Louis Harry Feldman (October 29, 1926 – March 25, 2017) was an American professor of classics and literature. He was the Abraham Wouk Family Professor of Classics and Literature at

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

, the institution at which he taught since 1955. Feldman was a scholar of

Hellenistic civilization In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

, specifically the works of Josephus Flavius. Feldman's work on Josephus is widely respected by other scholars.

Biography

Feldman received his undergraduate degree (as valedictorian) from Trinity College, Hartford, CT in 1946 and his master’s degree the following year. In 1951, he received his doctoral degree in

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

for his dissertation ''

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

’s Concept of Historiography''. He returned to Trinity College as a teaching fellow and eventually served as classics instructor before leaving for Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 1953. Feldman began teaching at Yeshiva University as an instructor in 1955, became an assistant professor in 1956, an associate professor in 1961 and, in 1966, a professor of classics. In 1993, he was appointed Abraham Wouk Family Professor of Classics and Literature at Yeshiva University. A fellow of the American Academy for Jewish Research, he received numerous other fellowships and awards. These include a

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

Fellowship (1951-1952), a Guggenheim Fellowship (1963), a grant from the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture (1969), and a grant from the

American Philosophical Association The American Philosophical Association (APA) is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. Founded in 1900, its mission is to promote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encourage creative and scholarl ...

(1972). He was named a senior fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies in 1971, a Littauer Foundation fellow in 1973, and

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...

fellow in 1994. In 1981, he received the American Philological Association award for “Excellence in Teaching the Classics.” Additionally, Feldman has been selected to conduct seminars for college teachers by the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

. Feldman is a co-recipient of the 2014

National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature.James L. Kugel and

Lawrence H. Schiffman Lawrence Harvey Schiffman (born 1948) is a professor at New York University (as of 2014); he was formerly Vice-Provost of Undergraduate Education at Yeshiva University and Professor of Jewish Studies (from early 2011 to 2014). He had previously ...

Thought and writings

Feldman was a widely respected antiquities scholar.'' Henoch'' Volumes 29–30, 2007, page 376

Robert E. Van Voorst Robert E. Van Voorst (born June 5, 1952) is an American theologian and educator. He retired in 2018 as a Professor of New Testament Studies at Western Theological Seminary, in Holland, Michigan, and has published scholarly works in early Christi ...

referred to Feldman as "the dean of Josephan scholars",''Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence'' by Robert E. Van Voorst 2000 , page 88 and

Paul L. Maier Paul L. Maier (born May 31, 1930) is a historian and novelist. He has written several works of scholarly and popular non-fiction about Christianity and novels about Christian historians. He is the former Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient H ...

referred to Feldman as "the ranking Josephus authority".''Josephus: The Essential Works'' by Flavius Josephus and Paul L. Maier 1995 , page 285 As a historian, Feldman dealt primarily with the writings of Josephus and their role within the larger framework of Jewish civilization during the Second Temple Period. Feldmans' works on Josephus ranged from discussions of historical accuracy to analysis of Josephus’ biblical interpretations. Overall, Feldman viewed Josephus’ work as key to understanding Jewish life and interactions with Hellenistic culture during the Greco-Roman era. In addition to his work on Josephus, Feldman published numerous works on the writings of

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's de ...

as well as works dealing directly with the nature of Jewish life during antiquity. Feldman’s works include ''Scholarship on Philo and Josephus, 1937-1962'' (1963), ''Josephus and Modern Scholarship, 1937-1980'' (1984), ''Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World: Attitudes and Interactions from Alexander to Justinian'' (1993), ''Studies in Hellenistic Judaism'' (1998), and ''Josephus’ Interpretation of the Bible'' (1998). Feldman also translated several volumes of the critical edition of

Jewish Antiquities ''Antiquities of the Jews'' ( la, Antiquitates Iudaicae; el, Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία, ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume Historiography, historiographical work, written in Greek language, Greek, by historian Josephus, F ...

. Feldman contributed extensively to journals in his field, having published approximately 170 scholarly articles. He also served as departmental editor of Hellenistic literature for the first edition of ''

Encyclopedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a 22-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, lang ...

'' and as a contributor to the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

''.

Notes

References

* ''

'' Second Edition, Volume 6

External links

List of Feldman's Scholarly Articles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feldman, Louis H. 1926 births 2017 deaths Jewish American historians Yeshiva University faculty Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni American classical scholars Jewish scholars American Orthodox Jews People from Hartford, Connecticut Historians from Connecticut 21st-century American Jews