DEUTSCH, EMANUEL OSKAR

DEUTSCH, EMANUEL OSKAR (Menahem; 1829–1873), Orientalist. Born in Neisse (Upper Saxony), Deutsch studied Jewish subjects with his uncle David Deutsch (see israel deutsch ) at Myslowice (Poland) and classics in Berlin. He became an assistant in the Oriental department of the British Museum in 1855. Deutsch, who possessed great ability in deciphering inscriptions, cooperated in W.S.A. Vaux's edition of Phoenician Inscriptions (1863) and in W. Smith's Dictionary of the Bible (1871) to which he contributed articles on the Targumim, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and other Bible versions. His essay on the Talmud in the Quarterly Review (October 1867. was translated into several languages. The article implied that the key to the understanding of Jesus was to be found in the study of his Palestinian background; this led to a renewed interest in the Talmud among Christians in England. A later article by Deutsch, on Islam, made less impact. He took a prominent part in the correspondence in the London Times which resulted from the discovery of the Mesha stele. He was also the paper's special correspondent to the Vatican Ecumenical Council 1869–70. Deutsch contributed nearly 200 articles to Chambers' Encyclopaedia. Some of his work was published posthumously in book form (Literary Remains, 1874) and edited by Lady Strangford. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: DNB, S.V.; JC (May 1873).