Adele Berlin
Robert H. Smith Professor of Bible, Emerita
University of Maryland

Adele Berlin, now professor emerita, was the Robert H. Smith Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Maryland. Her main interests are biblical narrative and poetry, and the interpretation of the Bible, both ancient and modern. She is especially interested in the intersection of traditional Jewish interpretation and modern academic interpretation; the Bible in its ancient Near Eastern context; and the literary study of the Bible.

Coming from a background in ancient Near Eastern Studies, she early on applied literary criticism to ancient texts; first, to the Sumerian composition that was the basis of her Ph.D. dissertation, and then to various biblical texts. She served as editor-in-chief for the revised edition of The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion. She is a past President of the Society of Biblical Literature.

Selected Publications

The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism

Poetics and Interpretation of Biblical Narrative

Lamentations, A Commentary (Old Testament Library Series)

Esther (JPS Bible Commentary)

The Jewish Study Bible, co-edited (with Marc Brettler)