Manasseh ben Israel

Manasseh ben Israel, Jewish scholar, was born at Lisbon in 1604, fled with his father from the Inquisition, and settling at Amsterdam became chief rabbi of the synagogue there. In 1656 he visited England, seeking to secure (see JEWS, Vol. VI. p. 328) from Cromwell the readmission of the Jews. He died at Middelburg in 1657. He published texts of various parts of the Old Testament, with notes; De Creatione Problemata XXX. (1635); De la Resurreccion de los Muertes (1636); De Termino Vita (1639); Esperança de Israel (1650); Vindicia Judæorum, or a Letter in Answer to Questions propounded (Lond. 1656); and Humble Address to the Lord Protector on behalf of the Jewish Nation (1656).