{{Short description|American professor}} {{Infobox academic | honorific_prefix = | name = Jack M. Sasson | honorific_suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = <!-- Use only if different from full/othernames --> | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1941|10|01|mf=y}} | birth_place = Aleppo, Syria | death_date = <!-- {{death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = | death_cause = | region = | period = | occupation = Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies and Hebrew Bible at Vanderbilt Divinity School | boards = president of the American Oriental Society ,<br/>president of the International Association for Assyriology<!-- Board or similar positions extraneous to main occupation - e.g. "Editoral board of The Journal of Sociology" --> | discipline = Jewish studies<br>Biblical studies<br/>Middle Eastern studies<!-- Major academic discipline - e.g. Physicist, Sociologist, New Testament scholar, Ancient Near Eastern Linguist --> | sub_discipline = <!-- Academic discipline specialist area - e.g. Sub-atomic research, 20th Century Danish specialist, Pauline research, Arcadian and Ugaritic specialist --> | movement = <!-- Should match the idiologial movement or denomination (for religious), "school" of thought etc. (e.g. "Anglican", "Postmodernist", "Socialist" or "Green" etc. --> | religion = <!-- Religion should be supported with a citation from a reliable source --> | denomination = <!-- Religious denomination should be supported with a citation from a reliable source --> | education = Abraham Lincoln High School, Brooklyn College | alma_mater = Brandeis University (Ph.D.)<!-- will often consist of the linked name of the last-attended higher education institution. --> | thesis_title = | thesis_url = | thesis_year = 1966 | doctoral_advisor = Cyrus Gordon | doctoral_students = | notable_students = | main_interests = Assyriology, Hebrew Scriptures | workplaces = University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill<br/>Vanderbilt University | notable_works = ''Judges 1-12'' (AYB)<br/>''Jonah'' (AYB) }}
'''Jack M. Sasson''' (born October 1, 1941) is the Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies and Hebrew Bible at Vanderbilt Divinity School, Emeritus and previously Professor of Classics at Vanderbilt University.<ref name="faculty">{{Cite web |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/divinity/facultypages/jsasson.php |title=Vanderbilt Divinity School Faculty Pages |access-date=2009-12-08 |archive-date=2010-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523124919/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/divinity/facultypages/jsasson.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> From 1977 to 1999, he was a professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His research focuses primarily on Assyriology and Hebrew Scriptures, writing on the archives from eighteenth century BC found at Mari, Syria, by the Euphrates, near the modern-day Syria-Iraq border as well as on biblical studies.
==Biography== Born in Aleppo, Syria, on October 1, 1941, Sasson immigrated to the United States in 1955 after a significant stay in Lebanon where he attended the Alliance Israélite Universelle schools.<ref name="Harris">{{cite web |author=Lew Harris |date=28 August 2000 |title=Syrian-born divinity professor discovers America as the land of opportunity |work=Vanderbilt Register |url=https://news.vanderbilt.edu/archived-news/register/articles/index-id=4369.html |access-date=23 February 2018 |archive-date=20 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150920234853/http://news.vanderbilt.edu/archived-news/register/articles/index-id=4369.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the United States, Sasson enrolled in Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, New York, and then Brooklyn College, which later became a constituent school of the City University of New York college system.<ref name="Harris"/> He received his B.A. in history in 1962 from Brooklyn College.<ref name="Harris"/>
Immediately after completing his undergraduate education, Sasson accepted a scholarship to pursue his graduate studies at Brandeis University. At Brandeis, he focused first on Islamic Studies, earning an M.A. in Mediterranean Studies in 1963.<ref>''Who's Who in Biblical Studies and Archaeology'', 2nd ed., 1993, 258.</ref> He went on to earn his doctorate in Ancient Near Eastern Studies in 1966, writing his dissertation under Cyrus Gordon.<ref name="Harris"/>
