GESENIUS, HEINRICH FRIEDRICH WILHELM (1786-1842), German orientalist and biblical critic, was born at Nordhausen, Hanover, on Feb. 3, 1786, and was educated at Helm stedt and at Gottingen. In 18i i he became professor of theology at Halle, where he remained until his death on Oct. 23, 1842. To Gesenius, who was an exceptionally popular teacher, belongs in a large measure the credit of having freed Semitic philology from theological and religious prepossession, and of inaugurating the strictly scientific (and comparative) method.
His chief work, the Hebriiisches u. Chaldaisches Handworter buch (1810-1 2 ), has passed through several editions (15th ed. 19 i o, Eng. trans. 1892).
See H. Gesenius, Wilhelm Gesenius (1886) , and the article in the Allgemeine deutsche Biographie.