Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
and both Jewish and Christian theologians.
Life
Joseph was born in
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
as the son of Abraham Athias. It seems Joseph was a member of the Jewish community in
Recife
Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...
between 1648 and 1653, but he and his cousin Jacob (1631-1690) settled in
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 ...
after the Portuguese reconquered
Dutch Brazil
Dutch Brazil (; ), also known as New Holland (), was a colony of the Dutch Republic in the northeastern portion of modern-day Brazil, controlled from 1630 to 1654 during Dutch colonization of the Americas. The main cities of the colony were the c ...
in 1654. His first book, a prayer book according to the
Sephardi
Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...
rite, was published in 1658. In 1661 and 1667, he issued two editions of the Hebrew Bible with (Arabic) numbered verses. The second edition of his Bible was more carefully prepared than the first, and with more beautiful type and decorations. The mediaeval original he received from
Moses Curiel
Don Moses Curiel (1620–1697), in Dutch Mozes Curiël, alias Jeronimo Nunes da Costa, was a Sephardic Jewish nobleman, diplomat, and wealthy merchant, who traded in diamonds, sugar and tobacco.
Curiel was born in Florence; he was the eldest son ...
.Like a Blind Man Judging Colors: Joseph Athias and Johannes Leusden Defend their 1667 Hebrew Bible by Theodor Dunkelgrün Until the 19th century it was regarded as one of the best bibles in Hebrew available.
Though carefully printed, they contain a number of mistakes in the vowel points and the accents. But as they were based on the earlier editions compared with the best manuscripts, they were the foundation of all the subsequent editions. The copious marginal notes in Latin added by
Jean de Leusden
Johannes Leusden (also called Jan (informal), John (English), or Johann (German)) (26 April 1624 – 30 September 1699) was a Dutch Calvinist theologian and oriental studies, orientalist.
Leusden was born in Utrecht (city), Utrecht. He stu ...
, professor at Utrecht, were of little value. The 1667 edition was strongly opposed by the Protestant
Samuel Desmarets
Samuel Des Marets or Desmarets (; Oisemont, 1599 – Groningen, 18 May 1673) was a French Protestant theologian.'III. Maréts (Samuel des)' in L.M. Chaudon, ''Dictionnaire Universel, Historique, Critique, et Bibliographique'', 19 Vols (Mame, Pari ...
; Athias answered the charges in a work whose title begins: ''Caecus de coloribus''. Athias’ pamphlet was a full-blown attack on a senior Christian theologian in the
United Provinces of the Netherlands
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherla ...
. The true author of the pamphlet was not Athias but Johannes Leusden, and that the Utrecht professor had published it in Athias’ name, an assessment that scholars have followed ever since.
Athias was not allowed to sell books, just like
Menasseh Ben Israel
Manoel Dias Soeiro (; 1604 – 20 November 1657), better known by his Hebrew language, Hebrew name Menasseh or Menashe ben Israel (), was a Jewish scholar, rabbi, Kabbalah, kabbalist, writer, diplomat, printer (publisher), printer, publishe ...
in 1640. In
1672
Events
January–March
* January 2 – After the government of England is unable to pay the nation's debts, Charles II of England, King Charles II decrees the Stop of the Exchequer, the suspension of payments for one year "up ...
when the Dutch were in war with three countries, Athias had an enormous debt and 11,000 unsold English Bibles and 10,000 Hebrew children en prayerbooks stored in a warehouse, behind the
Zuiderkerk
The Zuiderkerk (, "southern church") is a 17th-century Continental Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Protestant church in the Nieuwmarkt area of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. The church played an important part in the life of Rembr ...
. From 1673 he received a privilege to print more English Bibles, which seem to have been smuggled out of the country. He cooperated with Susanne Veselaer, the widow of the bookseller
Jan Jacobsz. Schipper
Jan Jacobsz. Schipper (1616-1669) was a bookseller, printer, and theatre poet in Amsterdam.
Personal life
Schipper was born to Jacob Claesz. and Neeltje Leyen in Amsterdam. The surname Schipper is in fact a pseudonym derived from his father’s ...
