Jack M. Sasson

Home: 243 Hales Wood Road Chapel Hill, NC 27517

Cell phone: 615 577 5710

Webpage

Narrative and Brief CV

Online Archive

Portrait

Birth
October 1, 1941
Aleppo, Syria
US Citizen

Education
Brandeis University: Ph.D., Mediterranean Studies, June, 1966
Major Fields I: Near Eastern History [Assyriology], Hebrew Scriptures
Major Fields II: Islamic Studies [Pursued in all phases except for dissertation]
Brooklyn College: B.A., History, June, 1962

Academic positions and appointments

2002-2005- Director, Program in Jewish Studies, Vanderbilt University 
1999-2015 Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Judaic and Biblical Studies, Vanderbilt University
 Professor of Classics, Department of Classical Studies, Vanderbilt University
1991- William Rand Kenan, Jr. Professor of Religious Studies, University of North Carolina
1988-93- Chair, Department of Religious Studies, University of North Carolina

1983-88- Adjunct Professor, Department of Religion, Duke University
1966- Department of Religious Studies, University of North Carolina
Professor (1977-); Associate Professor (1972-); Assistant Professor (1966–)

Honors, grants and awards (select)

Editorial responsibility (selected)

2010-Editorial Board, Res Antiquitatis (Portugal)
2002-Editorial Board, Near Eastern Archaeology
1998– Advisory Board, Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions (E.J. Brill, Leiden)
1997– Board member, Estudios de Asia y Africa (El Colegio de Mexico)
1996–99 Editor for the “Ancient Near Eastern and Bible,” Journal of the American Oriental Society; American Oriental Series and other Society monographs
1990-95 Chief Editor, Scribner’s Civilization of the Ancient Near East. Companion to Scribner’s Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean: Greece and Rome
1984-92 Editor, Documenta et Monumenta Orientis Antiqui. E.J. Brill
1976–84 Editor for the “Ancient Near Eastern and Bible,” Journal of the American Oriental Society; American Oriental Series and other Society monographs

Publications (Monographs and Articles)

1966 –“Canaanite Maritime Involvement in the Second Millennium B.C.,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 86:126-38.

.–“Circumcision in the Ancient Near East,” Journal of Biblical Literature 85:473-76.

–“Remarks on Two ‘Anatolian’ Personal Names from Mari,” Revue Hittite et Asianique 79:155-59.

–“A Sketch of North Syrian economic Relations in the Middle Bronze Age,” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 9:161-81.

1968 –“Bovine Symbolism in the Exodus Narrative,” Vetus Testamentum 18:380-87.

–“Instances of Mobility Among the Artisans of Mari,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 190:46-54.

–“An Early King of Assyria: Shamsi-Adad,” History Today 18: 794-801.

1969 . The Military Establishment at Mari [Studia Pohl, 3.]  Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute.

1971 –“Šarbit in Esther,” Vetus Testamentum 21:111.

–“Mari Notes,” Revue d’Assyriologie 45:172.

1972 –“Flora, Fauna, and Minerals,” pp. 383-452 in Ras Shamra Parallels, 1 [Analecta Orientalia, 49], Loren R. Fisher, ed. Rome, Pontifical Biblical Institute.

–“Some Literary Motifs in the Composition of the Gilgamesh Epic,” Studies in Philology 69:259-79.

–“Some Comments on Archive Keeping at Mari,” Iraq 34: 55-67.

–“Numbers 5 and the ‘Waters of Judgment’,” Biblische Zeitschrift 19:249-51.

–“Zimri-Lim’s March to Victory,” Revue d’Assyriologie 6:179-180.

1973 –English-Akkadian Analytical Index to the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary, vol. I. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Department of Religion.

–“The Worship of the Golden Calf,” pp. 151-59 in Orient and Occident: Essays Presented to Cyrus H. Gordon on the Occasion of His Sixty-Fifth Birthday [Alter Orient und Altes Testament, 22], edited by H. A. Hoffner, Jr. Neukirchner-Vluyn: Verlag Neukirchner, Butzon and Bercker Kevelaer.

–“A Further Cuneiform Parallel to the Song of Songs?,” Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentlische Wissenschaft 85:59-60.

–“Biographical Notices on Some Royal Ladies from Mari,” Journal of Cuneiform Studies 25:59-78.

1974 –“Hurrians and Hurrian Personal Names in the Mari Texts,” Ugarit-Forschungen 6:353-400.

