Naftali Herz Tur-Sinai
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Naftali Herz Tur-Sinai (born Harry Torczyner) (1886-1973) was a Bible scholar, an author, and linguist instrumental in the revival of the Hebrew language as a modern, spoken language. He was the first president of the Academy of the Hebrew Language, which was established following a decree of the Knesset (Israeli parliament), from its formation until his death.[1]
[edit] Biography
Tur-Sinai was born in Lemberg, Poland (now Lviv, Ukraine) in 1886.[2] He moved to Vienna, Austria, and then to Berlin, Germany in 1919 to be a lecturer at the High School for Jewish Studies in Berlin. He was in Palestine from 1910-1912 and participated in founding the "Hebrew Gymnasium" in Jerusalem, and "Herzliya Gymnasium" in Tel Aviv. He settled in Palestine in 1933. He was professor of Semitic languages at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
He and Eliezer Ben-Yehuda are considered Israel’s two foremost philologists. Tur-Sinai's nephew, Jacques Torczyner, is a former president of the Zionist Organization of America.
[edit] Published works
Of his many books, those translated into English include The Revival of the Hebrew Language and The Book of Job: A New Commentary. He published the first translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew into German. In 1959, Tur-Sinai finished the 50-year 17-volume Hebrew dictionary project begun by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda.[1]
