Gabriel Sionita

In Rome, he learnt Latin and Arabic on top of his native Syriac, and acquired a slight knowledge of Hebrew.

When recalled from Rome, he took two Maronites with him to Paris, to assist in the publication of the polyglot under the auspices of de Thou, the royal librarian, and Cardinal Duperron.

They received an annual stipend of 600 livres, and Gabriel was appointed to the chair of Semitic languages at Sorbonne.

In 1619, the assembly of French clergy at Blois granted 8,000 livres to support the undertaking; but through some malversation of funds, this money was never actually paid; at least, such is the accusation brought by Gabriel in his preface to the Syriac Psalter, which he published.

In 1619, his Geographia Nubiensis (meaning a translation of the Maronite editions of the same) of Edrisi's geography, with a small treatise as an appendix, "De nonnullis Orient.

1630 saw the publication of his Testamentum et pactiones inter Mohammedem et Christianae fidei cultores, an edition of the medieval Arabic document, the Achtiname of Muhammad, with Latin translation.

Finally, three small pamphlets appeared between 1640 and 1642, one in Latin and two in French, containing his defence in the actions of Le Jay and Vitre.