Bidspirit auction | Extremely Rare First Edition —

Extremely Rare First Edition — Clavis Linguae Sanctae, Cambridge, 1648 Victorinus Bythner - Small 8vo. [Title in Latin:] Clavis Linguae Sanctae universas voces Pentateuchi Sententiis Biblicis comprehendens, earumque Analysin critice exhibens. Cambridge: Ex Officina Rogeri Daniel, Almae Academiae Typographi, 1648. Extremely rare first edition of Bythner’s celebrated Hebrew–Latin lexicon to the Pentateuch, prepared by the distinguished Polish Hebraist Victorinus Bythner (c. 1605–1670), lecturer in Hebrew at Oxford and Cambridge. The work systematically lists every word in the Pentateuch, providing Biblical citations, grammatical parsing, and philological commentary — a pioneering tool for 17th-century Biblical scholarship. Bound in contemporary limp vellum, with early manuscript titling to spine. Minor soiling and light wear to covers, text generally clean with only occasional foxing. A cornerstone in the history of Hebrew studies in England. This edition is exceptionally scarce, with only one recorded appearance at auction (Sotheby’s, London, 16 December 1968). An outstanding survival complete copy in its original binding.