Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T15:31:15.376Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Hugo Grotius’ Use of Jewish Sources in On the Law of War and Peace

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Phyllis S. Lachs
Phyllis S. Lachs*
Affiliation:
Bryn Mawr College
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Some recent interest in the writings of Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) has focused on his use of classical and medieval sources. Another sphere of interest has been the extent to which Grotius knew Hebrew and was able to find and use Jewish source material himself, as distinct from being dependent on Latin translations that were becoming increasingly available at the time that he wrote. This article has a two-fold purpose: the first is to identify exactly the Jewish sources that Grotius cited in On the Law of War and Peace, an identification which has not yet been made with thoroughness and precision.

Type
Research Article
Information
Renaissance Quarterly , Volume 30 , Issue 2 , Summer 1977 , pp. 181 - 200
Copyright
Copyright © Renaissance Society of America 1977

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Edwards, Charles, ‘The Law of Nature in the Thought of Hugo Grotius,’ Journal of Politics, 32:4 (November 1970), 787–807 CrossRefGoogle Scholar, which analyses Grotius’ ideas on natural law in the context of late medieval rationalism; and Ziskind, Jonathan, ‘International Law and Ancient Sources: Grotius and Selden,’ Review of Politics, 35:4. (October 1973), 537–559 CrossRefGoogle Scholar, for a discussion of how Grotius used his sources in Mare Liberum.

2 All references to the text of Grotius in this article are to On the Law of War and Peace, tr. Francis W. Kelsey et al., introd. James Brown Scott (Oxford, 1925). This version depends on that of Molhuysen, P. C., ed., Dejure Belli ac Pads (Leiden, 1919)Google Scholar, which contains some of the same errors. Molhuysen's work does not identify the sources fully. Two more recent editions of Dejure Belli ac Pads do not clear up any of the issues. The translation of Loomis, Louise R., The Law of War and Peace, introd. P. E. Corbett (New York, 1949)Google Scholar, is an abridged text, which excludes a large number of Jewish references. Drei Bücher vom Recht des Krieges und des Friedens Neuer deutscher Text und Einleitung vom Dr. Walter Schätzel (Tübingen, 1950) translates the 1625 text, which contained few citations of Jewish sources.

3 Meijer, Jacob, ‘Hugo Grotius’ Knowledge of Hebrew,’ Historia Judaica, 14 (1952), 133–144 Google Scholar.

4 Löwenstamm, Arthur, ‘Hugo Grotius’ Stellung zum Judentum,’ Festschrift zum 75 jährigen Bestehen des Jüdisch-Theologischen Seminars Fraenckelscher Stiftung, 2 vols. (Breslau, 1929), 11, 295–302 Google Scholar.

5 Baron, Salo Wittmayer, A Social and Religious History of the Jews, 2nd rev. and enl. ed. (New York, 1973), xv, 26 and 390, n. 31Google Scholar.

6 The Remonstrance itself was not published until 1949. For an analysis of its provisions, see Meijer, Jacob, ‘Hugo Grotius’ Remonstratie,’ Jewish Social Studies, 17 (1955), 91–104 Google Scholar.

7 Baron, History, xv, 21-33; Baron, , The Jewish Community, 3 vols. (Philadelphia, 1942), 1, 254–255 Google Scholar; Kuhn, Arthur K., ‘Hugo Grotius and the Emancipation of the Jews of Holland,’ Proceedings of the American Jewish Historical Society, 31 (1925), 173–180 Google Scholar. Although the Remonstrance of Grotius was decidedly more liberal than the opinion of his colleague on the commission, Adriaan van Pauw, son of the Burgomeister of Amsterdam, even Grotius’ view has been described as a mixture of medievalism and modernity by Baron (History, xv, 28), a more balanced characterization than that given by Cecil Roth (A Life of Menasseh ben Israel [Philadelphia, 1934], pp. 146-147) who called the Remonstrance anti-Jewish and medieval.

8 A discussion of seventeenth-century Dutch Hebraists, including their expectations concerning the conversion of the Jews, can be found in Toon, Peter, Puritans, the Millennium and the Future of Israel: Puritan Eschatology 1600-1660 (Cambridge and London, 1970), pp. 139ffGoogle Scholar.

9 Grotius became acquainted with the work of Menasseh ben Israel through the writings of Gerhard Johann Vossius, whose life and works are discussed by Rademaker, C. S. M., ‘Gerardus Joannes Vossius (1577-1649),’ Acta Historiae Neerlandica, 4 (1970), 217–233 Google Scholar. Gerhard's son, Isaac Vossius, brought Menasseh to the attention of Queen Christina of Sweden. Menasseh tried to convince her to permit the Jews to settle in her country. Grotius, who served as Swedish ambassador in Parisfromi 635 toi 645, may have known of the plan (Roth, pp. 144-147). Christian scholars found the works of Menasseh ben Israel a useful introduction to rabbinic literature (Heinrich Graetz, History of the Jews, tr. and rev. from German, 6 vols. [Philadelphia, 1949], v, 21-22).

