Selig Newman
Lindsay Katzir, Antioch University New England
Selig Newman (1788–1871) was a distinguished Hebraist and author, born in Posen, Prussian Poland, in 1788. He received a traditional Jewish education, excelling in biblical studies. In 1814, Newman moved to England, where he was appointed minister of the Plymouth Hebrew Congregation by Dr. Solomon Hirschell, the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain (1802–42). At the same time, he taught Hebrew at the University of Oxford, though he was barred from obtaining an official professorship due to his Jewish faith. Despite this restriction, he became highly regarded as a Hebrew instructor, counting among his pupils both Christian and Jewish scholars, including Rev. Morris J. Raphall, Prof. David Woolf Marks, and Dr. Archibald Campbell Tait, later the Archbishop of Canterbury (1868–82).
Newman was a key participant in Jewish-Christian dialogues and debates, taking an active role in defending Judaism against conversionist efforts. In 1827 he publicly debated the famous Jewish apostate Rev. Joseph Woolf at a meeting of the Philo-Judaean Society, during which he successfully countered challenges to his orthodox beliefs. One of his most well-known works, The Challenge Accepted (1850), is a series of dialogues between a Jew and a Christian regarding the fulfillment of Messianic prophecies. This work exemplified Newman’s strong commitment to defending Judaism while also engaging in religious discourse with Christian apologists.
In addition to his religious writings, Newman made significant contributions to Hebrew scholarship. He authored several influential textbooks, including A Grammar of the Hebrew Language (1827), An English and Hebrew Lexicon (1832), A Hebrew and English Lexicon (1834), and Emendations of the Authorized Version of the Old Testament (1839). His textbooks were widely used among both Jewish and Christian students, and he founded the Society for the Cultivation of the Hebrew Language and Literature in 1830, furthering his dedication to promoting Hebrew studies. During the 1840s, Newman resided in Whitechapel. Later in life, Newman immigrated to the United States, settling in New York. Though he did not secure an official post, he continued teaching Hebrew and writing. His final work, an abridged translation of the Bible with extensive notes intended for Jewish schools and private families, remained in manuscript form at the time of his death on February 20, 1871, in Brooklyn, New York.
Works Consulted
McClintock, John, and James Strong. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature. 10 vols. Haper and Brothers, 1880.
“Newman, Selig.” The Jewish Encyclopedia, https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/ 11509-newman-selig. Accessed 15 Sept. 2024.
Rubinstein, William D., Michael Jolles, and Hilary L. Rubinstein. The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
Bibliography
—. Emendations of the English Version of the Old Testament. B. Wertheim, 1839.
—. A Grammar of the Hebrew Language, with Points. J. Rider, 1827.