Adele Berlin

Adele Berlin (born May 23, 1943 in Philadelphia) is an American biblical scholar and Hebraist. Before her retirement, she was Robert H. Smith Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Maryland.^[1]

Adele Berlin
Born	(1943-05-23) May 23, 1943 (age 82) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Occupation	Biblical scholar
Known for	Literary approach to the Bible
Title	Robert H. Smith Professor of Biblical Studies
Board member of	Past President of the Society of Biblical Literature, Fellow of the American Academy for Jewish Research
Academic background
Education	University of Pennsylvania, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Gratz College
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania
Thesis	Enmerkar and Ensuhkešdanna, A Sumerian Narrative Poem (1976)
Academic work
Institutions	University of Maryland
Main interests	Biblical narrative and poetry, and the interpretation of the Bible

Berlin is best known for 1994 work Poetics and interpretation of biblical narrative (ISBN 1575060027). She has also written commentaries on Song of Songs, Zephaniah, Esther, and Lamentations. A Festschrift in her honor, "Built by Wisdom, Established by Understanding": Essays in Honor of Adele Berlin, was published in 2013.

Berlin has been a Guggenheim Fellow, and President of the Society of Biblical Literature. Along with Robert Alter and Meir Sternberg, Berlin is one of the most prominent practitioners of a literary approach to the Bible.^[2][3][4] In 2004, the Jewish Book Council awarded Berlin along with co-editor Marc Zvi Brettler the scholarship category award for the Jewish Publication Society and Oxford University Press book, The Jewish Study Bible.^[5] A decade later the two editors offered its second edition.^{[citation needed]}

Works

Multiple works published:-^[6]

Books

• Berlin, Adele (1979). Enmerkar and Ensuhkešdanna, A Sumerian Narrative Poem. Occasional Publications of the Babylonian Fund. Vol. 2. Philadelphia, PA: The University Museum. ISBN 9780934718295. OCLC 6090804.
• ——— (1983). Poetics and Interpretation of Biblical Narrative. Bible and literature series. Vol. 9. Sheffield, UK: Almond Press. ISBN 9780907459231. OCLC 10214708.
• ——— (1985). The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253318503. OCLC 924981288.
• ——— (1991). Biblical Poetry Through Medieval Jewish Eyes. Indiana studies in biblical literature. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780585106120. OCLC 43475924.
• ——— (1994). Zephaniah: a new translation with introduction and commentary. Anchor Bible. Vol. 25A. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 9780385266314. OCLC 28928604.
• ——— (2001). Esther: the traditional Hebrew text with the new JPS translation. JPS Bible Commentary. Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society. ISBN 9780827606999. OCLC 44669511.
• ——— (2001). Esther. Miḳra le-Yiśraʼel Commentary. Tel Aviv: Am Oved. ISBN 9789651313257. OCLC 48838494.
• ——— (2002). Lamentations: A Commentary. Old Testament library. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664218492. OCLC 49892430.
• ——— (2023). The JPS Bible Commentary: Psalms 120–150. Jewish Publication Society. ISBN 9780827609402.

• ——— (2025). Song of Songs: A Commentary. Hermeneia. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press. ISBN 9780800699017. OCLC 1446262146.

Edited by

• ———; Brettler, Marc Zvi, eds. (2014). The Jewish Study Bible. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199978465. OCLC 892869165.