Elias Bickerman (July 7, 1897 O.S. in Russia – August 31, 1981 in Jerusalem), also spelled as Bickermann or Bikerman, was a leading scholar of Greco-Roman history and the Hellenistic world.
Bickerman was born in Kishinev, then part of the Russian Empire, to a secular Jewish family. He left Russia during the Bolshevik revolution and the Russian Civil War for Germany, where he received education from German classicists and Hellenists.[1] Due to the rise of the Nazi Party to power and his Jewish heritage, he fled to France. He soon had to abandon that country as well after the Battle of France. Since 1942 he lived in the U.S.[2] His research interests extended to Judaism and some aspects of Iranian history.[1][3] For most of his career, he was Professor of Ancient History at Columbia University, New York.[4]
Workedit
Bickerman's scholarship of the Maccabean revolt was highly influential. Rather than the more traditionalist reading of an evil Seleucid king fighting a unified Jewish opposition, Bickerman emphasized that much of the conflict was in internal Jewish tensions in Judea of the era. He showed that the Hasmonean leadership were not as anti-Hellenist as often portrayed, at least after gaining a measure of autonomy. He also made strong cases for the authenticity of documents found in the book of 2 Maccabees, showing that they matched other Seleucid documents of the era, had correct titles, and were in general plausible.[1]
A partial list of books includes:
The God of the Maccabees (Berlin, 1937; English translation, 1979)
Institutions des Séleucides (Paris, 1938)
From Ezra to the Last of the Maccabees (New York, 1962)
Studies in Jewish and Christian History (3 volumes, Leiden, 1976–1986)
Religion and Politics in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods (Como, 1985)
The Jews in the Greek Age (Cambridge, Mass., 1990)
Footnotes and referencesedit
^ abcCohen, Shaye J. D. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
^Baumgarten, Albert I. (2010). Elias Bickerman as a historian of the Jews : a twentieth century tale. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. ISBN978-3-16-150171-5. OCLC 527702765.
^Smith, Morton (1983). "Elias J. Bickerman". Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research. 50: xv–xviii. JSTOR 3622685.
^"The Jews in the Greek Age — Elias J. Bickerman".
External linksedit
Elias Joseph Bickerman in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
April 10, 2024
elias, joseph, bickerman, elias, bickerman, july, 1897, russia, august, 1981, jerusalem, also, spelled, bickermann, bikerman, leading, scholar, greco, roman, history, hellenistic, world, elias, bickermanbornjuly, 1897, kishinev, russian, empire, modern, moldov. Elias Bickerman July 7 1897 O S in Russia August 31 1981 in Jerusalem also spelled as Bickermann or Bikerman was a leading scholar of Greco Roman history and the Hellenistic world Elias J BickermanBornJuly 1 1897 O S Kishinev Russian Empire modern Moldova DiedAugust 31 1981 aged 84 JerusalemOccupation s Classicist Ancient Historian Jewish Historian Contents 1 Biography 2 Work 3 Footnotes and references 4 External linksBiography editBickerman was born in Kishinev then part of the Russian Empire to a secular Jewish family He left Russia during the Bolshevik revolution and the Russian Civil War for Germany where he received education from German classicists and Hellenists 1 Due to the rise of the Nazi Party to power and his Jewish heritage he fled to France He soon had to abandon that country as well after the Battle of France Since 1942 he lived in the U S 2 His research interests extended to Judaism and some aspects of Iranian history 1 3 For most of his career he was Professor of Ancient History at Columbia University New York 4 Work editBickerman s scholarship of the Maccabean revolt was highly influential Rather than the more traditionalist reading of an evil Seleucid king fighting a unified Jewish opposition Bickerman emphasized that much of the conflict was in internal Jewish tensions in Judea of the era He showed that the Hasmonean leadership were not as anti Hellenist as often portrayed at least after gaining a measure of autonomy He also made strong cases for the authenticity of documents found in the book of 2 Maccabees showing that they matched other Seleucid documents of the era had correct titles and were in general plausible 1 A partial list of books includes The God of the Maccabees Berlin 1937 English translation 1979 Institutions des Seleucides Paris 1938 From Ezra to the Last of the Maccabees New York 1962 Studies in Jewish and Christian History 3 volumes Leiden 1976 1986 Religion and Politics in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods Como 1985 The Jews in the Greek Age Cambridge Mass 1990 Footnotes and references edit a b c Cohen Shaye J D Elias J Bickerman An appreciation PDF Archived from the original PDF on March 4 2016 Retrieved June 25 2015 Baumgarten Albert I 2010 Elias Bickerman as a historian of the Jews a twentieth century tale Tubingen Mohr Siebeck ISBN 978 3 16 150171 5 OCLC 527702765 Smith Morton 1983 Elias J Bickerman Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research 50 xv xviii JSTOR 3622685 The Jews in the Greek Age Elias J Bickerman External links editElias Joseph Bickerman in libraries WorldCat catalog Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Elias Joseph Bickerman amp oldid 1188766142, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
