Solomon Frensdorff (born at

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 ...

, February 24, 1803; died at Hanover, March 23, 1880) was a German Jewish

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 ...

. While pursuing his studies at the Johanneum gymnasium in Hamburg, he was introduced to Hebrew literature by

Isaac Bernays Isaac Bernays ( ; ; ; 29 September 1792 – 1 May 1849) was Chief Rabbi in Hamburg. Life Bernays was born in Weisenau (now part of Mainz). He was the son of Jacob Gera, a boarding house keeper at Mainz, and an elder brother of Adolphus Bernays. ...

, who exerted considerable influence upon his later attitude toward Judaism, and religion in general. He studied philosophy and Semitic languages at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

. In that city he became acquainted with

Abraham Geiger Abraham Geiger (Hebrew: ''ʼAvrāhām Gayger''; 24 May 181023 October 1874) was a German rabbi and scholar who is considered the founding father of Reform Judaism and the academic field of Quranic studies. Emphasizing Judaism's constant developm ...

, who, in various letters to his friends, repeatedly expressed esteem for Frensdorff's character and learning. In 1837 Frensdorff became head master of the Jewish religious school at

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, and in 1848 was appointed principal of the new Jewish seminary for teachers in that city, which position he held until his death. Frensdorff throughout his career devoted himself chiefly to the critical examination and publication of

Masoretic The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...

works. His writings on these are: * ''Fragmente aus der Punktations-und Accentlehre der Hebräischen Sprache'', with the Hebrew text (''Darke ha-Niḳḳud weha- Neginot''), ascribed to R. Moses Punctator, Hanover, 1847 (dedicated to Bernays); * '' Oklah we-Oklah'', ib. 1864 * ''Die Massora Magna'' part i. * ''Massoretisches Wörterbuch'', Leipsic and Hanover, 1876 * ''Aus dem Sefer ha-Zikronot des Elias Levita'' in "Monatsschrift," xii. 96 et seq. Das Buch Ochlah W'Ochlah title page Hebrew.jpg, Hebrew title page of "Das Buch Ochlah W'Ochlah" by Solomon Frensdorff Das Buch Ochlah W'Ochlah title page German.jpg, German title page of "Das Buch Ochlah W'Ochlah" by Solomon Frensdorff Das Buch Ochlah W'Ochlah cover.jpg, Cover of "Das Buch Ochlah W'Ochlah" Solomon Frensdorff tombstone front.jpg, Solomon Frensdorf Hebrew side of tombstone

References

Ludwig Geiger Ludwig Geiger (born ''Lazarus Abraham Geiger'', also called ''Ludwig Moritz Philipp Geiger''; 5 June 1848 – 9 February 1919) was a German author and historian. Life Ludwig Geiger was born at Breslau, Silesia, a son of Abraham Geiger. After st ...

, Abr. Geiger's Leben in Briefen, Index, s.v. Frensdorff, Breslau, 1885 *Allg. Zeit. des Jud. 1873, pp. 245 et seq.; *ib., March 20, 1903; *S. Gronemann, Predigt zur Feier des 100. Geburtstages von Prof. Dr. S. Frensdorff, 1903; *L. Knoller, Worte der Erinnerung an Prof. Dr. S. Frensdorff, 1903.

Bibliography (selection)

*''Okhlah ṿe-okhlah: ṿe-hu ḥibur meha-masorah ha-gedolah … : nimtsa bi-khetav'' dition eines seit dem 10. Jh. bekannten anonymen Kompilats masoretischer Anmerkungen unter dem Titel אָכְלָה וְאָכְלָה Hahn, Hannover 1861, u.a.;
Digitalisat
Frensdorff 1864
at

Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the biggest universal and research libra ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frensdorff, Solomon 1803 births 1880 deaths 19th-century German people 19th-century Jewish biblical scholars German biblical scholars German Hebraists German male non-fiction writers University of Bonn alumni