Sasson taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, moving up the rank and becoming a full professor of Religious Studies in 1977.<ref>Klebba, Caryn E. ''Directory of American Scholars 2002''. 10th ed., vol. 4, 437.</ref> In 1991, Sasson was appointed to the prestigious William R. Kenan Chair in Religious Studies where he remained until joining the faculty of Vanderbilt University in 1999.<ref name="Harris"/> He served as president of the American Oriental Society from 1996 to 1997 and of the International Association for Assyriology from 2005 to 2009.<ref name="faculty"/><ref name="CV">[http://people.vanderbilt.edu/~jack.m.sasson/curriculum_vitae.htm Jack M. Sasson's Curriculum Vitae]</ref> He also established and directed the Jewish Studies program at Vanderbilt University from 2002 to 2005.<ref name="CV"/>
==Selected works== ===Books=== *{{cite book |last=Sasson |first=Jack M. |title=Ruth: A New Translation. With a Philological Commentary and a Folkloristic-Formalist Interpretation |location=Baltimore |publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press |date=1979 }} *{{cite book |last=Sasson |first=Jack M. |author-mask=3 |title=Ruth: A New Translation. With a Philological Commentary and a Folkloristic-Formalist Interpretation. (Revised Edition, with Comments.) |location=Sheffield |publisher=Almond Press |date=1989 }} *{{cite book |last=Sasson |first=Jack M.|author-mask=3 |title=Jonah: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary |series=Anchor Yale Bible|publisher=Yale University Press |date=1990|isbn=978-0-300-13970-9}} *{{cite book |last=Sasson |first=Jack M.|author-mask=3 |title=Judges 1-12: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary |series=Anchor Yale Bible|publisher=Yale University Press| date=2014|isbn=978-0-300-19033-5}} *{{cite book |last=Sasson |first=Jack M.|author-mask=3 |title=From the Mari Archives. An Anthology of Old Babylonian Letters|publisher=Eisenbrauns| date=2015|isbn=978-1-57506-830-5}}
===Articles and chapters=== {{refbegin|32em}} * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3735 Absalom's Daughter: An Essay in Vestige Historiography]," ''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'' 343 (2001): 179-196. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3744 Albright as an Orientalist]" ''The Biblical Archaeologist''. 56.1 (1993): 3-7. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3666 An Apocalyptic Vision from Mari: Speculations on ARM X:9]" ''Mari: Annales de Recherches Interdisciplinaires''. 1 (1982): 151-67. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3583 Biographical Notices on Some Royal Ladies from Mari]" ''Journal of Cuneiform Studies''. 25.2 (Apr 1973): 59-78. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3709 The Blood of Grapes: Viticulture and Intoxication in the Hebrew Bible]" ''Drinking in Ancient Societies; History and Culture of Drinks in the Ancient Near East''. Ed. Lucio Milano. Padua: Sargon srl, 1994. 399-419. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3743 Bovine Symbolism in the Exodus Narrative]" ''Vetus Testamentum''. 18.3 (Jul 1968): 380-7. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3627 The Burden of Scribes]" Tzi Abusch, ed. ''Riches Hidden in Secret Places: Studies in Memory of Thorkild Jacobsen''. (2002): 211-28. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3647 Canaanite Maritime Involvement in the Second Millennium B.C.]" ''Journal of the American Oriental Society''. 86.2 (1966): 126-138. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3564 Divine Providence or Human Plan?]" ''Interpretation''. 30 (1976): 415-419. * "[http://hdl.handle.net/1803/3776 Forcing Morals on Mesopotamian Society]" ''Studies in Honor of Harry A. Hoffner, Jr., on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday''. Eds. Gary Beckman Richard Beal, and Gregory McMahon. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2003. 329-40. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3582 Instances of Mobility Among Mari Artisans]" ''Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research''. 190 (Apr 1968): 46-54. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3569 Isaiah LXVI 3-4a]" ''Vetus Testamentum''. 26.2 (1976): 199-207. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3562 The King and I: A Mari King in Changing Perceptions]" ''Journal of the American Oriental Society''. 118.4 (1998): 453—470. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3648 Love's Roots: On the Redaction of Genesis 30:14-24]" ''Love and Death in the Ancient Near East: Essays in Honor of Marvin H. Pope''. Eds. John H. Marks and Robert M. Good. Guilford, CT: Four Quarters Publishing Company, 1987. 205-09. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3543 A Major Contribution to Song of Songs Scholarship]" ''Journal of the American Oriental Society''. 107.4 (1987): 733—739. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3563 Mari Dreams]" ''Journal of the American Oriental Society''. 103.1 (1983): 283—293. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3632 Musical Settings for Cuneiform Literature: A Discography]" ''Journal of the American Oriental Society''. 103 (1983): 233-35. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3619 Of Time & Immortality: How Genesis Created Them]" ''Bible Review''. 