10 The Conciliator, a work which endeavors to reconcile passages in Scripture which appear contradictory, was first printed in Frankfurt in 1632. The citation thus represents an addition, by Grotius, to his original text which appeared in 1625. The Conciliator was first published in Spanish. In 1633 a Latin translation of Part I (done by Dionysius Vossius) was published in Amsterdam.

11 Boeder, Johann Heinrich, Bibliographia Critica Scriptores omnium artium atque scientiarum ordine (Leipzig, 1715), pp. 773–774 Google Scholar; Grotius, Hugo, The Rights of War and Peace in Three Books … To which are added all the large notes of Mr. J. Barbeyrac (London, 1738), section L, n. 1Google Scholar.

12 I believe the editorial identification is correct in this instance. Grotius was not consistent in his spelling of proper names and in the case of Ibn Ezra one can find the name given in various ways in other reference works, e.g., Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra, or Abraham Aben-Ezra.

13 While Grotius apparently uses ‘steals the heart’ to mean withholding information or denying the opportunity to know, in later rabbinic literature the phrase means to give an erroneous impression or to deceive.

14 Kimhi, David, The Book of Roots (New York, 1948), p. 63 Google Scholar. Sefer Ha-Shorashim forms part of Kimhi's Mikhlol, a work which was first published (n.d., n.p.) in Italy before 1480 and in Venice in 1546. See Chomsky, William, David Kimhi's Hebrew Grammar (Mikhlol Systematically Presented and Critically Annotated (New York, 1952)Google Scholar, and Talmage, Frank Ephraim, David Kimhi: The Man and the Commentaries (Cambridge, Mass., 1975)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

15 Solomon ben Isaac, or Rashi, appears in the Kelsey and Scott index as Solomon ben Isaac Jarchi. This mistaken surname was first given to Rashi by Raymond Martini, a thirteenth-century Spanish theologian, who saw in the acronym Rashi (which stands for Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac) the initials for Rabbi Solomon of Yarchi. Yarchi, coming from the Hebrew word for moon, was used for the French city of Lunel. Martini was confusing Rashi with others named Solomon who came from Lunel. Martini's misnomer was perpetuated by later Christian Hebraists Sebastian Minister (1489-1550) and Johannes Buxtorf (1564-1629) and Constantijn L'Empéreur van Oppijck, as well as Grotius’ modern editors. See Liber, Maurice, Rashi, trans. Adele Szold (Philadelphia, 1906), p. 34 Google Scholar.

16 Rashi, On Job v, 7.

17 The King James Version (Chicago, 1941), pp. 101, 144, 159; cf. Baroway, Israel, ‘Towards Understanding Tudor-Jacobean Hebrew Studies,’ Jewish Social Studies, 18:1 (January 1956), 3–24 Google Scholar. Talmage also comments on Kimhi's lucidity (pp. 54-61).

18 Netanyahu, B., Don Isaac Abravanel Statesman and Philosopher (Philadelphia, 1953), p. 309, n. 123Google Scholar.

19 History, XIII, 200-201.

20 Tobias ben Eliezer actually called his work Midrash Lekah Tov, alluding to his own name. It is a midrash on the Pentateuch and Five Scrolls, named Pesikta Zutarta by later scholars.

21 E.g., Targum Onkelos and Targum Jonathan.

22 The Mishnah is the collection of Jewish oral tradition, or law, compiled and codified by Rabbi Judah the Prince (ca. 175-220). The Talmud includes both the Mishnah and the ongoing discussion of the Mishnah, called Gemara. Ultimately the Talmud was codified into two separate compendia: the Palestinian (ca. 350) and subsequently the Babylonian (ca. 550) Talmud, each containing the discussions of the rabbinic schools in the respective areas. All references in this article are to the London Soncino Press edition of The Babylonian Talmud.

23 These references can be located under the number given, in the standard English version of the Mishnah, tr. Herbert Danby (Oxford, 1933).

24 Hullin 94a (The Babylonian Talmud, tr. and ed. I. Epstein, 18 vols. [London, 1943]). Kodashim II, 526.

25 Baba Kama 113a (Soncino Nezikin rv, 664-665).

26 Gittin 61a (Soncino Nashim IV, 286-287).

27 For a full discussion of the question of oaths, see Strack, Hermann L. and Billerbeck, Paul, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament (Munich, 1956)Google Scholar, which gives the rabbinic background to the statement in Matthew 15:5.

