JAHN, JOHANN A distinguished Roman Catholic Orientalist and biblical critic. He was horn at Tasswitz, Moravia, June IS, 1750, received his early education at Znaim and Olintitz, and in 1772 entered the Premonstraten sian convent of Bruck, where he took his vows in 1774, and was appointed professor of Oriental languages and biblical criticism. On the sup pression of this convent, in 1784, Jahn was transferred to the same professorship in Olmiitz, and finally (1789) to the University of Vienna, where after 1803 he also held the chair of dog matic theology. So far as regards the modern Catholic literature of Germany, Jahn may be re garded as the father of biblical criticism. But the boldness of some of his opinions aroused the alarm of the ecclesiastical authorities, and he was honorably removed from his chair in the university by being promoted to a canonry of Saint Stephen's at Vienna, in 1805. lie con tinued, however, to pursue the same studies till his death, in Vienna, August 16, 1816, and pub lished many works in both departments, the most important of which, passing over his gram mars, lexicons, and elementary books of the He brew, Syriac, Aramaic, and Arabic languages, are his Einlcitung in die gottliehen Schrif ten des Allen Rundes (2 vols., 1792; and again in 4
vols., 1802-03; Eng. trans. by Turner and Whit tingham, New York, 1S27) • Biblische Arehiio logie (5 vols.. 1797-1805: Eng. trans. by Up ham, 3d ed., Andover, 1832) ; Enehiridion Her meneutie• (1812) ; an appendix of dissertations to this work (1813-15) ; and an edition of the Hebrew Bible (4 vols.., 1806). Five years after his death a collection of Remains was published at Tubingen, the genuineness of which, although seemingly without reason, has been called in question. In 1822 his Introduction, A rclurology, Enchiridion, and Append/I. HErmeneutica were put on the index.