Rembrandt's depictions of Jews and subjects frond the Old Testament are generally taken to be expressions of sympathy for Jews and Judaism. This attractive picture has prevailed since the mid-nineteenth century. Nonetheless, it does not stand up to critical scrutiny. Had Rembrandt indeed been sympathetic to Jews and Judaism, he would have formed a conspicuous exception to the rule in the Christian Europe of his age, even in the famously tolerant Dutch Republic. Yet, none of the documents pertaining to Rembrandt's life or the reception of his art indicate a friendlier attitude toward the Jewish religion or its practitioners than that of his contemporaries. During Rembrandt's formative years, one Calvinist clergyman above all others expressed himself on the subject of the Jews. That was Gisbertus Voetius (1589-1676), who held extremely negative views of the Jews of his time. A friendlier attitude was found in the circle of Voetius's opponent within the church, Johannes Coccejus (1603-69). However, Coccejus did not differ with Voetius on the spiritual status of Jews. To maintain that Rembrandt's "attitude toward the Jewish people was an unusually sympathetic one" (Jakob Rosenberg) would therefore place the artist on the outer limits of the Christianity of his day. That is not where Rembrandt belongs. He stood squarely in the middle of Christian religiosity. In the present article, one new piece of evidence is brought into play. When Rembrandt married Saskia van Uylenburgh in 1634, he became the brother-in-law of a Reformed theologian and Hebrew scholar, Johannes Maccovius of Franeker. This fact weakens the supposition that Rembrandt was dependent on Amsterdam Jews like Menasseh ben Israel as advisors for the Hebrew lettering in his paintings. Not until the end of Rembrandt's life did it become possible for Dutch artists such as Romeyn de Hooghe and Emanuel de Witte to express respect for Jews and their religion in their work.
