Prof. Nili Samet
CV
Education
| 2010 | Ph.D. (Magna Cum Laude) | Bar-Ilan University | Biblical Studies |
| 2005 | M.A. (Cum Laude) | Hebrew University | Assyriology |
| 2000 | B.Ed. (Cum Laude) | Herzog College, Alon-Shvut | Bible |
Ph.D Thesis:
"The Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur: A Revised Edition". Supervisors: Prof. Jacob Klein and Prof. Shemuel Vargon.
M.A. Thesis:
“Dialogue of Pessimism”: A Revised Edition, a Commentary and a Literary Analysis" . Supervisor: Dr. Wayne Horowitz.
Grants, Awards and Fellowships
| 2020 | David Noel Freedman Award for Excellence and Creativity in Hebrew Bible Scholarship |
| 2020 | Humanities and Social Sciences Fund, Grant for initiating an international conference at Bar-Ilan (shared with other fellows) |
| 2018 | Starr Fellowship in Judaica at the Center for Jewish Studies, Harvard University |
| 2017–2021 | Israel Science Foundation, Research Grant |
| 2016 | Israel Council for Higher Education, Grant for Developing a Massive Open Online Course. |
| 2015 | Research grant from the German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development |
| 2014 | Beit-Shalom Grant, Bar-Ilan University |
| 2013 | Beit-Shalom Grant, Bar-Ilan University |
| 2013 | IHEL Foundation Grant, Bar-Ilan University |
| 2012 | IHEL Foundation Grant, Bar-Ilan University |
| 2011 | Beit-Shalom Grant, Bar-Ilan University |
| 2011‒2014 | Alon Fellowship for Outstanding young researchers, Israel Council for Higher Education |
| 2011‒2012 | Research Grant, Jewish Memorial Foundation. |
| 2010–2011 | Bikura Post Doctoral Scholarship, Israel Science Foundation |
| 2010 | Churgin Award for Excellent PhD thesis |
| 2009–2010 |
Post Doctoral Fellowship, Samuel Noah Kramer Institute for Assyriology |
| 2009–2010 |
President Fellowship for Post-Doctoral Research, Bar-Ilan University |
| 2005–2008 |
President Fellowship for Excellent Ph.D. Students, Bar-Ilan University |
| 2007 | Research Grant for collating tablets in Musées d’art et d’histoire, Genève, Bar-Ilan University |
| 2006–2007 | The Bible Fellows Program Scholarship, Matan Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem |
Academic Positions
| 2011‒ Present | Senior Lecturer, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan |
| 2009–2011 | Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology |
| 2007–2008 | Lecturer, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan |
| 2005–2007 | Lecturer, Matan Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem |
| 2004–2005 | Lecturer, Herzog College, Alon-Shvut |
Other Academic Activities
| 2019–Current | Program Unit Co-Chair, International SBL Section of Biblical Hebrew Language and Linguistics |
| 2017–Current | Program Unit Co-Chair, International SBL Section of Wisdom Literature in the Bible and in the Ancient Near East Section |
| 2016–Current | Steering Committee Member, SBL Section of Wisdom in Israelite and Cognate Traditions |
| 2015–Current | Trustee Committee Member, The Israel Society for Assyriology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Israel |
| 2013−Current | Board Member, Israel Biblical Society |
| 2014–2015 | Member of the Young Scholars Forum of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities |
| 2007–2009 | Editorial Board member, Massekhet (published by Matan, Jerusalem, in association with Heller Center for the Study of Women, Bar Ilan University) |
Membership in Scholarly Societies
| 2008–Present | Society of Biblical Literature |
| 2008–Present | World Union of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem |
| 2003–Present |
The Israel Society for Assyriology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Israel |
Publications
List of publications
Book
The Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur: A Revised Edition, Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2014.
Articles
With E. Mastey, “The Quivis Construction in Biblical Hebrew: History of a Syntactic Change”, JAOS (forthcoming).
“Qohelet’s Idiolect and Its Cultural Context”, HTR (forthcoming).
“Linguistic Dating of the Book of Qohelet: A New Angle”, VT (forthcoming).
“Non-Accusative ˀt and the Syntactic Profile of Late Biblical Hebrew”, VT (forthcoming).
“The Morphology of the Biblical Root ḥ-b-q: A Diachronic Analysis”, JAOS (forthcoming).
“Instructions of Shuruppak”, in W. Walter (ed.), The SBL Library of Wisdom, Atlanta (forthcoming).
“Wisdom in Mesopotamia” in S.L. Adams and M.J. Goff (eds.), Blackwell Companion of Wisdom Literature, Hoboken NJ, 2020, 328‒346.
