Seal of Yale University

| View Cart ⇗ | Info

Serious American students of theology and divinity, particularly in New England, regarded Hebrew as a classical language, along with Greek and Latin, and essential for study of the Old Testament in the original words. The Reverend Ezra Stiles, president of the College from 1778 to 1795, brought with him his interest in the Hebrew language as a vehicle for studying ancient Biblical texts in their original language (as was common in other schools), requiring all freshmen to study Hebrew (in contrast to Harvard, where only upperclassmen were required to study the language) and is responsible for the Hebrew words “Urim” and “Thummim” on the Yale seal.

Source

Benson John Lossing, ed. Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (vol. 10) (New York, NY: Harper and Brothers, 1912)

Downloads

TIFF (full resolution)

2400×2398, 610.7 KiB

Large GIF

1024×1023, 146.5 KiB

Medium GIF

640×639, 77.7 KiB

Small GIF

320×319, 30.9 KiB