, and published works in Spanish and Portuguese. He experimented with
textile printing
Textile printing is the process of applying Color of clothing, color to textile, fabric in definite patterns or designs. In properly printing, printed fabrics the colour is bonded with the fiber, fibre, so as to resist washing and friction. ...
stereotypes
In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...
he was able to publish very quickly, 250 bibles in four hours, but had to invest in metallic
movable type
Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable Sort (typesetting), components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric charac ...
s? It seems he printed thin from cast metal plates, rather than directly from movable types. (In 1678 he buried his wife at
Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel
The Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel is the oldest Jewish cemetery in the Netherlands.
History
The land was purchased for use as a burying ground by the Jewish community of Amsterdam in 1614 and is located in the village of Ouderkerk aan d ...
.)
It is likely Athias had to use a reseller to distribute his stock; one of them was Joseph Deutz, a banker and an art collector. In 1681 he bought more letter cases by
Christoffel van Dijck
Christoffel van Dijck (c. 1600-5, Dexheim – November 1669, Amsterdam) was a German-born Dutch Punchcutting, punchcutter and type foundry, typefounder, who cut punches and operated a foundry for casting metal type. Van Dijck's type was widely u ...
from the estate of Daniel Elzevir. Athias was boycotted by five lettercasters and their pupils. In 1683 the Athias moved from Zwanenburgerstraat, owned by his brothers-in-law, to Utrechtsestraat? In 1686 he moved to
Nieuwe Herengracht
The Nieuwe Herengracht () is a canal in Centrum district of Amsterdam.
The canal is an extension of the Herengracht that runs between the Amstel and the Scharrebiersluis (lock) leading to the Schippersgracht from the Entrepotdok.
It is in the P ...
and rented his accommodation, the
printing house
In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses.
Origins of printing
The history of printers in publishing in Western Europe dates back to the mid-15th century wit ...
and
type foundry
A type foundry is a company that designs or distributes typefaces. Before digital typography, type foundries manufactured and sold metal and wood typefaces for hand typesetting, and matrices for line-casting machines like the Linotype and ...
from his business partner Susanne Veselaer. (She invested in real estate and owned a country house in Soest. Athias only owned half of plot and the alley leading to the backhouse.) It is likely he assisted and advised his son Manuel and Joan Bus. In 1687 he auctioned 3,000 bibles (Old Testament), available for less than one euro each. In 1690 Joseph Penso de la Vega, who had used Athias' services earlier, had his ''Retrato de la Prudencia, y simulacro del Valor, al Augusto Monarca Guilielmo Tercero, Rey de la Gran Bretaña'' printed by Bus, using the rare ''ascendonica italic''.
In 1695 he went bankrupt and hide himself for several months because of debts. In May 1696 he and his son came to an agreement with the 22 creditors. He died early May 1700 shortly after publishing the Confessiones by
Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...
. In 1702 Manuel seems to have sold half of plot to Cornelia Schipper, the heir of Veselaer; in 1705 he sold her the alley. In 1710 Manuel was ordered to vacate the printing house and foundry. The
matrices
Matrix (: matrices or matrixes) or MATRIX may refer to:
Science and mathematics
* Matrix (mathematics), a rectangular array of numbers, symbols or expressions
* Matrix (logic), part of a formula in prenex normal form
* Matrix (biology), the ...
stored in cabinet, can be seen in the
Amsterdam Museum
The Amsterdam Museum, known until 2010 as the Amsterdam Historical Museum, is an Amsterdam-based museum dedicated to the city's past and present. Due to the renovation of its main location, the museum is temporarily located in the Amstelhof on the ...
.
The Athias published 450 works, such as
Megillot
The Five Scrolls or the Five Megillot ( , ''Hamesh Megillot'' or ''Chomeish Megillos'') are parts of the Ketuvim ("Writings"), the third major section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). The Five Scrolls are the Song of Songs, the Book of Ruth, the Bo ...
and
Hafṭarot
The ''haftara'' or (in Ashkenazic pronunciation) ''haftorah'' (alt. ''haftarah, haphtara'', ) "parting," "taking leave" (plural form: ''haftarot'' or ''haftoros''), is a series of selections from the books of ''Nevi'im'' ("Prophets") of the ...
and a
Yiddish
Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
translation of the Bible (1678) that did not sell well. The latter involved Athias in a competition with Uri Phoebus Halevi. The
Mishneh Torah
The ''Mishneh Torah'' (), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' (), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law (''halakha'') authored by Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon/Rambam). The ''Mishneh Torah'' was compiled between 1170 and 1180 CE ( ...
by
Maimonides
Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...