“How Deterministic is Qohelet? A New Reading of the Appendix to the Catalogue of Times”, ZAW 131 (2019): 577–591.
“Lamentations”, in C. Helmer et al. (eds.), Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception 15, 2017, 686–691.
“Ben Bayit: New Light on an Overlooked Biblical Administrative Term and Its Historical Setting” (in Hebrew), Tarbiz 84 (2016), 282–293.
“The Validity of the Masoretic Text as a Basis for Diachronic Linguistic Analysis of Biblical Texts: Evidence from Masoretic Vocalization”, Journal for Semitics 25 (2016), 1064–1079.
With S.F. Adali, “Ur Ağıtı ve Ningal’in Yakarışı: Üçüncü ve Dördüncü Kirugu İçin Okumalar”, Eskiçağ Yazıları 8 (2016), 59–71.
“The Lexical Enigma of מָנוֹן and the Problem of Dating the Hezekian Collection”, ZAW 128 (2016), 419–432.
“Reading Literary Texts Historically: The Sumerian City Laments as a Test Case” (in Hebrew), Shnaton: An Annual for Biblical and Near Eastern Studies 24 (2016), 151–166.
“Religious Redaction in Qohelet in light of Mesopotamian Vanity Literature”, Vetus Testamentum 60 (2015), 1–16.
“The Gilgamesh Epic and the Book of Qohelet: A New Look” Biblica 96 (2015), 375–390.
“Qohelet 1,4 and the Structure of the Book’s Prologue”, ZAW 126 (2014), 92−100.
With J. Klein, “Religion and Ethics in Sumerian Proverb Literature” (in Hebrew), Beth-Mikra 57/2 (2012), pp. 106‒131. An English version was published in S. Yona et al. (eds.), Marbeh Horkmah, Studies in the Bible and the Ancient Near East in Loving Memory of Victor Avigdor Hurowitz, Winona Lake 2015, 295–222.
With Selim F. Adali, “Three New Nippur Manuscripts of the Ur Lament”, JCS 64 (2012), pp. 31‒37.
“On the Agricultural Imagery in Biblical Descriptions of Catastrophes”, JAJ 3 (2012), pp. 2‒13.
“The Ur Lament Tablets: Some Joins and New Readings”, Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires 2011, 62.
“Sumerian City Laments and the Book of Lamentations: Toward a Comparative Theological Study” (in Hebrew), Shnaton: An Annual for Biblical and Near Eastern Studies 21 (2012), pp. 91‒110.
“The tallest Man Cannot Reach Heaven; The Broadest Man Cannot Cover Earth” – Reconsidering the Proverb and its Biblical Parallels”, Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 10 (2010).
“Two Sumerian Parallels to Isaiah 55:10”, ZAW 122 (2010), pp. 439–440.
“The Babylonian Dialogue between a Master and His Slave – a New Literary Analysis” (in Hebrew), Shnaton: An Annual for Biblical and Near Eastern Studies 23 (2008), pp. 99–130.
“The Distinction between Holy and Profane in Targum Onkelos” (in Hebrew), Megadim 43 (2005), pp. 73–86.
Lectures and Invited Seminars
| December 2020 | Old Testament Seminar, Oxford University | “Qohelet’s Language in Its Cultural Context” |
| November 2019 |
SBL 2019 Annual Meeting, San-Diego. |
“Databases and Distorted Conclusions in Discussions of LBH: ˀt nominativi as a Test-Case” |
| July 2019 |
SBL 2019 International Meeting, Rome. |
“How Deterministic is Qohelet? A New Reading the Catalogue of Time and Its Appendix” |
| November 2018 | SBL 2018 Annual Meeting, Denver. | “Linguistic Dating of the Book of Qohelet: a New Direction” |
| November 2018 | Mainz International Colloquium on Ancient Hebrew, Mainz. | “Which Aramaic Dialect Stands at the Background of the Book of Qohelet?” |
| February 2018 | Starr Seminar, Center for Jewish Studies, Harvard University, Boston. | “Qohelet’s Idiolect: The Language of a Jew in a Changing World” |
| March 2018 | Jewish Theological Seminary, New York. | “Qohelet’s Language: an Extra-Linguistic Look” |
| November 2017 |
SBL 2017 Annual Meeting, Boston. |
“A Diachronic Look at the Biblical Root hbq” |
| November 2016 |
Workshop on Teaching Morals in Antiquity: Wisdom Texts, Oral Traditions, and Images, Leipzig. |
“Qohelet between Ancient Near Eastern and Hellenistic Traditions” |
| November 2016 | SBL 2016 Annual Meeting, San-Antonio. |
“New Light on the Administrative Term bēn bayît and Its Implications for Linguistic Dating” |
| November 2015 |
SBL 2015 Annual Meeting, Atlanta. |
“The Question of LBH Syntax” |
| October 2015 | Mainz International Colloquium on Ancient Hebrew, Mainz. | “Toward a Description of LBH Syntax: The Case of Ecclesiastes 1−2” |
