Hancock Professor of Hebrew explained

The Hancock Chair of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages is an endowed chair at Harvard University in the US. The execution of the will of Thomas Hancock (merchant), uncle to John Hancock, in 1764 at a salary of £1000 established the chair.^[1] Unlike prior endowed chairs, the money for the endowed professorship came from a merchant born in the American colonies.^[2] It is the third oldest endowed chair in the United States and the first professorship dedicated to study of Semitic languages like Hebrew and Arabic. The Hancock Chair is the third oldest endowed professorship at Harvard University.^[3]

Duties

In 1880, the Hancock Chair of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages advanced the linguistic curricula by introducing further Semitic languages beyond Hebrew including Aramaic, Arabic, and Ethiopic to be taught at Harvard.^[4] The chair historically required the professor be a Protestant, have at least a Master of Arts degree, and instruct students in the Ancient Near Eastern languages, especially Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic ('Chaldee'). The professor was required to provide public lectures in the chapel once per week as well as offer private instruction two to three hours per week to pupils.^[5]

Chairholders and denomination

• Stephen Sewall (orientalist) (June 19, 1765 – 1785);^[6] Congregationalist
• Eliphalet Pearson (1786–1806);^[7]
• Sidney Willard (1807–1831);^[8]
• George R. Noyes (1840–1868); Unitarian^[9]
• Crawford Toy (1880–1909);^{[10] [11]} Southern Baptist^[12]
• David Gordon Lyon (1910^[13] –1922^[14]);^[15] Baptist
• William Rosenzweig Arnold (1922–1929);^[16] Wesleyan
• Robert H. Pfeiffer (1953–1958);^[17] Methodist
• Frank Moore Cross, Jr. (1958–1992);^[18] Baptist^[19]
• Peter Machinist (1992–);^[20] Jewish^[21]

Notes and References

1. News: Gilman . Arthur . The Hancock House and Its Founder . 11 December 2023 . The Atlantic . June 1863.
2. News: Professorships Perpetuate Memory of Founders Two Hundred Years Ago . 11 December 2023 . The Harvard Crimson . 1 Nov 1926.
3. News: Robert P. . Pfeiffer Named To Hancock Chair . 11 December 2023 . The Harvard Crimson . 17 March 1953.
4. Sanders . S. Craig . Making a Heretic: Crawford Toy’s Tragic Path from Star Student to False Teacher . Towers . 2016 . 14 . 7 . 11 December 2023.
5. Web site: Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East . Hancock Professorship of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages Established . Harvard . Harvard University . 11 December 2023.
6. Web site: Sewall . Stephen . Papers of Stephen Sewall . Harvard University Archives . 11 December 2023.
7. Web site: Pearson . Eliphalet . Papers of Eliphalet Pearson . Harvard University Archives . 11 December 2023.
8. Web site: Harvard Divinity School . General Catalogue of the Divinity School of Harvard University. 1920 . Hathi Trust . Harvard University . 11 December 2023.
9. Thuesen . Peter J. . Noyes, George Rapall . American National Biography . 1999 . 11 December 2023 . Oxford University Press . New York.
10. Web site: Hurt . Billy Grey . Crawford Howell Toy . Archives and Special Collections at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary . Southern Seminary . 11 December 2023.
11. News: Resignation of Prof. Toy . 11 December 2023 . The Harvard Crimson . 4 January 1909.
12. Book: Wills, Gregory . 2009 . Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1859–2009 . . . 132–33 . 9780199703784. December 11, 2023 .
13. News: The History of the Divinity School . 24 December 2010 . . 1916 . 114–18.
14. News: Prof. Lyon to retire: He becomes professor emeritus after 40 years' service at Harvard . 24 December 2010 . . 26 November 1921.
15. News: Dr. David Gordon Lyon to Retire . 11 December 2023 . The Harvard Crimson . 26 Nov 1921.
16. News: W.R. Arnold Dies of Heart Attack . 11 December 2023 . The Harvard Crimson . 12 Dec 1929.
17. News: Robert P. . Pfeiffer Named To Hancock Chair . 11 December 2023 . The Harvard Crimson . 17 March 1953.
18. News: Frank Moore Cross, Biblical Scholar, Dies at 91 . 10 December 2023 . . 19 October 2012.
19. News: Theology: Life in a Defatalized World . https://web.archive.org/web/20080510084335/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,941039,00.html?iid=chix-sphere . dead . May 10, 2008 . 27 December 2010 . . 2 April 1965.
20. Web site: Peter Machinist Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages, Emeritus . Harvard Divinity School . Harvard Divinity School . 11 December 2023.
21. News: Harvard Divinity School . Peter Machinist on Retirement, Biblical Studies, and Jewish Identity . 11 December 2023 . Harvard Divinity School News . February 24, 2016.