Isaac Edward Salkinson (; 1820 – June 5, 1883) was a Lithuanian

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

writer and translator, considered "one of the finest translators of the

Haskalah The ''Haskalah'' (; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), often termed the Jewish Enlightenment, was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Wester ...

." He was a convert to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

who became a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

for the Church.

Biography

Salkinson was born into an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

family in Vilna in 1820. His father died when he was young, as did his mother seven years later. He then set out for America with the intention of entering a rabbinical seminary there. While in London, however, he was met by agents of the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed tradition, Reformed in outlook, with ...

and was persuaded to forsake Judaism. Baptized soon afterward, in 1849 he entered the college of that society, where he studied for four years. His first appointment was as missionary to the Jews in Edinburgh, where he became a student at Divinity Hall. He was ordained a minister of the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

in Glasgow in 1859. He served his church as a missionary in various towns, including

Presburg Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, and finally settled in Vienna in 1876.

Work

Salkinson was encouraged to translate classical

Western literature Western literature, also known as European literature, is the literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe, and is shaped by the periods in which they were conceived, with each period containing prominent weste ...

into Hebrew by C. D. Ginsburg, who "thought that the Jews, who love the Hebrew language, would read ..classical Christian work though they would refuse to read an ordinary Christian religious book." Though many of his translations were clearly intended for missionary purposes, others were done for purely artistic reasons, and he maintained a relationship with the Maskilic writer Peretz Smolenskin. Among his early translations was 's ''Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation'', published under the title ''Sod ha-yeshuʻah'' (Altona, 1858). He also translated Milton's ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...

'', under the title ''Va-yegaresh et ha-adam'' (Vienna, 1871);

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' and ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'', under the titles ''Iti'el ha-Kushi'' (ib. 1874; preface by Smolenskin) and ''Ram ve-Ya'el'' (ib. 1878); and Tiedge's ''Urania'', under the title ''Ben Ḳohelet'' (ib. 1876). His translation of the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

was published posthumously under the supervision of Ginsburg in Vienna in 1886.

Selected publications

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Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salkinson, Isaac Edward 1820 births 1883 deaths 19th-century translators Converts to Calvinism from Judaism English–Hebrew translators Jewish translators of the Bible Lithuanian Jews Lithuanian Protestants Lithuanian translators People of the Haskalah Presbyterian missionaries in Europe Protestant missionaries in Austria Translators of the New Testament into Hebrew Jewish writers from Vilnius