Alting, Jakob

ALTING, JAKOB. - Calvinist Hebraist, b. at Heidelberg in 1618, d. at Groningen in 1679. He was the son of the Calvinist theologian Johan Heinrich (v.), whose works he published. He learned Hebrew at Emden from Gumprecht ben Abraham; from 1643 he taught it at Groningen and emulated the two Buxtorfs. A convinced Cocceian (v. COCCEJUS), he lived in continual conflict with Samuel des Marets (Maresius).

He published a Syriac grammar (1676). In Fundamenta punctationis linguae sanctae (Groningen 1654; 6th ed. 1701) he founded the grammatical school (continued by Danz and Schultens) which explains the vowel variations in Hebrew morphology by the quantity of the pauses (systema trium morarum). In the posthumous Opera omnia theologica, analytica, exegetica, practica, problematica et philologica Altingii (5 vols. in fol., edited by Balthasar Bekker, Amsterdam 1686) there stand out erudite exegetical works: Internuncius Dei geminus Veteris alter, alter Novi Test., seu vaticinii Mosaici Deuteron. 18; Schilo seu de vaticinio patr. Jacobi Gen. 49, 10, libri V; a complete commentary on Romans and on Jeremiah.

The Opera omnia are on the Index (decrees of 25 May 1684; 10 May 1757).