GASTER, THEODOR H. Theodor H. Gaster (1906–1992) was a renowned Semiticist and follower of James G. Frazer. He was born in England, the son of the folklorist Moses Gaster, who was Romanian by birth and a legendary linguist and scholar of Judaica. When the family immigrated to England, Moses Gaster became chief rabbi of the Sephardic Jewish community in London. He was also a leading Zionist, and Theodor "recalled that the first draft of the Balfour Declaration [which announced the British aim of creating a homeland for Jews] was prepared in his father's home. For a time, Theodor, along with his young friends Abba Eban and Isaiah Berlin, would go from door to door in London soliciting donations on behalf of this future homeland" (Hiers and Stahmer, 1995, p. 64).

Theodor Gaster was educated in private schools in London. He received an undergraduate degree in classics from...