Erasmus Oswaldus Schreckenfuchs and the First Complete Hebrew Translation of the New Testament (1563)

This article examines the first complete Hebrew translation of the New Testament, produced by Erasmus Oswaldus Schreckenfuchs in 1563, a work that has yet to receive significant scholarly attention. It explores Schreckenfuchs's career, his expertise in Hebrew, and his publications in Hebrew studies, situating him within the broader intellectual landscape of sixteenth-century Christian Hebraism. The study contextualizes this translation within the history of Hebrew versions of Christian texts, analyzing Schreckenfuchs's linguistic choices, textual sources, and possible motivations. It concludes that, unlike earlier partial translations, which were often produced for polemical or missionary purposes, Schreckenfuchs's work appears to have been driven by scholarly interest and engagement with Hebrew philology. The article further examines the manuscript's linguistic characteristics and its implications for early modern Christian-Jewish intellectual exchange. Ultimately, it argues that this translation represents a significant milestone in Christian Hebraism and the study of Hebrew during the Reformation.