Dom Calmet Augustine Antonie (1672-1757)

Born at M?nil-la-Horgne, France in 1672. Dom Calmet was French Benedictine and a professor of philosophy, Hebrew, theology and history.
He was educated at the Benedictine priory of Breuil, and in 1688 joined At the Abbey of St-Mansuy at Toul, where he began to gather material for his commentary of the Bible. In 1704 he was sent to M?nster in Alsace as sub-prior and professor of exegesis. There he completed his book "Commentaire litt?ral sur tous les livres de l'Ancien et du Nouveau Testament". The first of 23 quarto volumes appeared in Paris in 1707, while the last was published, after considerable delay, in 1716.

Dom Calmet also wrote the "Dictionnaire historique, critique, chronologique, g?ographique e et litt?ral de la Bible" (Paris, 1720). This dictionary included a pair of imaginary views of Jerusalem portray the siege mounted by Nebuchadnezzar and the conquest of the city based upon the biblical account in 2 Kings 25. These pair of maps depicts sites and traditions that post-date the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, and in this matter it is different and more modern in the concept of historical periodization than most other maps.
Calmet died in 25 Oct. 1757 at the abbey of Senones, near Saint-Di? (near Paris).

Sources:

• http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03189a.htm
• Eran Laor, Maps of the Holy Land, Eran Laor collection, New York: A. R. Liss, 1986.
• New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1967, vol. 2, p. 1084.
• Rehav Rubin, Image and Realty, Magnes press, Jerusalem, 1999, pp. 145-148.
• The Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. 5, Cambridge 1911.