Regius Professor of Hebrew (Cambridge)

Senate House, University of Cambridge

The Regius Professorship of Hebrew in the University of Cambridge is an ancient academic chair at the University of Cambridge founded by King Henry VIII in 1540.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The holder of the chair is the senior academic in Hebrew and Semitics at Cambridge. According to the Royal family, the title of Regius Professor is "a rare honour, designed to reflect an exceptionally high standard of teaching and research at an institution."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Although some Regius Professors (Civil Law, Physic, and Modern History) are appointed by the Crown on the advice of the Prime Minister,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> this is no longer true for the Professor of Hebrew.

Among the holdings at Cambridge relevant to study of Hebrew are the Cairo Genizah, the Cambridge manuscript of the Mishnah,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and hundreds of rare books and manuscripts in the University Library<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the libraries of the various Colleges.

Ely Cathedral as seen from Quanea Drove F in the southwest

When created, the professorship carried a permanent stipend of £40 per year. In 1840 this was increased, with a canonry of Ely Cathedral being attached to the post in perpetuity.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the twenty-first century, however, the Regius Professor has not been in holy orders, and so the position is not associated with the Church.

List of Regius Professors

The chair has been held by:

• 1540-1549 Thomas Wakefeld<ref>  'Wakefeld, Thomas', in Dictionary of National Biography (London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900)</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

• 

  Paul Fagius, Regius Professor briefly in 1549, until his death in the plague

  1549 Paul Fagius<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1550-1553 Immanuel Tremellius<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1569 Antoine Rudolphe Chevallier
• 1572 Philippe Bignon<ref>Mihelic, Joseph L. “The Study of Hebrew in England.” Journal of Bible and Religion 14, no. 2 (1946): 94–100. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1457067.</ref>
• 1575 Edward Lively
• 1605 Robert Spaldinge
• 1607 Geoffrey Kynge
• 1608 Andrew Byng
• 1622 Robert Metcalfe
• 1645 Ralph Cudworth<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>
• 1688 Wolfram Stubbe
• 1699 James Talbot
• 1705 Henry Sike
• 1712 Philip Bouquett
• 1748 Thomas Harrison
• 1753 Charles Torriano
• 1757 William Disney
• 1771 William Collier
• 1790 John Porter
• 1795 Henry Lloyd
• 1831 Samuel Lee
• 1848 William Hodge Mill
• 1854 Thomas Jarrett
• 1882 Alexander Francis Kirkpatrick
• 1903 Robert Hatch Kennett
• 1932 Stanley Arthur Cook<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1938 David Winton Thomas<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• 1968 John Adney Emerton<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
• 1995 Robert P. Gordon<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2012 Geoffrey Khan<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2025 Aaron Koller<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Official coat of arms

According to a grant of 1590, the office of Regius Professor of "Hebrew" at Cambridge has a coat of arms with the following blazon:<ref>A Complete Guide to Heraldry by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (1909), pp. 587-588.</ref>