György Thúri and his Hebrew translation of Paul's Epistles to the Galatians and the Ephesians: Hebrew among the classical languages in the sixteenth century

Abstract

The paper examines the first Hebrew translation of the Epistles of Paul published in the Christian world: György Thúri's Hebrew translation of the Epistles to the Galatians and the Ephesians published in Wittenberg in 1598. The focus is on the sources used by the author in the production of his translation as well as on his major linguistic and stylistic choices. The paper seeks to place this translation in the context of Thúri's life and his literary productions as a Neo-Latin poet. This case study illustrates the place of Hebrew learning within the Humanist mentality of the sixteenth century.