Jonas C. Greenfield
Encyclopedia
Jonas Carl Greenfield was a scholar of Semitic languages
, who published in the fields of Semitic Epigraphy
, Aramaic Studies and Qumran Studies
.
Greenfield studied at Yale
, receiving a Master of Arts
in 1951 and his doctorate
in 1956 (with a dissertation on "The Lexical Status of Mishnaic Hebrew"). He taught at Brandeis University
(1954–56), University of California, Los Angeles
(1956–1965), the University of California, Berkeley
(1965–71), and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
(1971–1995). In 1990 he became Caspar Levias Professor of Ancient Semitic Languages at the Hebrew University.
He was a member of the committee of translators of the Ketuvim
(the "Writings") for the New JPS Translation of the Tanakh
.
In 1995 a festschrift
was published in his honor, Solving Riddles and Untying Knots. Biblical, Epigraphic, and Semitic Studies in Honor of Jonas C. Greenfield. In 2000 the American Oriental Society
established a prize to honor his memory, the "Jonas C. Greenfield Prize For Younger Semitists". The Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, has held the Jonas C. Greenfield Scholars’ Seminar since 1999. Israel Exploration Journal 45 no. 2-3 (1995) 61-200 was issued as the "Jonas C. Greenfield Memorial Volume." Obituaries, in addition to the latter, pages 83–84, include Ziony Zevit, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 298 (May 1995) 3-5 and Mark S. Smith, American Schools of Oriental Research Newsletter 45 no, 1 (Spring 1995) 1-2. For an appreciation of his work on Qumran and related texts see Baruch A. Levine, "The Contribution of Jonas Greenfield to the Study of Dead Sea Literature." Dead Sea Discoveries, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Mar., 1996), pp. 2–9
His published shorter writings have been collected:
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
, who published in the fields of Semitic Epigraphy
Epigraphy
Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...
, Aramaic Studies and Qumran Studies
Dead Sea scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
.
Greenfield studied at Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, receiving a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in 1951 and his doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in 1956 (with a dissertation on "The Lexical Status of Mishnaic Hebrew"). He taught at Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
(1954–56), University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
(1956–1965), the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
(1965–71), and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
(1971–1995). In 1990 he became Caspar Levias Professor of Ancient Semitic Languages at the Hebrew University.
He was a member of the committee of translators of the Ketuvim
Ketuvim
Ketuvim or Kəṯûḇîm in actual Biblical Hebrew is the third and final section of the Tanak , after Torah and Nevi'im . In English translations of the Hebrew Bible, this section is usually entitled "Writings" or "Hagiographa"...
(the "Writings") for the New JPS Translation of the Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
.
In 1995 a festschrift
Festschrift
In academia, a Festschrift , is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during his or her lifetime. The term, borrowed from German, could be translated as celebration publication or celebratory writing...
was published in his honor, Solving Riddles and Untying Knots. Biblical, Epigraphic, and Semitic Studies in Honor of Jonas C. Greenfield. In 2000 the American Oriental Society
American Oriental Society
The American Oriental Society was chartered under the laws of Massachusetts on September 7, 1842. It is one of the oldest learned societies in America, and is the oldest devoted to a particular field of scholarship....
established a prize to honor his memory, the "Jonas C. Greenfield Prize For Younger Semitists". The Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, has held the Jonas C. Greenfield Scholars’ Seminar since 1999. Israel Exploration Journal 45 no. 2-3 (1995) 61-200 was issued as the "Jonas C. Greenfield Memorial Volume." Obituaries, in addition to the latter, pages 83–84, include Ziony Zevit, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 298 (May 1995) 3-5 and Mark S. Smith, American Schools of Oriental Research Newsletter 45 no, 1 (Spring 1995) 1-2. For an appreciation of his work on Qumran and related texts see Baruch A. Levine, "The Contribution of Jonas Greenfield to the Study of Dead Sea Literature." Dead Sea Discoveries, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Mar., 1996), pp. 2–9
Publications
Among his many publications are:- New directions in Biblical archaeology, edited with Freedman, David Noel, (Garden City: Doubleday Anchor Books, 1969) ISBN 1111213089
- Book of Job: a New Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text, along with Greenberg, Moshe, with an introduction by Nahum Sarna (Philadelphia: JPS, 1980)
- Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum. Pt.1. Vol.5. Texts 1, Inscriptions of ancient Iran. The Aramaic versions of the Achaemenian inscriptions, etc. The Bisitun inscription of Darius the Great: Aramaic version, edited with Porten, Bezalel, (London: Lund Humphries, 1982) ISBN 0853314586
- The Documents From the Bar Kokhba Period in the Cave of Letters: Greek Papyri, edited with Lewis, Naphtali; Yadin, Yigael, (Washington: Biblical Archaeology Society, 1989) ISBN 9652210099
- The Texts from Naḥal Ṣe'elim (Wadi Seiyal), The Madrid Qumran Congress. Proceedings of the International Congress on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Madrid 18–21 March 1991. Volume Two, (Madrid: Editorial Complutense, 1992)
- The Wisdom of Ahiqar: Wisdom in Ancient Israel. Essays in Honour of J.A. Emerton, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995)
- The Aramaic Levi Document: Edition, Translation, Commentary, edited with Stone, Michael E.; Eshel, Esther, (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2004)
His published shorter writings have been collected:
- Greenfield, Jonas C. `Al Kanfei Yonah: Collected Studies of Jonas C. Greenfield on Semitic Philology, ed. Shalom M. Paul, Michael E. Stone and Avital Pinnick, 2 vols. (Leiden: Brill, 2001).