La Peyrère, Isaac

(1594 or 1596–1676)

   French theologian. Although he probably came from a family of Marranos, La Peyrère was brought up as a Calvinist. With his Praeadamitae, published in Amsterdam and Basle in 1655 at the expense of Queen Christina of Sweden, he caused a furore by asserting that Adam was not the first man, that the Bible was the history of the Jews and not of all mankind, and that there was no accurate copy of the Bible in existence. The Messiah would yet come to lead the Jews and when he did they should be joined by Christians and led by the king of France. The book, which appeared in English in 1656 and Dutch in 1661, was banned everywhere and La Peyrère arrested. His release was offered on condition that he converted to Catholicism and recanted before the pope. This he did, somewhat sardonically saying that though his views were nowhere contradicted in Scripture, he was willing to abandon what the Church considered wrong. While his messianic theories resembled those current among Marranos and had no lasting effect, his analysis of the Bible was important in laying the foundation for future critical textual study.