Abstract

The study of Hebrew was part of general university education in the Lutheran countries from the 16th till the beginning of the 19th century. The Holy Tongue – alongside Latin and Greek – was employed by scholars for writing gratulations, condolences and festive poems in dissertations and commemorative publications issued in honour of their colleagues, patrons, friends and relatives. In addition to Hebrew some philologists displayed their knowledge of Aramaic, Syriac and Arabic in the same genres. From booklets relating to Finland printed between 1584 and 1807 I have collected 68 examples of this kind of “living” Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic &&three Syriac poems are printed in Syriac characters, the others in Hebrew script. Of these a number of examples are presented in this paper. The description consists of translations into Swedish, bibliographical notes on the persons involved in the texts, philological notes on the biblical, Mishnaic and mediaeval features as well as errors in their Hebrew, and new words coined by the writers for want of Hebrew counterparts for contemporary terms. These trends in linguistic development can be compared with those of the kaskalah period and the rise of modern Hebrew. In the period of their compilation, the Hebrew dedications and poems were understood within the circle of academic readers. Since the 19th century, however, the texts written in Semitic languages became “all Greek”, even to literary historians. It is to be hoped that plans for publication of this kind of exotic literature will be implemented both in Finland and in other countries.