# Joshua Berman

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{{Short description|American rabbi, biblical scholar, and professor (b. 1964)}}
{{about|the Bible scholar|the scriptwriter|Josh Berman}}
'''Joshua Berman''' ({{langx|he|יהושע ברמן}}; born February 29, 1964) is an [Orthodox rabbi](/source/Orthodox_Rabbi) and professor of bible at [Bar-Ilan University](/source/Bar-Ilan_University). He is known for his views on the history of Jewish belief, and on [biblical source criticism](/source/biblical_criticism), arguing that "knowledge of the cultural context of the ancient Near East" is required in understanding the scriptures.<ref>[https://www.timesofisrael.com/orthodoxy-can-withstand-an-unflinching-academic-look-at-the-bible-says-scholar/ Orthodoxy can withstand an unflinching, academic look at the Bible, says scholar], [Times of Israel](/source/Times_of_Israel), May 2020.</ref>

Berman earned his A.B. at [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University) in 1987 and his PhD at [Bar-Ilan University](/source/Bar-Ilan_University) in 2002.<ref name="BermanFacultyPage">{{cite news|title=Joshua Berman|url=http://bible.biu.ac.il/en/node/674|accessdate=10 July 2017|publisher=Bar-Ilan University}}</ref> He studied at [Yeshivat Har Etzion](/source/Yeshivat_Har_Etzion) for eight years. Before completing his PhD, Berman taught Bible at the [Nishmat](/source/Nishmat_(midrasha)) [Midrasha](/source/Midrasha) for several years.

Berman is a frequent contributor to ''[Mosaic Magazine](/source/Mosaic_(magazine))'', a magazine for Jewish ideas, religion, politics, and culture, and has written there on a variety of topics including most commonly [the Israelite exodus](/source/the_exodus) out of Egypt and the current state of [biblical studies](/source/biblical_studies), where he has drawn both agreement and disagreement from other scholars.<ref>[https://mosaicmagazine.com/author/joshua-berman/ Joshua Berman Mosaic Profile]</ref>

Berman began as a strong proponent of the [documentary hypothesis](/source/documentary_hypothesis) and late Persian authorship, but became convinced of the reliability of the [Hebrew Bible](/source/Hebrew_Bible) after years of research.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Berman |first1=Joshua |title=Ani maamin: biblical criticism, historical truth, and the thirteen principles of faith |date=2020 |location=Jerusalem |isbn=978-1592645381 }}</ref>

==Publications==
*'' Created Equal: How the Bible Broke with Ancient Political Thought'', Oxford University Press <ref name="Morrow (book review)">{{cite journal |last1=Morrow |first1=William S. |title=Joshua A Berman, . Created Equal: How the Bible Broke with Ancient Political Thought. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. xiv+249 pp. $39.95 (cloth) |journal=The Journal of Religion |date=January 2010 |volume=90 |issue=1 |pages=63–65 |doi=10.1086/649970 }}</ref><ref name="Weisbard (book review)">{{cite journal |last1=Weisband |first1=Howard M. |title=Creatively Presented |journal=Jewish Political Studies Review |date=2009 |volume=21 |issue=3/4 |pages=236–240 |jstor=25834868 }}</ref><ref name="Levinson (book review)">{{cite journal |last1=Levinson |first1=Bernard M. |title=The Bible's Break with Ancient Political Thought to Promote Equality—' It Ain't Necessarily so' |journal=The Journal of Theological Studies |date=2010 |volume=61 |issue=2 |pages=685–694 |doi=10.1093/jts/flq048 |jstor=43665339 |ssrn=1836685 }}</ref><ref name=Benjamin>{{cite journal |last1=Benjamin |first1=Don C. |title=Review of Created Equal: How the Bible Broke with Ancient Political Thought |journal=The Catholic Biblical Quarterly |date=2010 |volume=72 |issue=2 |pages=333–334 |jstor=43727646 }}</ref>
*''The Temple: Its Symbolism and Meaning Then and Now'', (2010) Wipf & Stock Publishers, {{ISBN|978-1608997763}}
*''Narrative Analogy in the Hebrew Bible: Battle Stories and their Equivalent Non-battle Narratives'', Brill
*''Inconsistency in the Torah: Ancient Literary Convention and the Limits of Source Criticism'', (2017) Oxford University Press
*''Ani Maamin: Biblical Criticism, Historical Truth, and the Thirteen Principles of Faith'', 2020, {{ISBN|978-1592645381}}
* {{cite book|title=The Documentary Hypothesis and the Composition of the Pentateuch|author=Umberto Cassuto|author-link=Umberto Cassuto|editor=Joshua Berman|translator=Israel Abrahams|publisher=Shalem Press|date=2006|isbn=978-965-7052-35-8}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Berman, Joshua}}
Category:Living people
Category:Old Testament scholars
Category:Princeton University alumni
Category:Academic staff of Bar-Ilan University
Category:Bar-Ilan University alumni
Category:Orthodox rabbis
Category:1964 births
Category:Yeshivat Har Etzion alumni

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Joshua Berman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Berman) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Berman?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.