“Now English denizend, though Hebrue borne”: Did Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, Read Hebrew?

Abstract

The close relationship between the Hebrew Psalms and the paraphrase of Mary Sidney Herbert has led some to conclude that the Countess of Pembroke worked with the original language. Others are not so sure. Lacking in most discussions is a close comparison of the various editions of her work with the Hebrew text itself. Given the growing interest in Pembroke’s work, gendered pedagogy, and the Elizabethan study of biblical languages, such a comparison is surely in order. In this short essay, a biblical scholar examines Pembroke’s paraphrases of the Psalms and concludes that, although Pembroke exhibits a growing interest in representing the original text, she did not know Hebrew. In examining her treatment of the divine names “YHWH” and “Yah,” her representation of the dialogical shifts within particular psalms, and other features, Knowles argues that Pembroke depended on secondary sources such as the Geneva Bible and Calvin’s commentaries as her entrée to the biblical text.