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THE
JEWISH QUAETERLY
REVIEW
JANUARY, 1896
JOSEPH DERENBOURG.
Two years ago it fell to my lot to write a short obituary of
my friend Isidore Loeb (Jewish Quarterly Review, V, p. i).
With a sense of grief that deepens as one after another is
added to the list of lost friends, I have now to record the death
of Joseph Derenbourg, which occurred suddenly on the 29th
of July last at the age of eighty -four years, when he was
CDi jnspi ;pr. The deceased was born at Mayence, and he
had to seek the means of making a livelihood which would
allow him to continue his studies in Rabbinical literature,
as well as in other Semitic languages, like his senior
Salomon Munk, since at that time Germany had closed
the door of the Universities to Jews. After having ac-
complished the course of Latin and Greek in the Gymnasium
of his native place, he went to the Universities at Giessen
and Bonn to begin the study of Semitic languages, and
took Ms degree of Doctor of Philosophy under the famous
Professor Freytag in 1834. Simultaneously, as was then
the custom with the Jews, he followed the course of in-
struction of the Jewish schools in the Talmud and its
commentaries. J. Derenbourg then accepted a tutorship
in a rich family at Amsterdam, but left this lucrative post
for Paris, as Munk did, in 1839, wbere he continued his
Oriental studies under Quatremere, Caussin de Perceval,
and Reinaud. During his sojourn in Holland, he began his
VOL. Vlir. o
190 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
literary career by articles which appeared in Geiger's Zeit-
schrifi. The most important is that on the writings of
Isaac ibn Giyath (or Gayath), and extracts from the Uni-
versity library at Leyden, of which Steinschneider after-
wards compiled the Catalogue. It is probable that Deren-
bourg wrote the following essays when still in Holland :
(1) with the title Ueber das letzte Pasckahmahl Jesu
(1841), a subject taken up lately by Prof. D. Chwolson
in the Memoires of the St. Petersburg Academy, 1893;
(a) Notes on Hebrew Grammar (1846), both of which
appeared in the Orientalia, edited by Juynboll, signed
Dernburg. At the same epoch the deceased began his
Arabic publications, which we shall not enumerate, since
Mahometan subjects have only a remote right to entry
into a Jewish Quarterly. The new edition of Lokman's
Fables, with a French translation and notes (Berlin, 1847),
by the deceased, has an interest for Jewish readers, since
Derenbourg identifies Lokman with the name of Balaam.
Between 1848 and i860 the deceased was obliged to
slacken his literary energy, having been forced to seek
his daily bread. However, he wrote a notice on Maimo-
nides' Guide, which Munk was editing, and went on with
his Arabic labours, editing together with M. Reinaud the
famous work of Hariri. About 1862 he took up his old
studies in Hebrew literature, writing many valuable reviews
in the Journal Asiatique ; he also published notices on
Semitic epigraphy, and reverted to his old love, viz. Hebrew
Grammar and Massoretic studies. His great knowledge of
the last subject he showed by publishing critically with
a commentary the famous Yemen Grammar, found in MS.,
as a kind of Massoretic guide, with the title of Manuel de
Lecture, which appeared in the Journal Asiatique in 1867.
M. Derenbourg then turned his attention to Jewish history.
He published in 1867 his great work on Jewish history,
which appeared under the title of Essai sur I'histoire et la
Ge'ographie de la Palestine d'apres les Talmud et les autres
sources rabbiniques, vol. i (history), now out of print.
JOSEPH DERENBOURG 191
He planned a second edition, enlarged by recent research,
and with the addition of an index which readers missed in
the first volume, but we know not how far his revision
went, or whether it is found among his papers. The second
volume (geography) did not appear at all, and as far as
I know only the slips of it exist. For curiosity sake I may
mention that after 1871 he entered into a political con-
troversy with Geiger, the latter siding with Germany, while
Derenbourg was heart and soul for France. This corre-
spondence exists in print. We cannot enumerate all the
minor articles which he wrote after 1870 in the Journal
Asiatique, of which he was one of the committee of publica-
tion, nor those in other periodicals, more especially the
Revue des Mudes Juives, his contributions to which would
make more than a big volume. Here he tried his hand on
Biblical criticism, Hebrew palaeography, on the Mishnah,
on grammar. The most important publication was the
glosses of Judah ben Balam on Isaiah, according to a MS.
at St. Petersburg. He was also member of the committee
of the Revue, sometime President, and an assiduous con-
tributor. It is curious to mention that Derenbourg did his
most important work after his eyes began to fail, and he
became, alas, completely blind. He published in this state
the Himyaritie part of the Corpus Inscriptionum Semiti-
carum, issued by the Acad^mie des Inscriptions et Belles
Lettres, of which he was elected a member in 1871. The
same was the case with the publication of Abul Walid's
(Jonah ben Jannah) Opuscula (1880) and the Grammar
(1886), both in Arabic ; the former with French translation
and with collaboration of his son, M. Hartwig. Others of
Derenbourg' s publications are the two Hebrew versions of
Galila ve Dvnmah, which appeared in 1881 amongst the
publications of the ficole des Hautes Etudes, where he
taught Rabbinic. In this collection he published, also in
1887, Johannis de Capua Directorium Vitae Humanae,
which is the Latin translation of Calila ve Dimnah.
The last great work of the deceased was the edition of
O %
192 THE JEWISH QUABTERLY REVIEW
S e adyah Gaon's collected works as far as they exist, in
honour of S e adyah's Millennium which fell in 1 89 2. Generous
subscriptions came in after the appeal of the octogenarian
Derenbourg. He himself published in Stade's Zeitschrift
a revised translation of Isaiah by S e adyah. At present the
edition of the Pentateuch by the deceased ; the translation
and commentary on Proverbs aided by M. Lambert are
published ; and, we understand, Isaiah as far as the com-
mentary exists, are ready. Derenbourg chose the collabora-
tors of this arduous work, but M. Lambert will be the pilot
now that the master's hand is removed. Our consolation
is in the words of the prophet btiTW \zbit i6 "D, and the
collaborators are of vigorous age.
Derenbourg was for a time member of the Consistoire
de Paris ; an active member of the Alliance Israelite
Universelle, and of the Socie'te's des Etudes Juives. He took
part in preparing the Catalogue of the Hebrew MSS. in
the National Libraiy, begun by Munk, and continued by
him and Adolphe Franck. The deceased was for a long
time reader of Semitic for the Imprimerie Rationale ; in
this capacity he was very useful to authors, and especially
to beginners. M. Derenbourg was kind hearted in every
way, benevolent, and never despaired of the future, despite
his terrible afflictipn. In that respect he was a Jew of the
old type, having confidence in the future. He encouraged
young students to work. Isidore Loeb, Lambert, and Israel
Levi are in some respects his pupils, and those who survive
will not easily forget him. To me he was a dear friend
for nearly forty years, ftairin
A. Neubaueb.
P. S. I understand that the Committee which is directing
the S e adyah publications has placed the continuation of
the work in the hands of Prof. H. Derenbourg, son of the
deceased. Unfortunately the funds at the disposal of the
Committee are almost exhausted.
