 1687, Danz took over his professorial chair, thereby becoming a full professor. Although he continued to enjoy a stellar reputation as a professor of oriental and biblical languages, it is clear from the written work he continued to produce that he still sustained a lively appetite for theological and biblical study. In January 1693 Johann Andreas Danz married Amma Hedwig Luther, the daughter of Gabriel Luther, a legal officer from

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

. The marriage was childless. On 6 January 1710, in parallel with his professorship as a languages teacher, Danz accepted an associate professorship in

. His first degree, nominally in Philosophy had been based on the study of Philology: he still had no first degree as a

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, but that same month he accepted his Licentiate (a first degree) in

. A few weeks later, in February 1710, he also accepted a Doctorate in Theology in return for a piece of work on what was, to him, the outdated practice of punishing Jewish believers for taking initiation into the Christian Church, . (Much of his work during this period already concerned the interface between Judaism and Christianity.) In 1713 he received a full professorship in

from the university, which he would retain for the rest of his life. Danz also played his part in

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

administration, serving a term as

rector in 1693, and then again in 1701, 1714, 1718 and 1724. Johann Andreas Danz died at

on 20 December 1727. His credentials as an outstandingly knowledgeable expert on "Oriental languages" were and are widely acknowledged by contemporaries and later scholars. His 1696 Hebrew Grammar was for many years an indispensable volume for students of the subject, with revised editions appearing throughout the eighteenth century. That was a tribute to the work's central importance, but the book was never an easy read. There were criticisms that the generally unspoken base assumptions underlying Hebrew and Latin were different to the point of mutual incompatibility, making this attempt by a brilliant man to deal with one of these languages in terms of the other without drawing charges of obfuscation from frustrated users, a visibly impossible challenge. Nevertheless, many terms and phrases which subsequently became mainstream among philologists and other linguists working in this respected niche can be traced back to Johann Andreas Danz.

Selected works

* . Wittenberg 1679 (Präs. Andreas Sennert) * Wittenberg 1679 (Resp. Nicol Bruns) * Jena 1680 (Resp. Johann Georg Wittich) * Jena 1682 (Resp. Johann Phillip Juncker) * 15. Jena 1682 (Resp. Stockmann) * Jena 1683 (Resp. Andreas Daniel Hattenbach) * Jena 1683 (Resp. Johann Wilke) * 10.11.13. * * Jena 1685, 1696 (and under the title: Literator Ebraeo-Chaldaeus... 1696) * (Resp. Heinrich Ludwig Münster
Online
* 1688 * Jena 1688 (Resp. Johann Hartmann Scheibler) * Jena 1689, 1735, Frankfurt 1765, (Resp. Jacob Velten) * 1689, 1699, 1720 * 1689 (Resp. Quodvultdeus Abraham Müller) * 1690 (Resp. Georg Ferdinand Gleich) * 1692 * 1696 * 1696, 1755, 1773 German 1757, Leipzig 1780 * Jena 1699, 1735, * 1699 (Resp. M. Johann Conrad Wake
Online
* 1699 * 1700 (Resp. M. Heinrich Kirschgart
Online
* 1700 (Resp. Philipp Julius Rethmeier
Online
* 1703 (Resp. Heinrich Bernhard Witter) * 1704 (Resp. Coelestin Amando Prinz) * Jena 1706, 1765
Online

Online
, 1735, 1742, Frankfurt 1748 * 1708, 1715
Online
, 1736 * 1709, 173
Online
, 1735, 1751
Online
* 1709 (Resp. Heinrich Scharbau,
Online
) * 1710, 1715, 1720 (Präs. Johann Franz Buddeus) * 1710 (Resp. Gotthard Georg Schrader) * 1710 * 1711 (Resp. Christoph von Kalm) * 1711 (Resp. Heinrich Gottlieb Reime
Online
* 1713 * 1713 * 1715 * 1715–1719 * 1716 (Resp. Friedrich Ludwig Munster) * 1717 (Resp. M. Johann Heinrich Olpe) * 1717
Online
* 1720 (Resp. Johann Moneta) * 1720 to 1724 * 1726

Notes

References

External links

Digitized works by Johann Andreas Danz
at the

Leo Baeck Institute, New York The Leo Baeck Institute New York (LBI) is a research institute in New York City dedicated to the study of German-Jewish history and culture, founded in 1955. It is one of three independent research centers founded by a group of German-speaking J ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danz, Johann Andreas 1654 births 1727 deaths Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni 17th-century German Protestant theologians Linguists from Germany Rectors of the University of Jena German Hebraists German orientalists People from Gotha (district) Writers from Jena