Jacob Judah Leon Templo

1602–1675

Jacob Judah Leon Templo, born in Hamburg to a family of former New Christians, became a prominent rabbi, teacher, and scholar of the Netherlands, where he moved at a young age. He was most famous for his models of the Temple of Solomon and Tabernacle of Moses, which were exhibited for many years in traveling exhibitions. He also wrote treatises on the ark and cherubim, which he illustrated himself. Indeed, his models and the pamphlets about them overshadowed all his other works, among them a Spanish poetical translation of Psalms. Leon became acquainted with King Charles II of England while the royal was in exile in Holland, and he visited London in 1675. Leon also drew over two hundred figures and vignettes to illustrate talmudic subjects.


 

Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator

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Broadsheet Accompanying Model of the Tabernacle

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This broadsheet is based on a famous model of the Temple in Jerusalem, owned by Jacob Judah Leon, a rabbi from the Netherlands. Probably produced in Amsterdam, the poster includes illustrations of the…

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Self-Portrait

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This portrait of Jacob Judah Leon Templo, one of three that are known, is believed to be a self-portrait. In it, he clutches a coat of arms featuring a lion, which he himself designed, and holds a…

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Las alabanças de santidad (Praises of Holiness): Spanish Translation of Psalms

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Having with fervent desire sought to reflect on the meaning of our sacred scriptures according to their original and true meaning—since, being the word of God, in this lies all of…

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Retrato del Temple de Selomo (Depiction of Solomon’s Temple)

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So that you may obtain a full, sufficient, and satisfying account, oh friend reader, of such an eminent structure as was that of the Temple of Solomon, it is advisable that you first know some things…