Max Leopold Margolis (born in Meretz (

Merkinė Merkinė (also known by #Etymology, several other names) is a small town in Alytus County, which is located at the confluence of the Neman and Merkys rivers. The town belongs to the Varėna District Municipality and is located about 26 kilometers ...

Vilna Governorate The Vilna Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. In 1897, the governorate covered an area of and had a population of 1,591,207 inhabitants. The governorate was defined by the Minsk Governo ...

; October 15, 1866 – April 2, 1932 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

) was a

Lithuanian Jewish {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Litvaks , image = , caption = , poptime = , region1 = {{flag, Lithuania , pop1 = 2,800 , region2 = {{flag, South Africa , pop2 = 6 ...

and American

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

. Son of

Isaac Margolis Isaac ben Elijah Margolis (; 1842 – 1 August 1887) was a Russian-Polish rabbi and author. Biography Isaac Margolis was born in Kalvariya, Russian Poland. He was the son of the rabbi of Wizhajny and a descendant of Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller. He re ...

; educated at the elementary school of his native town, the

Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (or Leibnitz; – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat who is credited, alongside Sir Isaac Newton, with the creation of calculus in addition to many ...

gymnasium,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, New York City (

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

1891). In 1891 he was appointed to a fellowship in

Semitic languages The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. They include Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya language, Tigrinya, Aramaic, Hebrew language, Hebrew, Maltese language, Maltese, Modern South Arabian language ...

at Columbia University, and from 1892 to 1897 he was instructor, and later

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

, of

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

and

Biblical exegesis Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Jewish usage and the Christian Bible including the can ...

at the

Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. In 1897 he became assistant professor of Semitic languages in the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

; in 1898, associate professor; and from 1902 the head of the Semitic department. When

Dropsie College Edema (American English), also spelled oedema (British English), and also known as fluid retention, swelling, dropsy and hydropsy, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may inclu ...

was formed in 1909, Margolis was chosen as Professor of Biblical Philology, remaining at Dropsie College until his death in 1932. Margolis was named editor-in-chief of the

Jewish Publication Society The Jewish Publication Society (JPS), originally known as the Jewish Publication Society of America, is the oldest nonprofit, nondenominational publisher of Jewish works in English. Founded in Philadelphia in 1888, by Reform Rabbi Joseph Krauskop ...

's translation of the Bible into English, the finished product being published in 1917. He served as president of the

Society of Biblical Literature The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), founded in 1880 as the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis, is an American-based learned society dedicated to the academic study of the Bible and related ancient literature. Its current stated mis ...

as editor of the

Journal of Biblical Literature The ''Journal of Biblical Literature'' (''JBL'') is one of three academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academ ...

(1914–1921). He was also editor of the

Journal of the American Oriental Society The ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' is a quarterly academic journal published by the American Oriental Society since 1843. The editor in chief is Peri Bearman (Harvard University).American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1927.

Works (selected)

* ''"The Columbia College MS. of Megilla"'', New York, 1892 * ''"Notes on Semitic Grammar"'', parts i.-iii., in ''"Hebraica" ("American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures")'', 1894, 1896, 1902 * ''"The Theology of the Old Prayer-Book"'', in ''"Year Book of the Central Conference of American Rabbis"'', 1897 * ''"The Theological Aspect of Reformed Judaism"'', Baltimore, 1904 * ''A History of the Jewish People'', Philadelphia:

Jewish Publication Society of America The Jewish Publication Society (JPS), originally known as the Jewish Publication Society of America, is the oldest nonprofit, nondenominational publisher of Jewish works in English. Founded in Philadelphia in 1888, by Reform Rabbi Joseph Krauskop ...

, 1927. (with

Alexander Marx Alexander Marx (1878–1953) was an American historian, bibliographer and librarian. Biography Born in Elberfeld, Germany, son of George Marx, a banker, and Gertrud Marx-Simon, a published poet. Alexander Marx grew up in Königsberg (East Prussia ...

)

References

* * ''Max Leopold Margolis: Scholar and Teacher''. 1952. Philadelphia: Alumni Association, Dropsie College. * Leonard Jay Greenspoon, ''Max Leopold Margolis: A Scholar's Scholar'', Scholars Press, 1987

External links

ARC MS6 – Max Leopold Margolis Collection
at www.library.upenn.edu 1866 births 1932 deaths 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American non-fiction writers 19th-century American people 19th-century Jewish biblical scholars 19th-century Lithuanian male writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century Jewish biblical scholars 20th-century Lithuanian male writers American biblical scholars American male non-fiction writers American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent American philologists American translators Columbia University alumni Columbia University faculty Dropsie College faculty Hebrew language Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion faculty Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Philologists from the Russian Empire Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish translators of the Bible Judaic scholars Lithuanian Jews Jewish writers from Vilnius University of California, Berkeley faculty Translators of the Bible into English Members of the American Philosophical Society 19th-century Lithuanian educators 19th-century Lithuanian Jews {{bible-translator-stub