–“Reflections on an Unusual Practice Reported in ARM X:4,” Orientalia 43:404-10.

1975 –“Word-play in Genesis 6:9,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 37:165-66.

1976 –“Ass,” “Generation; seventh,” “Mari,” “Twins,” “Wordplay in the OT,” Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: Supplementary Volume.

–“Isaiah lxvi 3-4a,” Vetus Testamentum 26:199-207.

–“The ENGAR/ikkarum at Mari,” pp. 401-409 in Kramer Anniversary Volume: Cuneiform Studies in Honor of Samuel Noah Kramer, ed. B. L. Eichler. Neukirchner-Vluyn: Verlag Neukirchner, Butzon and Bercker Kevelaer.

–“Divine Providence or Human Plan?” Interpretation 30:415-19.

1977 Editor of The Treatment of Criminals in the Ancient Near East: Studies Presented before the 185th Annual Meeting of the American Oriental Society. Leiden: E. J. Brill.

–“The Treatment of Criminals at Mari: A Survey,” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 20:90-113.

1978 –“A Genealogical ‘Convention’ in Biblical Chronography?,” Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 90:171-85.

–“On Pope’s Song of Songs (AB 7c)” MAARAV 1:177-196.

–“The Issue of ge’ullah in Ruth,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 5:49-51.

–“Response to D.R.G. Beattie’s ‘Ruth III’,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 5:52-64.

–“A Short Note on a “Mayor” Subject,” Journal of Biblical Literature 97:104-05.

1979 –Ruth: A New Translation. With a Philological Commentary and a Folkloristic-Formalist Interpretation. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

–“The Calendar and Festivals of Mari during the time of Zimri-Lim,” pp. 119-141 in Studies in Honor of Tom B. Jones. [Alter orient und Altes Testament, 203,] Ed. by R. Sack and M. Power, Jr. Neukirchner-Vluyn: Verlag Neukirchner, Butzon and Bercker Kevelaer.

–“Hurrian Personal Names in the Rimah Archives,” Aššur 2:37-68.

1980 –“The `Tower of Babel’ as Clue to the Redactional Structuring of the Primeval History [Gen. 1-11:9],” pp. 211-219 in The Bible World: Essays in Honor of Cyrus H. Gordon. Ed. by G. Rendsburg, et al., KTAV. New York.

–“Two Recent Works on Mari,” Archiv für Orientforschung 27:127-135.

–“The Old Babylonian Tablets from Al-Rimah,” The Journal of the American Oriental Society 100:453-460.

1981 –Datable Texts from Mari. [ARTANES, 5]; Undena Publications: Malibu, California.–Compiler and Editor: Oriental Wisdom. Six Essays on the Sapiential Traditions of Eastern Civilizations. New Haven. [=JAOS 101 (1981), 1-131.]

–“Literary Criticism, Folklore Scholarship and Ugaritic Literature,” pp. 81-89 in Ugarit in Retrospect.  Ed. by G.D. Young, Eisenbrauns.

–” Idrimi and Šarruwa, the Scribe,” pp. 309-324 in Studies on the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and the Hurrians: In Honor of Ernest R. Lacheman. Ed. by D. I. Owen and M. Morrison. Eisenbrauns.

–“On Choosing Models for Recreating Israelite Pre-Monarchic History,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 21:3-24.

1982 –“An Apocalyptic vision from Mari? Speculations on ARM X:9,” Mari: Annales de Recherches Interdisciplinaires 1:151-67.

–“Accounting Discrepancies in the Mari NÌ.GUB [NÍG.DU] Texts,” pp. 326-341 in Zikir šumim: Assyriological Studies Presented to F.R. Kraus. Ed. by G. van Driel. E.J. Brill.

1983 –“Rehovot ^cîr,” Revue Biblique 90:94-96.

–“Mari Dreams,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 103:283-293.

–“Musical Settings for Cuneiform Literature: A Discography,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 103:233-235.

1984 –Editor of Studies in Literature from the Ancient Near East Dedicated to Samuel Noah Kramer;by Members of the American Oriental Studies. American Oriental Series, 65. New Haven.  [Corrected and expanded version of JAOS 103.1 (1983), 1-353.]

–“On Relating ‘Religious’ Texts to the Old Testament,” MAARAV 3 (1982), 217-229. [Appeared 1984.]