28 See the article by Van der Aa, A. J. in Biographisch Woordenboek der Nederlanden (Amsterdam, 1969)Google Scholar, Vol. II. A complete bibliography of his works is given in de Bie, J. P. and Loosjes, J., eds., Biographisch Woordenboek van Protestansche Godgeleerden in Nederland (The Hague, 1919- )Google Scholar.

29 Pirke Aboth, sometimes known as Tractate Aboth, is the only non-legal tractate of the Mishnah. Coming at the end of the fourth division, it contains the well-known sayings and aphorisms of the rabbis from the earliest times to the days of Rabbi Judah the Prince.

30 Sanhedrin 74a (Soncino Nezikin III, 502). The rabbinic attitude on this subject is discussed by Abrahams, Israel, Studies in Pharisaism and the Gospels, 1st ser. (Cambridge, 1917), pp. 129–135 Google Scholar.

31 The Code of Maimonides, tr. Abraham M. Hershman, Yale Judaica Series (New Haven, 1949), Book Fourteen The Book of the Judges, III, 230.

32 The Book of the Judges, III, 216.

33 Soncino Nezikin II, 501-504.

34 The Book of the Judges, III, 220.

35 Book Eleven The Book of Torts, tr. Hyman Klein (New Haven, 1954), IX, 115.

36 The Book of Torts, IX, 195-198.

37 The Guidefor the Perplexed, tr., introd., and notes by Shlomo Pines, with an introductory essay by Leo Strauss (Chicago, 1963), pp. 506-510.

38 Husik, Isaac, ‘The Law of Nature, Hugo Grotius, and the Bible,’ Hebrew Union College Annual, 2 (1925), 381–417 Google Scholar; Strauss, L., ‘Persecution and the Art of Writing the Law of Reason in the Kuzari,’ Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, 13 (1943) 96–97 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

39 Sefer-ha-Massa'ot (Book of Travels) was first published in Constantinople in 1543, subsequently at Ferrara in 1556.

40 Van den Dreische, also an Arminian, worked on a new Dutch Bible and was commissioned in 1600 by the States General to annotate difficult passages in the Hebrew Bible. He also wrote a commentary to the New Testament containing elucidations from the Talmud and other rabbinic sources.

41 Sanhedrin 20b (Soncino Nezikin III, 108ff.); The Book of the Judges, III, 217-222.

42 Midrash Rabba, ed. H. Freedman and Maurice Simon, 10 vols. (London, 1951), Deuteronomy, tr. J. Rabbinowitz, VII, 109. Midrash Rabba is a collective term for ten separate works of homiletic commentary to the Bible. The plural of rabba is rabbot.

43 The Latin reads, ‘quia sui praeceptoris pater dicebatur Nahmani: nam Rabba erat filius Nahmanis, qui in Gemara Celebris est.’ Yeshu'ah ben ha-Levi, Joseph, Halikhot Olam, sive Clavis Talmudica … Latine reddita per Constantinum L'Empéreur ab Oppyck (Leiden, 1634), p. 23 Google Scholar.

44 A Critical Edition with a Translation and Notes of the Book of Tradition (Sefer ha-Qabbalah) by Abraham Ibn Daud by Gerson D. Cohen (Philadelphia, 1967), Hebrew section, p. 25.

45 The Conciliator of R. Manasseh ben Israel, tr. E. H. Lindo (New York, 1972), pp. 212-215.

46 Grotius, Hugo, Epistolae quotquot reperiri potuerunt (Amsterdam, 1687), pp. 111, 564Google Scholar. Some of these letters appear in English in The Life of the Truly Eminent and Learned Hugo Grotius by M. (Jean Levesque) de Bouigny (London, 1754), pp. 264-265. See also Baron, History, xv, 91, nn. 33, 34, for references to Grotius’ Epistolae.

47 Translations of Hebrew literature are discussed in Rosenthal, Erwin I., ‘Rashi and the Hebrew Bible,’ Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, 24 (1940), 138–167 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Rosenthal, Frank, ‘The Rise of Christian Humanism in the Sixteenth Century,’ Historia Judaica, 7:2 (1945), 167–191 Google Scholar; Baroway, , Jewish Social Studies, 18:1 (1956), 3–24 Google Scholar; and Bevan, Edwyn R. and Singer, Charles, The Legacy of Israel (Oxford, 1927), 312–368 Google Scholar. The various translations are conveniently listed in Cowley, A. E., A Concise Catalogue of the Hebrew Printed Books in the Bodleian Library (Oxford, 1929)Google Scholar.

48 History, xv, 20 and 390, n. 31.

49 Löwenstamm, Festschrift … des Jüdisch-Theologischen Seminars, II, 295ff.; Baron, History, xv, 27 and 391, n. 33.

50 Bonnot, Etienne, abbé de Condillac, Oeuvres Philosophises, ed. Georges Le Roy, 3 vols. (Paris, 1948-51), II, 228 Google Scholar.