BOULANGER, NICOLAS-ANTOINE, 1722-1759.
Nicolas-Antoine Boulanger, Dictionnaire hébreu-français, 17--

Emory University

Pitts Theology Library

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Permanent link: http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/rfrqt

Descriptive Summary

Creator: Boulanger, Nicolas-Antoine, 1722-1759.
Title: Nicolas-Antoine Boulanger, Dictionnaire hébreu-français, 17--
Call Number:Manuscript Collection No. 369
Extent: 0.75 cubic ft. (3 volumes)
Abstract: Consists of three volumes of a handwritten Hebrew to French dictionary.
Language:Materials in French, Hebrew, and Aramaic.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Access

Unrestricted access.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction.

Source

These volumes were included in the Hartford Seminary collection purchased by Emory in 1975.

Citation

[after identification of item(s)], Nicolas-Antoine Boulanger, Dictionnaire hébreu-français, Archives and Manuscript Dept., Pitts Theology Library, Emory University.

Processing

Processed by Brandon Wason, May 2015.

Collection Description

Biographical Note

Nicolas-Antoine Boulanger (1722-1759) was a French philosopher, biblical critique, cartographer, and engineer. Boulanger, born on November 11, 1722 to a Parisian paper merchant, was a self-taught expert in mathematics, architecture, and ancient languages. His professional commitments were divided between engineering projects and scholarship. As an engineer, he oversaw the construction of roads and bridges throughout France. As a scholar, Boulanger published a world map (Nouvelle mappemonde, 1753), monographs on various biblical figures (e.g., Elijah, Enoch, Paul), as well as Recherches sur l’origine du despotisme oriental (Research into the Origins of Oriental Despotism) and L’Antiquité dévoilée par ses usages (Antiquity Unveiled). He also wrote extensive contributions to Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie, including a lengthy entry on the Hebrew language, "Hébraïque (Langue)". Many of his controversial works were published posthumously. Boulanger was an agnostic and independent thinker whose unique voice often contradicted other Enlightenment-era philosophers. As a result of an illness, Boulanger died on September 16, 1759 at the age of 36.

Bibliographical Note

Sadrin, Paul. "Boulanger, Nicolas-Antoine." Pages 169-71 in volume 1 of Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment. Edited by A. C. Kors. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Scope and Content Note

This three-volume Dictionnaire contains Hebrew and Aramaic words with definitions in French. The dictionary is arranged alphabetically by the transliterated form of the Hebrew word. Since it is organized by its Latin characters (A-Z), instead of the Hebrew characters (Aleph to Tav), the last entry is "Zuz." At the beginning of each letter in the lexicon, Boulanger writes a few paragraphs of "obsverations" about the Hebrew letters. For instance, in his discussion of the letter A, he addresses both Aleph and Ayin as Hebrew counterparts. The dictionary is undated although it would have been compiled during Boulanger's life mostly likely in the 1740s and 1750s. The note, written in French, that precedes the title designates its author as the late Boulanger, author of Antiquity Unveiled and that this "unique and original" work was purchased in May of 1771 for 1200 livres.

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Box Folder Content
1 1 Volume 1: A-E
1 2 Volume 2: G-N
2 1 Volume 3: O-Z
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