Rudolph Henzi

Samuel Gottlieb Rudolph Henzi (7 September 1794 - ), was a Swiss linguist, Professor at the University of Tartu (at the time: Dorpat) on the Chair of Exegetics and Oriental languages, the Dean of the theological faculty; head of the Tartu Branch of Russian Bible Society. Henzi was born on 7 September 1794 in Bern, Switzerland, where he received his primary and university education. During his stay at the University of Bern, he spent three years studying philosophy, then theology. In 1816, according to the Swiss custom of ordination, he was accepted as a candidate for church duties, after which he studied theology in Tübingen for another year, and from 1817 to 1818 studied the history in Göttingen. Upon his return, he was appointed vicar in Unterseen, but in the fall of 1818 he resigned his post and, wishing to fill his knowledge of the Eastern languages, went to Paris, where he studied Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit languages under Sylvestre de Sacy. After spending some time in Great Britain, Henzi returned to his homeland in the summer of 1819, wishing to devote himself to academic activity. At this time, the Department of Exegesis and Oriental Languages was inaugurated at the University of Tartu, where he was elected to the University Council, and on 5 March 1820, he was appointed Ordinary Professor. Even before his departure, Henzi received a degree as a Doctor of Theology at University of Tübingen for processing part of the still unreleased Arabic commentary of Al-Baydawi on the Quran. On 30 August 1820, he delivered an introductory lecture: "Über Verhältniss der Schriften des Alten und Neuen Testaments zu einander nach Inhalt und Form". In addition to lectures on Exegesis, he also gave lectures on Eastern languages, led practical exercises on Exegesis in the theological seminary, and during the 1822–1823 academic year Henzi temporarily supervised practical classes "on the Gospel pericopam". In 1821, he became director of the Tartu Branch of the Russian Bible Society, and in 1822, a member of the school commission.