21.3 (Summer 2005): 32-41, 52-54. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3618 Old Babylonian Tablets from Al-Rimah]" ''Journal of the American Oriental Society''. 100.4 (1980): 453-460. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3637 On the Use of Images in Israel and the Ancient Near East]" Barry M. Gittlin, ed. ''Sacred Time, Sacred Place: Archaeology and the Religion of Israel''. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2002. 63-70. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3704 Oracle Inquiries in Judges]" ''Birkat Shalom: Studies in the Bible, Ancient Near Eastern Literature, and Postbiblical Judaism Presented to Shalom M. Paul on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday''. Eds. Chaim Cohen Victor A. Hurowitz, Avi Hurvitz, Yochanan Muffs and others. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2008. 149-68. * "[http://hdl.handle.net/1803/3775 The Posting of Letters with Divine Messages]" ''Florilegium marianum'', 2: ''Recueil d'études à la mémoire de Maurice Birot'' [''Mémoires de N.A.B.U.'', 3]. Eds. D. Charpin and J.M. Durand. Paris: ''Nouvelles assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires'', 1994. 299-316. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3565 The Road to Vanderbilt]" ''The Spire''; Vol. 22 No. 01, 2001. 28-32. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3622 The Search for the Hebrew God]" University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 23 Sept 2001. Lecture. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3578 The Servant's Tale: How Rebekah Found a Spouse]" ''Journal of Near Eastern Studies''. Chicago: Univ of Chicago Press. 65.4 (2006): 241-265. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3705 Should Cheeseburgers Be Kosher?]" ''Bible Review''. 19.6 (Dec 2003): 41-43, 50-51. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3621 Sketch of North Syrian Economic Relations in the Middle Bronze Age]" ''Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient''. 9.3 (Dec 1966): 161-81. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3579 Thoughts of Zimri-Lim]" ''Biblical Archaeologist''. 47.2 (June 1984): 110-20. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3612 The Treatment of Criminals at Mari: A Survey]" ''Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient''. 20.1 (Jan 1977): 90-113. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3570 Untold Stories: The Bible and Ugaritic Studies in the Twentieth Century]" ''Jewish Quarterly Review''. 93.1/2 (2002): 314-316. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3662 Utopian and Dystopian Images in Mari Prophetic Texts]" ''Utopia and Dystopia in Prophetic Literature''. Ed. Ehud Ben Zvi. Helsinki: Finnish Exegetical Society, 2006. 27-40. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3703 Who Cut Samson's Hair? (And Other Trifling Issues Raised by Judges 16]" ''Prooftexts''. 8.3 (1988): 333-339. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3702 Year: Zimri-Lim Dedicated His Statue to Addu of Halab, Locating One Year in Zimri-Lim's Reign]" ''Mari: Annales de Recherches Interdisciplinaires''. 5 (1987): 577-89. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3736 Year: Zimri-Lim Offered a Great Throne to Shamash of Mahanum: An Overview of One Year in Mari, Part 1: The Presence of the King]" ''Mari: Annales de Recherches Interdisciplinaires''. 4 (1985): 437-52. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3571 Zimri-Lim Takes the Grand Tour]" ''Biblical Archaeologist''. 47.4 (1984): 246-52. * "[http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3742 Zimri-Lim's Letter to Tish-ulme]" ''Nouvelles assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires''. 3.116 (1989): 91-92.
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==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://my.vanderbilt.edu/jacksasson/ Personal Homepage] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110718172808/http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/3502 Sasson's digital publication archive (DiscoverArchive)] * [http://www.vanderbilt.edu/divinity/facultypages/jsasson.php Vanderbilt Divinity School biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523124919/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/divinity/facultypages/jsasson.php |date=2010-05-23 }}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sasson, Jack M.}} Category:American Assyriologists Category:Syrian emigrants to the United States Category:Brooklyn College alumni Category:Brandeis University alumni Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty Category:Vanderbilt University faculty Category:Hebrew Bible studies Category:Biblical archaeology Category:Living people Category:1941 births Category:Abraham Lincoln High School (Brooklyn) alumni Category:Syrian Jews