Strata: Milestones

Professors Emanuel Tov and Amihai Mazar, both of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, have been named as 2009 recipients of the prestigious Israel Prize. The prize, which is awarded by Israel’s Education Minister on behalf of the State of Israel, is given to Israeli citizens or organizations who have made outstanding contributions to their fields or to Israeli culture.

Emanuel Tov, who was awarded the prize for his Biblical research, is an expert in the Septuagint (the third-century B.C. Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) and the early versions of the Biblical text. He was the first Israeli scholar to publish Dead Sea Scroll fragments in the Discoveries in the Judaean Desert series (DJD), and in 1991 he replaced John Strugnell as editor-in-chief of the scroll publication team.ⁱ Under his guidance, the once-lagging publication of the scrolls was completed at 40 volumes. In nominating Tov, the prize committee recognized him as “a leading researcher of international renown ... [who has] made very important contributions to the research of the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls.”