–“Thoughts of Zimri-Lim,” Biblical Archeologist 47:110-120.

–“Zimri-Lim Takes the Grand Tour,” Biblical Archaeologist 47:246-251.

–“On Jonah’s Two Missions,” Henoch 6:23-30.

–“The Biographic Mode in Hebrew Historiography,” pp. 305-312 in In the Shelter of Elyon. Essays on Ancient Palestinian Life and Literature in Honor of G.W. Ahlström. Edited by W. Boyd Barrick, et al. [Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Supplement Series, 31.] Sheffield, England.

1985 –“Unlocking the Poetry of Love in the Song of Songs,” Bible Review 1:10-19.

–“w^elo^‘ yitbošašû (Gen 2,25) and Its Implications,” Biblica 66:418-421.

–“Boaz,” “boundary stones,” “Chileab,” “Chilion,” “Elimelech,” “Eliphelet,” “Mahlon,” “Mara,” “Mari,” “Waters of bitterness,” each a one page entry in the Harper’s Bible Dictionary.

–“`Year: Zimri-Lim Offered a Throne to Shamash of Mahanum’; An Overview of One year at Mari. Part I: The Presence of the King,” Mari: Annales de Recherches Interdisciplinaires 4:437-52.

–” [Remarks on Ikribum Vows at Mari,] Revue d’Assyriologie 79:91-92.

-“Yarim-Lim’s War Declaration,” pp. 237-255 in Miscellanea Babyloniaca. Mélanges offerts à Maurice Birot. Ed. by J.-M. Durand and J.-R. Kupper. Paris: Editions Recherches sur les Civilisations.

1986 –“On Recently Published Administrative Tablets,” Bibliotheca Orientalis 43:114-48.

1987 –“`Year: Zimri-Lim Dedicated his Statue to the God Addu of Halab’: Locating a Year in the Reign of Zimri-Lim,” Mari: Annales de Recherches Interdisciplinaires 5:577-89.

–“On Mesha’s Sacrifice of his Son: a Response,” Biblical Archaeology Review, 13:12-15; 60-61.

–“Love’s Roots: On the Redaction of Genesis 30:14-24,” pp. 205-09 in John H. Marks and Robert M. Good, ed., Love and Death in the Ancient Near East. Essays in Honor of Marvin H. Pope. Guilford, Conn. Four Quarters Publishing Co.

–“Ruth,” pp. 321-28 and “Esther,” pp. 335-42 in Robert Alter and Frank Kermode, The Literary Guide to the Bible. Cambridge, Harvard University Press.

–“A Major Contribution to Song of Songs Scholarship,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 107: 733-39.

–“Assyriological notes,” appearing NABU: Nouvelles assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires:  “A Satisfying Oath,” 1:#39 (p. 22); “ARM IV, 20,” 1:#40 (pp. 22-23); “ARM X 97,” 1:#83 (p. 44);

“Yasmakh-Addu’s letter to God (ARM I:3),” 1:#109 (pp. 63-64).

–“Ruth and Naomi,” Encyclopedia of Religion, Volume 12, pp. 491-492.

1988–“The Numerical Progression in Keret I:15-20: Yet Another Suggestion,” Studi Epigrafici e Linguistici [Festschrift Oswald Loretz]: 5(1988), 181-88.

–“Who Cut Samson’s Hair? (And Other Trifling Issues Raised by Judges 16),” Prooftexts 8(l988), 333-46.

–“Shunukhra-Khalu,” pp. 329-51 in A Scientific Humanist. [Abe Sachs Memorial Volume.] Ed. by Erle Leichty, et al. Philadelphia: The University Museum.

1989 –Ruth: A New Translation. With a Philological Commentary and a Folkloristic-Formalist Interpretation. (Revised Edition, with Comments.) Sheffield: Almond Press.

–“Artisans…Artists: Documentary Perspectives from Mari,” pp. 21-27 in Investigating Artistic Environments in the Near East. Ann C. Gunter, Ed. Washington, D.C.: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

-“Zimri-Lim’s Letter to Tish-ulme,” NABU: Nouvelles assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires 3:#116 (pp. 91-92).

1990 –Jonah. A New Translation with Introduction, Commentary, and Interpretations. The Anchor Yale Bible, 24b. New Haven: Yale University Press.

–“Mari Historiography and the Yakhdun-Lim Disc Inscription,” pp. 440-49 in Lingering over Words:Studies in Ancient Near Eastern Literature in Honor of William H. Moran. [Harvard Semitic Studies, 37.] Ed. by T. Abusch, J. Huehnergard, and P. Steinkeller. Atlanta: Scholars Press.

1992 –“Time…to Begin,” pp. 183-194 in “Sha^carei Talmon”: Studies in the Bible, Qumran, and the Ancient Near East Presented to Shemaryahu Talmon. Ed.by M. Fishbane, E. Tov, and W.W. Fields. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.

–“Gilgamesh Epic,” The Anchor Bible Dictionary 2:1024-1027.

–“Afterthoughts on Writing A Bible Commentary,” Shofar 11, 61-69.

“Time is Pressing,” NABU: Nouvelles assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires 1992/72 (p. 55).

1993 –“Albright as an Orientalist,” Biblical Archaeologist 56:3-7.

–“Marriage entre grandes familles” NABU: Nouvelles assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires 1992/52 (pp. 43-44).

–“La cultura de Mari, crocevia per molti popoli,” pp. 72-75 in O. Rouault and M. G. Maseti-Rouault, eds, L’Eufrate e il Tempo. Le civiltá del medio Eufrate e della Gezira. Milan: Electa.

1994 –“The Blood of Grapes: Viticulture and Intoxication in the Hebrew Bible,” pp. 399-419 in Lucio Milano, ed., Drinking in Ancient Societies. History and Culture of Drinks in the Ancient Near East. Padua (Italy): Sargon srl.

–“The posting of letters with Divine Messages,” pp. 299-316 in D. Charpin and J.-M. Durand, Florilegium marianum, 2. Recueil d’études à la mémoire de Maurice Birot. [Mémoires de N.A.B.U., 3.] Paris: SEPOA.

–“Divine divide: re, FM2:71:5-9,” NABU 1994/43.

-“Did I Lose at the Movies?” unpublished Chicago SBL presentation

1995–(Editor-in-chief) Civilizations of the Ancient Near East. 4 volumes. New York: Scribners. [The set includes my essay on “King Hammurabi of Babylon,” as well as a number of “Sidebars” in other contributions. Winner of the Association of American Publishers’ R. Hawkins Award, “for the most outstanding professional, reference or scholarly work published… in 1995,” and of the Dartmouth Medal by the American Library Association, “to honor achievement in creating reference works outstanding in quality and significance.” Voted Best Reference Source of 1996 (Library Journal and ALA) and Outstanding Academic Book for 1996] (Choice).]

–“Water beneath Straw. Adventures of a Prophetic Phrase in the Mari Archives,” pp. 599-608 in Ziony Zevit (et al, eds) Solving Riddles and Untying Knots. Biblical, Epigraphic, and Semitic Studies in Honor of Jonas C. Greenfield. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.

–“Mari Apocalypticism Revisited,” pp. 285-295 in K. van Lerberghe and A. Schoors (eds), Immigration and Emigration within the Ancient Near East. Festschrift E. Lipiński. Leuven: Peeters.

–“In the Time of Hammurabi: King Zimri-Lim of Mari,” Ideas: From the National Humanities Center, 3:3-13.

1996 –“Akkadian Documents from Mari and Babylonia (Old Babylonian Period),” pp. 17-19 in A. Bernard Knapp (ed), Near Eastern and Aegean Texts from the Third to the First Millennia BC. (Sources for the History of Cyprus, vol. 2.) Altamont, New York: Greece and Cyprus Research Center, Inc.

1997 –“The Vow of Mutiya, King of Shekhna,” pp.483-498 in G.D. Young, M. W. Chavalas, and R. E. Averbeck (eds), Crossing Boundaries and Linking Horizons: Studies in Honor of Michael C. Astour on his 80th Birthday. Bethesda, MD: CDL Press.

1998 –“The King and I: A Mari King in Changing Perceptions,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 118: 453-470

–“Canaan-Phoenicia, Religions of,” and “Inanna,” pp. 136-139, 466-467 in Serenity Young (et al., ed), Encyclopedia of Women and World Religion. New York: Macmillan Reference USA.

– “About ‘Mari and the Bible’,” Revue d’Assyriologie 92: 97-123.

2000-“‘The Lord of Hosts, Seated over the Cherubs’,” pp. 227-234 in S.L. McKenzie and Th. Römer (eds) Rethinking the Foundations: Historiography in the Ancient World and in the Bible . Essays in Honour of John Van Seters. Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 294 (Berlin: Walther de Gruyter).

– “‘The ‘Mother of All… ’ Etiologies,” pp. 205-220 in Saul M. Olyan and Robert C. Culley (eds) “A Wise and Discerning Mind”: Essays in Honor of Burke O. Long. Brown Judaic Studies, 325 ( Providence, RI: Brown Judaic Studies).

-Consulting Editor, The Ancient Near East: an Encyclopedia for Students. 4 Volumes (Ronald Wallenfels, ed.; New York : Charles Scribner’s Sons).

2001–“The Road to Vanderbilt” (Inaugural address, Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Judaic and Religious Studies), The Spire 22:28-32.

–“Ancestors Divine?” pp. 413- 428 in Veenhof Anniversary Volume:  Studies Presented to Klaas R. Veenhof on the Occasion of his Sixty-Fifth Birthday (W.H. van Soldt, J.G. Dercksen, N.J.C. Kouwenberg, Th.J.H. Krispijn, eds;  Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten).

-“The Search for the Hebrew God,” Fourth Annual E. Maynard Adams Lecture in the Humanities and Human Values, (Chapel Hill, NC.: Program in the Humanities and Human Values).

-“Absalom’s Daughter: An Essay in Vestige Historiography,” pp. 179-196 in J. Andrew Dearman and M. Patrick Graham, eds, The Land that I Will Show You. Essays on the History and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East in Honor of J. Maxwell Miller (Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Supplementary Series, 343; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press).

-“On Reading the Diplomatic Letters in the Mari Archives,” Amurru 2 (Mari, Ébla  et les Hourrites, dix ans de travaux. Deuxième partie. Actes du colloque International, Paris, mai 1993): 329-338.

2002-“On the Use of Images in Israel and the Ancient Near East,” pp. 63-70 in Sacred Time, Sacred Place: Archaeology and the Religion of Israel, (Barry M. Gittlen, ed; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns).

-“The Burden of Scribes,” pp. 211-228 in Tzi Abusch (ed), Riches Hidden in Secret Places: Studies in Memory of Thorkild Jacobsen (Tzvi Abusch, ed., Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns).

–“Ritual Wisdom? On ‘Seething a Kid in its Mother’s Milk,’” pp. 294-308 in Ulrich Hübner and Ernst Axel Knauf (eds), Kein Land für sich allein. Studien zum Kulturkontakt in Kanaan, Israel/Palaestina und Ebir nâri für Manfred Weippert zum 65. Geburtstag (OBO 186; Freiburg: Universitätsverlag).

–Hebrew Origins: Three Lectures on the Historiography, History, and the God of Ancient Israel (Chuen King Lecture Series, 4,  Lung-Kwong Lo, ed.; Hong Kong: Theology Division, Chung Chi College).

– “Mari,” Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 4th edition (2002), vol. 5: 795-797.

2003- (With Richard M. Heller and Toni W. Heller) “Mold. ‘Tsara`at,’ Leviticus, and the History of a Confusion,” Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 46: 588-591

-“Should Cheeseburgers be Kosher?,” Biblical Review 19/6 (December 2003): 41-43, 50-51.

– “Forcing Morals on Mesopotamian Society?” pp. 329-340 in Gary Beckman, Richard Beal and Gregory McMahon (eds), Studies in Honor of Harry A. Hoffner Jr., on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday (Winona lake, IN: Eisenbrauns).

2004-“The Eyes of Eli: An Essay in Motif Accretion,” pp. 171-190 in Louis Stulman and John Kaltner (eds), Inspired Speech Prophecy in the Ancient Near East. Essays in Honor of Herbert B. Huffmon (Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement, 378; London: T&T Clark International).

–“Doeg’s Job,” Scriptura: International Journal of Bible, Religion and Theology in Southern Africa 3 [Festchrift Yehoshua Gitay]: 317-322.

–“The King’s Table: Food and Fealty in Old Babylonian Mari,” pp. 179-215 in Cristiano Grottanelli and Lucio Milano (eds), Food and Identity in the Ancient World (History of the Ancient Near East, Studies 9; Padua: S.A.R.G.O.N. Editrice e Libreria).

2005–“Of Time & Immortality,” Biblical Review 21/3 (Summer 2005): 32-41, 52-54.

-“Comparative Observations on the Near Eastern Epic Traditions,” pp. 215-232 in John Miles Foley, ed., A Companion to Ancient Epic (Oxford: Blackwell’s).

-“Wooing Rebekah: How Isaac Got a Wife.” The Loy H. Witherspoon Lectures in Religious Studies, April 21, 2005, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

2006-“Utopian and Dystopian Images in Mari Prophetic Texts,” pp. 27-40 in Ehud Ben Zvi (ed.), Utopia and Dystopia in Prophetic Literature (Publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society, 92; Finnish Exegetical Society, Helsinki–Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen).

-“The Servant’s Tale: How Rebekah Found a Spouse,” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 65: 241-265.

–“Mari and the Holy Grail,” pp. 186-198 in Stanley W. Holloway (ed.), Orientalism, Assyriology & the Bible (Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press).

2007-“Scruples: Extradition in the Mari Archives,” pp. 453-73 in Festschrift für Hermann Hunger, zum 65. Geburtstag gewidmet von seinen Freunden, Kollegen, und Schülern (= WZKM 97; Wien: Institut für Orientalistik, 2007).

2008-“Another Wrinkle on Old Adapa,” pp. 1-10 in R.J. van der Spek (et al., eds), Studies in Ancient Near Eastern World View and Society presented to Marten Stol on the occasion of his 65th birthday (Bethesda, MD: CDL Press).

-“Oracle Inquiries in Judges,” pp. 149-168 in Chaim Cohen (et al. eds.), Birkat Shalom: Studies in the Bible, Ancient Near Eastern Literature, and Postbiblical Judaism Presented to Shalom M. Paul on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday (Winona lake, IN: Eisenbrauns).

–“Texts, Trade and Travelers,” pp. 95-100 in Joan Aruz (ed.), Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C. (Metropolitan Museum of Art).

-“Time and Mortality: Creation Narratives in Ancient Israel and in Mesopotamia,” pp. 489-509 in Ettore Cingano & Lucio Milano (eds.), Papers on Ancient Literatures: Greece, Rome and the Near East. Proceedings of the “Advanced Seminar in the Humanities”, Venice International University 2004-2005, (Quaderni del Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità e del Vicino Oriente. Venice: Università Ca’ Foscari, Venezia, n. 4). Padova: S.A.R.G.O.N. Editrice e Libreria).

2009—“Ethically Cultured Interpretations: The Case of Eglon’s Murder (Judges 3),” pp. 571-595 in Gershon Galil, Mark Geller and Alan Millard (eds.), Homeland and Exile: Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Honour of Bustenay Oded (Vetus Testamentum Supplements, 130; Leiden E.J. Brill).

–“The Trouble with Nūr-Sin: Zimri-Lim’s Purchase of Alaḫtum,” pp.193-203 in D.A. Barreyra Fracaroli, G. del Olmo Lete (eds), Reconstruyendo el Pasado Remoto. Estudios sobre el P.O.A. en homenaje a Jorge R. Silva Castillo (Aula Orientalis Supplementa, 25; Sabadell,Barcelona: Editorial AUSA).

2010–“Where Angels Fearlessly Tread: Mari Insights on Genesis 19,” pp. 1163-1183 in Kogan, Leonid, N. Koslova, S. Loesov, & S. Tishenko, Languages in the Ancient Near East (Proceedings of the 53^eRencontre Assyriologique Internationale; Vol. 1, 2 parts; Winona Lake, Ind: Eisenbrauns).

–“Coherence & Fragments: Reflections on the SKL and the Book of Judges,” pp. 361-373 in Sarah C. Melville and Alice L. Slotsky (eds), Opening the Tablet Box: Near Eastern Studies in Honor of Benjamin R. Foster (Culture and History of the Ancient Near East, 42; Leiden: E.J. Brill).

– (with Alexandra Kleinerman, eds) ‘Why Should Someone Who Knows Something Conceal It?’: Cuneiform Studies in Honor of David 1. Owen on His 70th Birthday (Bethesda, MD: CDL Press).

-“On the ‘Išḫi-Addu’ Seal from Qatna, with Comments on Qatna Personal Names in OB Period,” pp. 243-249 in Şevket Dönmez (ed),  Veysel Donbaz’a Sunulan Yazılar DUB.SAR É.DUB.BA.A: Studies Presented in Honour of Veysel Donbaz (Istanbul: Ege Publications).

2011.-“Mari Theomorphism: Intimation of Sacrality in the Royal Correspondence,” pp. 195-212 in Luděk Vacín (ed.), u₄ du₁₁-ga-ni sá mu-ni-ib-du₁₁: Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Memory of Blahoslav Hruška Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Memory of Blahoslav Hruška (Dresden: Islet).

-“‘A Breeder or Two for Each Leader’: On Mothers in Judges 4 and 5,” pp. 333-55 in David J.A. Clines and Ellen van Wolde (eds),  A Critical Engagement: Essays on the Hebrew Bible in Honour of J. Cheryl Exum (Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press).

2012– “‘Nothing so Swift as Calumny’: Slander & Justification at the Mari Court”; pp. 525-541 in T. Boiy, J. Bretschneider, A. Goddeeris, H. Hameeuw, G. Jans & J. Tavernier (eds.), The Ancient Near East, A Life! Festschrift Karel Van Lerberghe (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 220), Leuven 2012.

“Farewell to Mr. So-and-So (Ruth 4:1)?” pp. 251-256 in David J.A. Clines, Kent Harold Richards, Jacob L. Wright (eds), Making a Difference. Essays on the Bible and Judaism in Honor of Tamara Cohn Eskenazi (Hebrew Bible Monographs, 49: Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press).

“Another Look at the Tenth Commandment,” pp. 3-18 in Jon L. Berquist and Alice Hunt (eds), Focusing Biblical Studies: The Crucial Nature of the Persian and Hellenistic Periods:  Essays in Honor of Douglas A. Knight (Library of Hebrew Bible/Old testament Studies, 544; T&T Clark/ Continuum).

–“Adapa”; “Halab”; “Zimri-Lim” (s.v.) in Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine, Sabine R. Huebner (eds),  Encyclopedia of Ancient History (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell).

2013- “Prologues & Poets. On the Opening Lines of the Gilgamesh Epic,” pp. 265-277 in Billie Jean Collins and Piotr Michalowski (eds), Beyond Hatti. A Tribute to Gary Beckman (Atlanta: Lockwood Press).

– “’Beyond Babylon’: Closing Remarks,”  pp. 312-17 in Joan Aruz, Sarah B. Graff, and Yelena Rakic (eds) Cultures in Contact: From Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean in the Second Millennium B.C. (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013).

– “Jephthah: Chutzpah and Overreach in the Portrayal of a Hebrew Judge,” pp. 405-19 in D. Vanderhooft and A. Winitzer, eds. Literature as Politics, Politics as Literature: Essays on the Ancient Near East in Honor of Peter Machinist. Winona Lake, IN:Eisenbrauns.

–“’It is for this reason that I have not come down to my lord …’ Visit Obligations and Vassal Pretexts in the Mari Archives,“ Revue d’Assyriologie [P. Matthiae Festschrift] 107: 119-29.

– “A Taste for Game (Parashat Toledot, Gen 27),” Soul/Food  Ikhlu re’im (Nov. 2, 2013).

2014-Judges 1-12. A New Translation, With introduction and Commentary (The Anchor Yale Bible; New Haven: Yale University Press).

– “Casus Belli in the Mari Archives,” pp. 673-90 in Hans Neumann, Reinhard Dittmann, Susanne Paulus, Georg Neumann, and Anais Schuster-Brandis (eds), Krieg und Frieden im Alten Vorderasien (RAI 53, 2006; Alter Orient und Altes Testament 401; Münster: Ugarit-Verlag).

-“On the Bible and the Ancient Near East“; pp. 2137-2143 in Adele Berlin and Marc Z. Brettler, eds, The Jewish Study Bible, second edition (New York: Oxford University Press).

2015-From the Mari Archives: An Anthology of Old Babylonian Letters, Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns.

-“Siege Mentality at the City Gate in the Mari Archives.”  Pp. 463-76 in Sh. Yona, M.I. Gruber, E.L. Greenstein, P. Machinist, and Sh. Paul, eds, Marbeh Hokmah. Studies in the Bible and the Ancient Near East in Loving Memory of Victor Avigdor Hurowitz. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns.

2016-“The Wealth of Mari Era Kings,” pp. 423-447 in Paola Corò, Elena Devecchi, Nicla De Zorzi, and Massimo Maiocchi, eds, Libiamo ne’ lieti calici. Ancient Near Eastern Studies Presented to Lucio Milano on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday by Pupils, Colleagues and Friends. Alter Orient und Altes Testament, 436. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2016.

“Joseph and the Dreams of Many Colors,” TheTorah.com Blog (December 2016).

2017-“Mari: A Taste for Diplomacy,” The ASOR Blog (January 2017).

-From the Mari Archives. An Anthology of Old Babylonian Letters (Paperback reprint, with Additions and Corrections; Eisenbrauns).

2019--“Wit, Banter and Sarcasm in Mari Letters.” Pp. 181-90 in Philippe Abrahami and Laura Battini (eds), Ina ^dmarri u qan ṭuppi. Par la bêche et le stylet! Cultures et sociétés syro-mésopotamiennes. Mélanges offerts Olivier Rouault. Oxford: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd.

–“Vile Threat: Rhetoric of a Marital Spat.” Pp. 923-41 in Grégory Chambon, Michaël Guichard, and Anne-Isabelle Langlois (eds), De l’argile au numérique: mélanges assyriologiques en l’honneur de Dominique Charpin. Leuven: Peeters.

-“A Gate in Gaza: An Essay on the Reception of Tall Tales.” Pp. 176-89 in Emanuel Pfoh and Lukasz Niesiolowski-Spanò (eds), Biblical Narratives, Archaeology and Historicity. Essays in Honour of Thomas L. Thompson. London: T&T Clark.

-Jack. M. Sasson “Genesis of Time.” Published online on October 24, 2019 at https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-genesis-of-time. Posted November 8, 2019.

“Comparative Bible Research and the Mari Archives,”  Revista Claroscuro  18 (2019): 1-35.

2020–“Of Shekels and Shackles: A Wadi Sorek Romance (Judges 16).” Pp. 263-77 in Jennie Ebeling and Philippe Guillaume, eds. The Woman in the Pith Helmet: A Tribute to Archaeologist Norma Franklin. Atlanta, GA: The Lockwood Press.

2021–“Samson as Riddle.” Pp. 579-93 in Peter Machinist, Robert A. Harris, Joshua A. Berman, Nili Samet, and Noga Ayali-Darshan, eds, Ve-ʼEd Ya’aleh (Gen 2:6). Essays in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies Presented to Edward L. Greenstein, 1. Atlanta: SBL Press.

2022–“From Babylon to Jerusalem: Water Ordeals in the Ancient World.” Pp. 324-348 in Mahri Leonard-Fleckman, Lauren A.S. Monroe, Michael J. Stahl, eds. “A Community of Peoples.” Studies on Society and Politics in the Bible and Ancient Near East in Honor of Daniel E. Fleming. Harvard Semitic Studies, 69. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

-“What Really Happened in the Garden of Eden.” Published online on October 26, 2022 at <https://www.thetorah.com/article/what-really-happened-in-the-garden-of-eden>. Posted November 1, 2022.

-“Sightless in Gaza. On the Fate of Samson.” Pp. 443-51 in James K. Hoffmeier, Richard E. Averbeck, J. Caleb Howard and Wolfgang Zwickel, eds. Studies in Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical History, Language and Culture in Honor of K. Lawson Younger, Jr. Ägypten und Altes Testament, 114. Münster: Zaphon.

“On Birkat Kohanim (Numbers 6:24–26) and its Citation.” Pp. 379-402 in Richard Hidary, ed. Torat Moshe: Essays in Honor of Rabbi Moshe Shamah’s Eightieth Birthday & the Jubilee of Sephardic Institute. Brooklyn: Tebah Educational Services & Sephardic Institute.

2023- “Jonah Struggles with God’s compassion.” TheTorah.com blog (September 18)

Forthcoming

-“Les épreuves de la vieillesse,” Vieillir et être vieux dans le Proche-Orient ancien (Colloque interdisciplinaire organisé [Mai 2017] par la chaire «Milieux bibliques», Thomas Römer et Hervé Gonzalez, Collège de France; Paris, 201x). [Available at <http://tinyurl.com/ms8z8dvb>.]

–Judges 13-21. A New Translation, With Preface, Commentary and Interpretation (The Anchor Yale Bible; New Haven: Yale University Press).

Reviews

-Over 70 reviews, varying in size or substance, are published in the Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Bibliotheca Orientalis, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Classical World, Journal of Biblical Literature, Southern Folklore Quarterly, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Archiv für Orientforschung, and Religious Studies Review.

Revised: January 2024