Second Honor of 2020 for Bible Scholar

Prof. (Emeritus) Edward L. Greenstein, of Bar-Ilan’s Zalman Shamir Bible Department, will be awarded the prestigious Jordan Schnitzer Book Award for 2020 in the category of Biblical Studies, Rabbinics, and Jewish History & Culture in Antiquity. Prof. Greenstein is being recognized for his much-acclaimed annotated English translation of the Book of Job, entitled Job: A New Translation (Yale University Press, 2019).

The Schnitzer Book Award was established by the Association of Jewish Studies in 2007 to recognize and promote outstanding scholarship in the field of Jewish studies and to honor scholars whose work embodies the best in the field: innovative research, excellent writing, and sophisticated methodology. Awards are given in ten areas of Judaic scholarship, five areas per year. In each category there is a first prize and finalist prize.  

"I was pleased to receive this recognition because, although my book has gotten very wide and favorable coverage in the mainstream press, it may not be obvious on the surface that it is based on a wealth of scholarly work, spanning decades. This award, from a professional organization, recognizes the scholarly contribution of my book," said Prof. Greenstein.

The Award will be presented later this month via Zoom at the annual conference of the Association of Jewish Studies.

This is the second prize to be awarded to Prof. Greenstein in 2020. Earlier this year he received the prestigious EMET Prize in the Humanities, in recognition of his “original contribution to the field of comparative research of Ugaritic (Ancient Canaanite) and Biblical literature, and his extraordinary ability to integrate various disciplines in Biblical research leading to original and novel interpretations, including his revolutionary commentary on the Book of Job and his new translation of that book.”