Shaye J. D. Cohen (born October 21, 1948) is an American Hebraist, historian, and rabbi. He is a modern scholar of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Hebrew Literature Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews, mostly among the Arab cit ...

and

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations of

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Background and career

He received his undergraduate degree from

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

, his M.A. from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D. in

Ancient History Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian language, ...

, with distinction, from

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 ...

in 1975. Cohen is an ordained Conservative

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

and for many years was the Dean of the Graduate School and Shenkman Professor 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 ...

at the Jewish Theological Seminary in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Before arriving at Harvard in July 2001, he was for ten years the Samuel Ungerleider Professor of Judaic Studies and Professor of Religious Studies at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

. The focus of Cohen's research is the boundary between

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and

gentile ''Gentile'' () is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is used as a synony ...

s and between Judaism and its surrounding culture. He is also a published authority on Jewish reactions to Hellenism and to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. Cohen has received several honors for his work, including an honorary doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary and various fellowships. He has been honored by appointment as Croghan Distinguished Visiting Professor of Religion (

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

), the Louis Jacobs Lecturer (

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

), the David M. Lewis Lecturer (

Lady Davis Fellowship The Lady Davis Fellow is a program of The Lady Davis Foundation for the scholars to carry out research in various areas on the campuses of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology in Israel. The Lady Da ...

(Visiting Professor) of Jewish History (

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. ...

), the Block Lecturer (

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

), the Roland Visiting Lecturer (

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

) and the Pritchett Lecturer (

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

). He appeared on a ''

Nova A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...

'' episode as an expert on

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 ...

. He also appears in

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

's Jesus to Christ Documentary. Cohen has published many essays, co-authored many books, and written a number of books individually, including: ''Josephus in Galilee and Rome: His Vita and Development As a Historian'' (1979), ''From the Maccabees to the Mishnah'' (1988), ''The Beginnings of Jewishness: Boundaries, Varieties, Uncertainties'' (2001), ''Why Aren't Jewish Women Circumcised?: Gender and Covenant in Judaism'' (2005), and ''The Significance of Yavneh and Other Essays in Jewish Hellenism'' (2010).

Published works

*Cohen, Shaye J. D., ''Josephus in Galilee and Rome: His Vita and Development As a Historian'', Brill Academic Publishers, 2002. *Cohen, Shaye J. D., ''From the Maccabees to the Mishnah'', Westminster John Knox Press, 1988. *Cohen, Shaye J. D. ''The Beginnings of Jewishness: Boundaries, Varieties, Uncertainties'', University of California Press, 2001. *Cohen, Shaye J. D. ''Why Aren't Jewish Women Circumcised?: Gender and Covenant in Judaism'', University of California Press, 2005. *Cohen, Shaye J. D. ''The Significance of Yavneh and Other Essays in Jewish Hellenism'', Mohr Siebeck, 2010.

Awards

* 2006:

National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1943, is an American organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of qual ...

in the Women's Studies category for ''Why Aren't Jewish Women Circumcised?: Gender and Covenant in Judaism''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Shaye J. D. 1948 births Living people 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American rabbis American Conservative rabbis American Hebraists American historians of religion American male non-fiction writers Brown University faculty Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Harvard University faculty Historians of Jews and Judaism Jewish American historians Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish scholars Jewish Theological Seminary of America semikhah recipients