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THE HEBREW LANGUAGE AND COMPARATIVE LINGUISTICS... Hebrew and Arabic were twin sister" languages, both descendants ofthe primordial language”? Burnett concludes that these philological breakthroughs together gave birth to such sub-disciplines of biblical studies as textual criticism and comparative philology. Not only the theological thinking and comparative philology, but also the social reality of this period was connected to Hebrew language and society. As it is declared in De republica Hebraeorum of Petrus Cunaeus (1586-1638),° the republic of the ancient Hebrews was seen as a model for the Dutch republic of this era. HUNGARIAN PROTESTANT PHILOLOGISTS OF THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES Hungarian peregrination started in 1522 in Wittenberg and later in other German, Swiss and Dutch universities.” Theology was the most popular area of studies, and Hebrew, as the holy language, was also one of its major subjects. Talented Hungarian students were not only engaged in learning of Hebrew but also involved by their famous teachers in studying and examining other Semitic languages, such as Aramaic, Syriac and Arabic. These studies also involved the comparative analyses of the languages of ancient texts Analysis of these texts strengthened the linguistic sensitivity of the Hungarian students and broadened their horizons in grammar. The patriotism of the most talented Hungarian Protestant students prompted them to use their knowledge to write Hungarian grammars and make linguistic comparisons with the sacrosanct language, Hebrew. 7 BURNETT, Later Christian Hebraists, 787. CUNAEUS, Petrus, De republica Hebraeorum, Lugundi Batavorum, Ludovicum Elzevirium, 1617. On the impact of Dutch Hebraism on Hungarian peregrination see my article on György Komäromi Csipkes (1628-1678) and the influence from the Netherlands on Christian Hebraism in Hungary, in S. Schorch, (ed.), Christliche Hebraistik im östlichen Mitteleuropa von der Renaissance bis zur Aufklärung. Christian Hebraism in Eastern Central Europe from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment, (Berlin, forthcoming) Thomas Erpenius (1584-1624) said in his inaugural lecture at Leiden University in 1620 that “[Hebrew] is susceptible of so much illumination from Arabic, both with regard to expression and to figures of speech, and the meaning, origin and etymology of words, as to deserve a book in itself.” JoNEs, Robert, (trans.), Thomas Erpenius (1584—1624) on the Value of the Arabic Language, Manuscripts of the Middle East 1 (1986) 20. +65 +
