Immanuel Oscar Menahem Deutsch

Immanuel Oscar Menahem Deutsch (1829 – 28 October 1873) was a German Jewish scholar of Semitic studies, the Talmud and Middle Eastern studies.

Biography

He was born in Neisse, Prussian Silesia (now Nysa, Poland). On reaching his sixteenth year he began his studies at the University of Berlin, paying special attention to theology and the Talmud. He also mastered the English language and studied English literature. In 1855 Deutsch was appointed assistant in the library of the British Museum. He worked intensely on the Talmud and contributed no less than 190 papers to Chambers' Encyclopaedia, in addition to essays in Kittos and Smiths' Biblical Dictionaries, and articles in periodicals. In October 1867 his article on The Talmud, published in the Quarterly Review, made him known, creating a great interest in the Talmud in Britain, including admirers such as George Eliot . The article was translated into French, German, Russian, Swedish, Dutch and Danish.

Deutsch was an important influence on George Eliot's Jewish characters and their ideas in her last novel Daniel Deronda.

In 1869-70, Deutsch was a special correspondent for The Times during the Ecumenical Council at the Vatican and wrote letters on its deliberations. He died at Alexandria on 12 May 1873.

A collection, Literary Remains, edited by Lady Strangford, was published in 1874, consisting of nineteen papers on such subjects as The Talmud; Islam; Semitic Culture; Egypt, Ancient and Modern; Semitic Languages; The Targums; The Samaritan Pentateuch; and Arabic Poetry.

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Deutsch, Immanuel Oscar Menahem". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links

• Article on Deutsch in 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia