William Muss-Arnolt
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William (Wilhelm) Muss-Arnolt (May 7, 1860 in
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– June 25, 1927 in New York) was an
Assyriologist Assyriology (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logy, -logia''), also known as Cuneiform studies or Ancient Near East studies, is the archaeological, anthropological, historical, and linguistic study of the cultures that used cune ...
and librarian known for his exposition of the Assyrian language. Muss-Arnolt received a B.D. from New Brunswick Theological Seminary in 1883, and a Ph.D. from
Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...
in 1888. He taught at the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
for one semester, then went to the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
, where he continued work on his ''Concise Dictionary of the Assyrian Language''. He ended his career as a librarian at the
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.William W. Bishop, "College Days—1889–93: Fragments of Autobiography"; ''Michigan Alumnus: Quarterly Review'', Vol. LIV No. 10, December 6, 1947; p
351
In 1900 Muss-Arnolt published an article positing a Babylonian origin for the words Urim and Thummim in the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures'' and was thereafter published separately by the
University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It pu ...
. Muss-Arnolt's ''Concise Dictionary of the Assyrian Language'' was completed in 1905, providing a useful tool for translators faced with a large volume of newly discovered cuneiform texts. The ''Chicago Tribune'' wrote of this work in progress in 1901:Light Thrown by University of Chicago on History of the Oldest Civilization
, ''Chicago Tribune'', 3 March 1901, p. 37.
An ordinary dictionary stands as a monument to several men's perseverance, but one compiled by one man which has to make plain in two languages the mysteries of the Assyrian is not an ordinary monument—it is an obelisk.
University of Michigan librarian William W. Bishop wrote that he owed to Muss-Arnolt "a severe regard for bibliographic accuracy." He also mentions that Muss-Arnolt was Protestant, with Jewish ancestry.


Selected publications

* "On Semitic Words in Greek and Latin", ''Transactions of the American Philological Association'', Vol. 23, 1892.
PDF
at
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) * "The Names of the Assyro-Babylonian Months and Their Regents", ''Journal of Biblical Literature'' Vol. 11, No. 1, 1892.
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* "The Urim and Thummim: A suggestion as to their original nature and significance"; ''American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures'', Vol. XVI, No. 4; July 1900.
PDF
* ''A Concise Dictionary of the Assyrian Language''. Berlin: Reuther & Reichard, 1905. ** Volume 1: A—MUQQU
PDF
at Internet Archive) ** Volume 2: MIQQU—TITURRU
PDF
at Internet Archive) * ''The Book of Common Prayer Among the Nations of the World: A History of Translations of the Prayer Book of the Church of England and of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America''. London:
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, 1914. *
Full text
PDF and HTML by chapter. * "Maneant Sua Data Libellis: A Protest and a Plea", ''Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America'' Vol. 13, 1919.
PDF
at U. Chicago Journals
full volume
at Internet Archive)


References


Bibliography

* Borger, Rykle. "Altorientalische Lexikographie - Geschichte und Probleme". ''Nachrichten der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen, Philologisch-Historische Klasse'', 1984, p. 85-89. {{DEFAULTSORT:Muss-Arnolt, William American Assyriologists American librarians University of Chicago faculty 1860 births 1927 deaths New Brunswick Theological Seminary alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni