Bezalel Bar-Kochva (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: בצלאל בר-כוכבא; born January 1, 1941) is a professor emeritus in the Department of Jewish History at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

. He is a historian of the

Hellenistic period In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

, the three centuries after the conquests of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

, and the

Second Temple period The Second Temple period or post-exilic period in Jewish history denotes the approximately 600 years (516 BCE – 70 CE) during which the Second Temple stood in the city of Jerusalem. It began with the return to Zion and subsequent reconstructio ...

of Judaism. Bar-Kochva's research focuses on

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

, the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

diaspora Jew "Negation of the Diaspora" ( or ) is a concept in Zionism that asserts that Jews living in the Diaspora—that is, outside of the Land of Israel—are in an environment that inherently causes Jewish assimilation, particularly through discrim ...

s, and the

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great ...

in that era. Notably, he has written extensively on the military history of the

Maccabean Revolt The Maccabean Revolt () was a Jewish rebellion led by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire and against Hellenistic influence on Jewish life. The main phase of the revolt lasted from 167 to 160 BCE and ended with the Seleucids in control of ...

as well as Greek views on Judaism and Jewish adaptation to Greek culture during the Hellenistic era. He is the recipient of the 2013 Humboldt Research Award Programme.

Biography

Bezalel Bar-Kochva was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

(then part of

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

) in 1941. His family was part of the Revisionist movement within Zionism, a precursor to later right-wing Zionist movements. He received religious schooling as a child in

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

s, including extensive study of the Talmud. Like most Israelis, he served a mandatory tour of duty in the IDF. He completed a bachelor's degree at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

in the department of

Jewish History Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their Jewish peoplehood, nation, Judaism, religion, and Jewish culture, culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Jews originated from the Israelites and H ...

and the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

. He studied for a master's degree, first in the

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

department at Hebrew University and then in the Department of Jewish History at

, and graduated with honors. He received a doctorate in classics at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in England, where he studied from 1969–1972. His doctoral dissertation was "The Organization and Social Structure of the Seleucid Army". His advisor was

Guy Thompson Griffith Guy Thompson Griffith, FBA (7 January 1908 – 10 September 1985) was an English ancient historian and classicist. He was a fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, from 1931 to his death, and the Laurence Reader in Classics at the Unive ...

. In 1973, Bar-Kochva was appointed a lecturer at Tel Aviv University. In 1980, he was appointed a full professor. Bar-Kochva retired from teaching in 2011. Bar-Kochva is married and has two daughters.

Works

Bar-Kochva has written five books and about eighty

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

articles, generally focusing on Second Temple period Judaism, the Hellenistic World, and how they intersected. * ** An adaptation of Bar-Kochva's 1972 doctoral

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

. * * ** Originally published in Hebrew in 1980 as מלחמות החשמונאים ("The Battles of the Hasmoneans, the Era of Judah Maccabee") before the 1989 revision and official translation. * * The book ''The Image of the Jews in Greek Literature'' was cited in several lists of the best academic books of 2010. Bar-Kochva won the

Humboldt Prize The Humboldt Research Award (), also known informally as the Humboldt Prize, is an award given by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany to internationally renowned scientists and scholars who work outside of Germany in recognition of ...

in 2013/2014 in recognition of his scholarship, after receiving a Humboldt Fellowship from 1980–1983.פרס הומבולדט לפרופ' בצלאל בר-כוכבא על חקר ההיסטוריה היהודית העתיקה
Tel-Aviv University. February 2, 2014.Positive selection decisions
Humboldt Foundation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bar-Kochva, Bezalel 1941 births Living people Academics from Tel Aviv 20th-century Israeli historians Israeli Jews Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Tel Aviv University alumni Academic staff of Tel Aviv University Alumni of the University of Cambridge Historians of Jews and Judaism