Eli Smith (September 13, 1801 – January 11, 1857) was an American Protestantmissionary and scholar.
Smith was born inNorthford, Connecticut, to Eli and Polly (née Whitney) Smith. He graduated fromYale College in 1821 and fromAndover Theological Seminary in 1826. He worked inMalta until 1829, then in company withH. G. O. Dwight traveled throughArmenia andGeorgia toPersia. They published their observations,Missionary Researches in Armenia, in 1833 in two volumes. Smith settled in Beirut in 1833.
Along withEdward Robinson, he made two trips to theHoly Land in 1838 and 1852, acting as an interpreter for Robinson in his quest to identify and record biblical place names in Palestine, which was subsequently published in Robinson'sBiblical Researches in Palestine.
He is known for bringing the firstprinting press withArabic type toSyria.[1] He went on to pursue the task which he considered to be his life's work: translation of the Bible into Arabic. Although he died before completing the task, the work was completed byC. V. Van Dyck of the Syrian Mission and published in 1860 to 1865.
Smith married three times. His first wife wasSarah Lanman Huntington, who was also a missionary. She died in 1836. He then married Maria Ward Chapin, who died in 1842. He married Mehitable "Hetty" Simkins Butler on October 7, 1846, inNorthampton, Massachusetts.
His daughter Mary Elizabeth Smith was educated at thefemale seminaries inHartford, Connecticut, andIpswich, Massachusetts, and taught at the Female Seminary atMt. Auburn, Cincinnati. She was listed In theWomen's Who's Who of America in 1914–15.
Protestant missions to the Middle East | ||
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| People, country of origin | ||
| Missionary agencies | ||
| Catholic Church | |
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| Oriental Orthodoxy | |
| Church of the East | |
| Protestantism | |
| Missionaries | |
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