University / institution contact details
Position: Emeritus Professor of Post-Biblical Jewish Literature
University of Manchester
Centre for Jewish Studies, Religions and Theology
Religions and Theology
Samuel Alexander Building
University of Manchester
Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9PL
United Kingdom
http://manchesterjewishstudies.org
Teaches (T) and/or researches (R) in:
1. Bible and Related Literature: R
3: Bible versions: R
4: Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha: R
5: Dead Sea Scrolls and Qumran studies: R
6: New Testament: R
7: Medieval exegesis: R
2. History of the Jewish People: R
10: Second Temple period: R
11: Late Antiquity: R
12: Medieval: R
15: Regional and National (i.e. in North Africa, Greece, Eastern Europe, Germany, Middle East, Spain, India, South America, United States, etc): R
19: Palaeography: R
3. Religion and Religious Movements: R
23: Rabbinic Judaism: R
4. Jewish Thought and Philosophy: R
33: Ancient Philosophy, including Philo: R
36: Jewish Mysticism: R
5. Rabbinic Literature: R
38: Early (including Talmud, Mishnah, Midrash): R
39: Medieval: R
6. Literature (other than Biblical and Rabbinic): R
42: Ancient (including Hellenistic): R
43: Medieval (including scientific, poetry, Genizah studies): R
7. Languages: R
51: Hebrew: R
52: Greek: R
53: Aramaic: R
54: Arabic, including Judeo-Arabic: R
9. Contemporary Studies: R
69: Anti-Semitism: R
71: Interfaith studies (including Jewish-Christian relations, Jewish-Muslim relations): R
10. Jewish Studies and Resources: R
77: Scholarship, history of: R
81: Codicology: R
Description
Began his academic career as a Classicist, then switched to the study of Hebrew and Semitic languages, but has retained a fundamental interest in the problem of how to contextualize Rabbinic Judaism in the Graeco-Roman world of late antiquity. From 1992-95 was President of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. Has completed monographs on the 4Q fragments of the Community Rule from Qumran for the DJD series, on Targum of the Song of Songs and on the Targum of Lamentations (both for the Aramaic Bible series). Interests range widely across Jewish Bible interpretation (Midrash and Targum), Jewish mysticism (esp. Heikhalot) and magic, Jewish-Christian relations (esp. Jewish anti-Christian polemic [Toledot Yeshu], Christian Hebraism and Christian Zionism), and Judaism and Hellenism. Has just completed a major project to digitize and catalogue all the manuscripts and amulets in Hebrew script in the John Rylands Research Institute and Library. In collaboration with his wife, Prof Loveday Alexander (Emerita Sheffield) is completing a major commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews for the International Critical Commentary Series.
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