REF. [HIST12_104BOG]
= Paper =
by Pierre-Maurice BOGAERT, in Luc COURTOIS (ed.), Les études orientales à l’Université de Louvain depuis 1834 (Histoire, 12), Brussels, 2021.
In the reviving Université catholique de Louvain (1835), the bishops of Belgium appointed to the chair of Biblical exegesis at the Faculty of Theology a Dutch priest, trained in philology according to the German scholarship, Jean-Théodore Beelen (1807-1884). He had to teach Biblical and rabbinic Hebrew, Biblical and talmudic Aramaic, Syriac and Arabic.
That appointment left a lasting impression on the Louvain school of exegesis and opened the study not only to Biblical languages, but also to Christian oriental languages (Syriac, Arabic), next to the sanskrit taught in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters. “Facultative (optional) lectures” inserted in the program opened the possible exchange of students between both faculties.
The relevance recognized by Beelen to grammar and philology was decisive on his students. Going through the programs of lectures and the subjects of dissertations confirms this orientation. Beelen introduced also the printing of texts in Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic and Ethiopic, which became a tradition by Louvain printers.
Keywords: Beelen (J.-Th.), Clément de Rome, Biblical Hebrew, rabbinic Hebrew, Biblical Aramaic, talmudic Aramaic, Syriac, Arabic, Ethiopic, typography, Biblical archaeology
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