BERNSTEIN, Georg Heinrich. Cospeda near Jena 12.1.1787 — Lauban, Silesia (now Lubań, Poland) 5.4.1860. German Oriental (mainly Syriac) Scholar, but also interested in Sanskrit. Professor in Breslau. School and from 1806 studies, theology and Semitic languages, in Jena, from 1811 PD there. From 1812 ao. Professor at Berlin, from 1820 ord. at Breslau, where he was the first to teach Sanskrit (in 1822-25 and again 1830-31). In 1820 he also had briefly taught Sanskrit at Berlin, before the nomination of Bopp (Sengupta in Indol. in Berlin 2014, 13). His main field, however, was Syriac philology, where he became famous on account of his lexical and Barhebraeus studies. Visited Netherlands and England in 1815-19 (studied Sanskrit with Bopp) and England in 1836, Italy 1842-43. Never published much.
The edition of the beginning of the Hitopadeśa was prepared on the basis of Hamilton’s edition (L. 1819) to be used as textbook in his lectures. The Devanagari part was lithographed with neat letters and accompanied by 5 plates of letters.
Publications: Main work Lexicon linguae Syriacae. Vol. 1, fasc. 1. 43 p. Berolini 1857 (Payne-Smith continued the work on the basis of Bernstein’s material); other writings on Semitic and Theology.
– Hitopadaesi particula; libri introductionem et fabulas duas priores complectens. 4+16 p. 5 pl. Vratisl. 1823; review of Bopp’s Nalus in Leipziger Literaturzeitung 1820, col. 1249-1267; “Sanskritische Literatur”, ibid. 1820, col. 23?-??.
Sources: G. Bickel, A.D.B. 2, 1875, 485; *A. Hillebrandt, Univ. Breslau. Festschrift zur Feier des hundertjährigen Bestehens. Br. 1911, 369f.; Wikipedia.
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