Accurately Printed With The Vowel Points And Accents From The Text Of
E. Vanderhooght
Carefully Revised And Compared With The Editions Of Foster, Kennicot, Proops, Atthias, Hutter etc
By George Offor
Printed and Published by George Offor: London, 1820
Scarce 1st Edition
This 200 year-old book is an example of Hebrew printing in London by a non-Jewish publisher and printer. It was edited and published by George Offor, a writer, book dealer and collector and scholar of Hebrew and other languages. George Offor was born in 1787, the Baptist son of a book dealer, also called George Offor. He is usually known for his editions of Christian works, particularly the works of John Bunyan. He amassed a large book collection and died in 1864. His collection was catalogued by Sotheby's and auctioned in 1865. Two days after the auction almost the entire collection was destroyed in a fire.
He had published a book, Introduction to Reading the Hebrew Language in 1814, and this book followed in 1820. (Information courtesy of Jeffrey Maynard blog).
The Hebrew Psalter or Psalms of David (1820) is a scholarly work that presents the biblical Psalms in their original Hebrew text alongside an English translation and critical notes. Its aim is both devotional and academic: to make the poetic and spiritual richness of the Psalms more accessible to English-speaking readers while preserving the depth and nuance of the Hebrew. The translator emphasizes the poetic structure, rhythm, and imagery of the Psalms, highlighting their role as both prayers and hymns that express the full range of human emotion—praise, lament, thanksgiving, and supplication.
The book also includes commentary on linguistic choices, theological themes, and historical context, seeking to illuminate how the Psalms were used in Jewish worship and later in Christian devotion. By combining fidelity to the Hebrew text with explanations designed for a nineteenth-century audience, it provided readers with a tool for both private meditation and deeper biblical study. Its blend of philology and piety reflects the early 19th-century movement to reconnect with Scripture through direct engagement with the original languages.
