TUBAL. See Gog and Magog; and Table of the Nations, § 4.
TUCH, tug, FRIEDRICH: German Lutheran; b. at Quedlinburg Dec. 17, 1806; d. at Leipsic Apr. 12, 186?. He was educated at the University of Halle (1825-29), where he became privat-docent in 1830 in the philosophical faculty, lecturing at first on Hebrew and other Semitic languages, and later on all subjects pertaining to the Old Testament. After being associate professor at Halle for a time, he was called, in 1841, to Leipsic in a similar capacity, becoming full professor two years later; in 1853 he became also canon of Zeitz.
The chief work of Tuch was his Kommentar icber die Genesis (Halle, 1838), a book distinguished for its grammatical acumen, wealth of information on the topography, flora, fauna, and customs of Palestine, and recognition of the historical kernel in the primitive records of Israel. The major portion of his writings, however, were brief programs and the like. These fall into two groups: linguistic and geographical. Among the former mention should be made of his De ~Ethiopicce lingute sonorum proprietatibus quibusddm (Leipsic, 1854); De Ethiopiew linguce sonorum sibilantium natura et usu (1854); as well as of his Einundzwanzig sinaitische Inschriften (1849), though his attempt to prove these Sinaitic inscriptions pure Arabic is now known to be erroneous. In the second category his most noteworthy contributions were: De Nino urbe (1845), proving that Nineveh could have been situated only on the east bank of the Tigris; Reuse des Sheikh Ibrahim el-Krijari el-Medeni durch einen Teil Palkstinas (1850), and Antoninus Martyr, seine Zeit und seine Pilgerfahrt nach dem Morgenldnde (1864), the first treating of a Mohammedan traveler of the seventeenth century and the second of an Italian pilgrim of the late sixth century; and Masada, die herodianische Felsenfeste (1863), identifying Masada with the heap of ruins at the modern Sabbah. Allusion should also be made to his Die Himmelfahrt Jesu, eine topographische Frage (1857), in which he sought to prove that Bethany was the place of the ascension; as well as to his Commentatio de Mccisaloth en Arbelois 1 Mak. 9, 2 (1853), and his Qumstiones de Flavii Josephi libris historicis (1859).
Bibliography: V. Ryssel, in Z%W, 1886, pp. 169 sqq.; ADB, assviii. 754 sqq.
| Calvin College. Last modified on 08/11/06. Contact the CCEL. |  |