The Regius Professorship of Hebrew in the University of Cambridge is an ancient academic chair at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

founded by

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

in 1540. The holder of the chair is the senior academic in Hebrew and Semitics at Cambridge. According to the Royal family, the title of Regius Professor is "a rare honour, designed to reflect an exceptionally high standard of teaching and research at an institution." Regius Professors are appointed by the Crown on the advice of the Prime Minister. Among the holdings at Cambridge relevant to study of Hebrew are the Cairo Genizah, the Cambridge manuscript of the Mishnah, and hundreds of rare books and manuscripts in the University Library and the libraries of the various Colleges. Ely Cathedral from Quanea Drove F

When created, the professorship carried a permanent stipend of £40 per year. In 1840 this was increased, with a canonry of

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 67 ...

being attached to the post in perpetuity.

List of Regius Professors

The chair has been held by: * 1540-1549 Thomas Wakefeld * 1549

Paul Fagius Paul Fagius (1504 – 13 November 1549) was a Renaissance scholar of Biblical Hebrew and Protestant reformer. Life Fagius was born at Rheinzabern in 1504. His father was a teacher and council clerk. In 1515 he went to study at the University o ...

* 1550-1553

Immanuel Tremellius Immanuel Tremellius (; 1510 – 9 October 1580) was an Italian Jewish convert to Christianity. He was known as a leading Hebraist and Bible translator. Life He was born at Ferrara and educated at the University of Padua. He was converted about ...

* 1569 Antoine Rudolphe Chevallier * 1572 Philippe Bignon * 1575 Edward Lively * 1605 Robert Spaldinge * 1607 Geoffrey Kynge * 1608 Andrew Byng * 1622

Robert Metcalfe Robert "Bob" Melancton Metcalfe (born April 7, 1946) is an American engineer and entrepreneur who contributed to the development of the internet in the 1970s. He co-invented Ethernet, co-founded 3Com, and formulated Metcalfe's law, which desc ...

* 1645

Ralph Cudworth Ralph Cudworth (; 1617 – 26 June 1688) was an English Anglican clergyman, Christian Hebraist, classicist, theologian and philosopher, and a leading figure among the Cambridge Platonists who became 11th Regius Professor of Hebrew (Cambr ...

* 1688 Wolfram Stubbe * 1699 James Talbot * 1705 Henry Sike * 1712 Philip Bouquett * 1748 Thomas Harrison * 1753 Charles Torriano * 1757 William Disney * 1771 William Collier * 1790 John Porter * 1795 Henry Lloyd * 1831 Samuel Lee * 1848 William Hodge Mill * 1854 Thomas Jarrett * 1882 Alexander Francis Kirkpatrick * 1903 Robert Hatch Kennett * 1932 Stanley Arthur Cook * 1938 David Winton Thomas * 1968 John Adney Emerton * 1995 Robert P. Gordon * 2020 Geoffrey Khan * 2025 Aaron Koller

Official coat of arms

According to a grant of 1590, the office of Regius Professor of "Hebrew" at Cambridge has a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

with the following

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

:''A Complete Guide to Heraldry'' by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (1909), pp. 587-588.

References

Hebrew, Regius School of Arts and Humanities, University of Cambridge Hebrew, Cambridge Hebrew, Regius, Cambridge Hebrew-language writers 1540 establishments in England {{Hebrew-lang-stub