| July 2015 | Humboldt University, Berlin. | ”Linguistic Dating of the Book of Proverbs: Methods, Problems and Preliminary Results” |
| June 2015 | University of Koblenz-Landau, Landau. | “The Redaction of Qohelet in Light of Mesopotamian Wisdom Literature” |
| June 2015 |
Heidelberg University, Heidelberg. |
“Biblical and Mesopotamian Vanity Literature” |
| June 2014 |
SBL 2014 International Meeting, Vienna. |
“Gilgamesh and Qohelet: A New Look” |
| June 2014 |
International Conference on 3000 Years of Textual Production and Dissemination in the ANE, Tel Aviv University. |
“The Motif of Vanity in Ancient Near Eastern Literature: Transmission, Reception and Adaptation” |
| January 2014 | Annual Conference of the Israel Society for Assyriology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Tel-Aviv. | “Family Relations in Mesopotamian Proverb Literature” |
| November 2013 |
SBL 2013 Annual Meeting, Baltimore. |
“Dating the Book of Proverbs on Linguistic Grounds: Challenges and Chances” |
| August 2013 |
16th World Congress of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem. |
“Philosophical Terms in the Book of Qohelet” |
| July 2013 |
SBL 2013 International Meeting, St. Andrews. |
“Dating the Hezekian Collection on Linguistic Grounds” |
| May 2013 |
International Conference on Jewish Religion in Light of New Inscriptions and Papyri, Jeselsohn Epigraphic Center for Jewish History, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan. |
“Qohelet and the Ancient Near Eastern Literature of Vanity: A Reassessment” |
| November 2012 |
Conference on Historical Memory in the Ancient Near East, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv. |
“Are We Still Allowed to Read Literature as History? The Sumerian City Laments as a Test-Case” |
| July 2012 |
SBL 2012 International Meeting, Amsterdam. |
“Removing a Garment on a Cold Day: the MT of Proverbs 25,20 and the Redaction History of Biblical Proverbs” |
| April 2011 |
Hebrew Bible Seminar, Columbia University, New York. |
“Agricultural Imagery in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Descriptions of Catastrophes” |
| November 2010 |
SBL 2010 Annual Meeting, Atlanta. |
“On the Agricultural Imagery in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Descriptions of Catastrophes” |
| May 2010 |
The Judaic Studies Program, Drexel University, Philadelphia. |
“Biblical Thought vs. Ancient Near Eastern Thought as Reflected in the Wisdom Literature” |
| April 2010 | Jewish Theological Seminary, New York. | “On the Phenomenon of Literary Adaptation in the Bible and the Ancient Near East” |
| February 2010 |
Judah Goldin Seminar for Biblical studies, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. |
“Processes of Literary Adaptation in the Bible and the Ancient Near East: An Ancient Proverb as a Test Case” |
| November 2009 |
SBL 2009 Annual Meeting, New Orleans. |
“The Tallest Man Cannot Reach Heaven; The Broadest Man Cannot Cover Earth Reconsidering the Proverb and its Biblical Parallels” |
| August 2009 |
Fifteenth World Congress of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem. |
“The Sumerian City Laments and the Book of Lamentation: A Comparative Theological View” |
| January 2006 |
Torah Study, Exegesis and Research: International Conference Marking the Centenary of Nehama Leibowitz’s Birth, The Van Leer Institute, Jerusalem. |
“Take off a Garment in Cold Weather (Proverbs 25:20)” |
Courses
|
course (English) |
01-194-35 |
The Bible in Light of the Ancient Near East |
credits equal 1 course hours |
Fall Semester |
On-Line |
|
course (English) |
01-194-36 |
The Bible in Light of the Ancient Near East |
credits equal 1 course hours |
Spring Semester |
On-Line |
|
course (Hebrew) |
01-811-35 |
The Bible in Light of the Ancient Near East |
credits equal 1 course hours |
Fall semester |
On-Line |
Research
The Bible in Light of the Ancient Near East, Mesoptamia with an emphasis on Sumer, Biblical Hebrew with an emphasis on late Biblical Hebrew and Linguistic Dating, Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Wisdom Literature, Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Lamentation Literature
- Last modified: 18/05/2022
