Michaelis, John Henry

, a learned orientalist, professor of divinity, Greek, and oriental languages, and director of the divinity school of Halle, was born at Kettenburg, in Hohenstein, July 26, 1668. His father sent him in 1683 to Brunswick, to learn trade, but a few months after, he allowed him to be placed at the school of St. Martin in that city, where the rector, M. Msering, cultivated his talents, and found him capable of instructing some of the younger scholars. An illness obliging him to leave this place, he continued his studies at Nordhausen, and in 1688 at Leipsic, where he went through courses of philosophy and divinity, and also studied the oriental languages and rabbinical Hebrew. In 1694 he quitted Leipsic for the university of Halle, where he taught the Greek, Hebrew, and Chaldeewith great reputation. Here he published, with the assistance of professor Francke, who mentions him respectfully in his “Pietas Hallensis,” a work entitled “Conamina brevioris Manuductionis ad | Doctrinam de Accentibus Hebraeorum Prosaicis.” In 1696 he published another piece, entitled “Epicrisis philologica de reverendi Michaelis Beckii, Ulmensis, Disquisitionibus philologicis, cum responsionibus ad Examen XIV. Dictor. Gen.” In 1699, he succeeded Francke in the Greek professorship at Halle, and in 1707 was made keeper of the university library. He was afterwards nominated professor of divinity in ordinary, and admitted to the degree of D. D. In 1732 he was made senior of the faculty of divinity, and inspector of the theological seminary. He died in 1738, at about the age of seventy. He was author of many works besides those already mentioned, the titles of which are enumerated in our authority. ¹