Schaaf, Charles

, a learned German, was born at Nuys, in the electorate of Cologne, 1646; his father was a major in the army of the landgrave of Hesse Cassel. He was educated for the church at Dxiisbourg; and, having rnacle the Oriental tongues his particular study, became professor of them in that university in 1677. In 1679 he removed to Leyden, to fill the same post for a larger stipend.; aud there continued till 1729, when, he died of an apoplexy. He published some useful books in the Oriental way as, 1. “Opus Aramseum, complectens | Grammaticam Chaldaicam & Syriacam,” 1686, 8vo. 2. “Nq-, vuin Testamenturn Syriacum, cum versione Latina,” 1708,' 4to. The Latin version is that of Tii./melHus retouched. Leusdeu laboured jointly with hini in this work till death, which happened when they were got to Luke xv. 20 and, Scbaaf wrote the remainder by himself. At the end of it is subjoined, “Lexicon Syriacum Concordantiale.” 3. “Epitome Grammaticae Hebraicae,” 1716, 8vo. 4. “A Letter in Syriac of the bishop Mar Thomas, written from, Malabar to the patriarch of Antioch, and a Latin version by himself,” 1714, 4to. 5. “Sermo Academicus de Linguarum Orientalium scientia,” an Inauguration-Speech, In 1711 he drew up, at the request of the curators of the academy at Leyden, a catalogue of all the Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, and Samaritan books and manuscripts in the li^ brary there; which was joined to the catalogue of that library t published in 1714. ¹