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STEINSCHNEIDER, Moritz. Prossnitz, Moravia (now Prostějov in Czech) 30.3.1816 — Berlin 24.1.1907. Moravian Jewish Rabbi and Semitic Scholar. Son of Jacob St., a Talmud scholar. After school Talmudic studies in Prague (1833-36) and Vienna, now also other Semitic languages. Pressed by anti-Jewish laws of Austria he went to Leipzig and studied under Fleischer, then from 1839 at Berlin under Bopp. From 1843 teacher at Jewish schools in Berlin (uncertain, Wikipedia says he was 1842-45 in Prague, then reporter in Frankfurt). Prussian citizen 1848. Ph.D. 1850 Leipzig. From now on worked in Jewish schools in Berlin, from 1869 also Hilfsarbeiter in Royal Library. Married 1848 Augusta Auerbach, several children.

Beside the wide and remarkable scholarly output about Hebrew and Arabic, Steinschneider occasionally dealt with Indian elements in Hebrew and Arabic literature. From early youth he was close to progressive Jewish circles. In his critic of Renan in 1860 he created the term antisemitismus.

Publications: Much on Hebrew and Arabic, including important bibliographies, wrote on many subjects, including children’s school-books and a volume of poetry.

— “Ueber eine arabische Bearbeitung des Barlaam und Josaphat”, ZDMG 5, 1851, 89-93.

— “Ueber die Mondstationen (Naxatra) und das Buch Arcandam”, ZDMG 18, 1864, 118-201 & 388 (Arabic & Hebrew).

— “Ist Ibn Esra in Indien gewesen?”, ZDMG 20, 1866, 427-4??.

— “Zur Alexandersage”, Hebräische Bibliographie 9, 1869, 13-19, 44–53.

— “Zur Geschichte der Uebersetzungen aus dem Indischen in’s Arabische und ihres Einflusses auf die arabische Literatur, insbesondere über die Mondstationen (Naxatra) in daraufbezügl. Loosbücher”, ZDMG 24, 1870, 325-392 & 25, 1871, 378-428.

— “Zu Kalila we-Dimna”, ZDMG 27, 1873, 553-565 (1. Jacob ben Eleasar, der bisher unbekannte Uebersetzer ins hebräische; 2. Parallelen).

— “Apollonius von Tyana (oder Balinas) bei den Arabern”, ZDMG 45, 1891, 439-446.

Sources: Enc. Iud. 15 (with photo); Fück 248; O.D.B.; St 1959; Wikipedia with two pictures (more references in German version).

*P. Figeac, M.St.: 1816-1907. Begründer der wissenschaftlichen hebräischen Bibliographie. Berlin 2007; *R. Leicht & G. Freudenthal (eds.), Studies on Steinschneider. M.St. and the emergence of the science of Judaism in nineteenth-century Germany. Studies in Jewish History and Culture 33. Leiden 2012.