Obj. ID: 40612  De Rudimentis Hebraicis by Johannes Reuchlin, Haguenau, 1506

This text was prepared by William Gross:

Introductory grammar and lexicon for scholars with no knowledge of Hebrew, written by one of the preeminent Christian Hebraists of the time, Johannes Reuchlin (1455 – 1522). A renowned jurist, statesman and humanist classics scholar, Reuchlin mastered Hebrew and was a founder of the Renaissance Christian movement that sought to study Kabbalah. He was a prestigious and vigorous defender of the Talmud and Jewish literature in the Battle of the Books (against the apostate Jew, Johannes Pfefferkorn).
Reuchlin’s study of Hebrew began as early as 1473 in Paris. A more intense interest in Hebrew and Kabbalah resulted from the influence of the Italian humanist, Pico della Mirandola, whom Reuchlin met on a visit to Italy in 1490. Although his defense of Jewish books was unwavering, Reuchlin cannot be considered a philo-Semite – he was in fact more favorable to Jewish studies than to Jews.
First published in 1506, De rudimentis Hebraicis is considered the first important Christian work on Hebrew philology. It was influential in promoting the study of Hebrew, and, as a result, the study of the Bible in the original. This, Reuchlin’s first Hebrew work, is based primarily on the Sefer ha-Shorashim of David Kimchi (c. 1160 – c. 1235). It is written in Latin, but cleverly organized and paginated like a Hebrew book, so that it reads from left to right.
Reuchlin published two additional works on Hebrew grammar and others on Kabbalah, earning him the appellation Father of Renaissance Hebrew studies.
On the final page is a large woodcut with Reuchlin’s insignia. This volume is bound with another book by Reuchlin, De Arte Cabalistica.
De Rudimentis Hebraicis – Rudiments of Hebrew – Dictionary of Hebrew Words and Hebrew Grammar by Johann Reuchlin – First Edition – Pforzheim, 1506 De Rudimentis Hebraicis liber primus (First Book of Hebrew Rudiments), by Johann Reuchlin. [Phorce (Pforzheim): Thomas Anshelm, 1506]. Latin, with Hebrew words. The first edition of Johann Reuchlin's book, the first Hebrew dictionary and grammar book for Christian scholars. This book was known to have great impact on the development of the study and research of Hebrew texts by Christians in the Renaissance.