Jan Alberto Soggin (10 March 1926 – 27 October 2010)

Professor Soggin at the Burkitt Awards

While I was preparing this afternoon a lesson on the Persian Period for the second semester course on Wisdom Literature, I came upon the book of Professor Jan Alberto Soggin, Introduction to the History of Israel and Judah ( 2nd ed., Trinity Press International, 1993; there is a 3rd ed., SCM,. 1999).

I think the book offers a clear, balanced and judicious presentation of the subject. Professor Soggin was a visiting professor of the Old Testament in the Biblicum (Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome) when I was student there from 1995-1999.

Curious if he has new books in English that Arnoldus Library does not yet have, I googled his name and found out that he died just very recently on Oct. 27, 2010 in Rome after a prolonged illness. He was 84.

Please click on here for the write up on him when received the Burkitt Medal from the British Academy.

Click here for a review of his last book in English, Israel in the Biblical Period: Institutions, Festivals, Ceremonies, Rituals (transl. John Bowden, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 2001).

Click also here to read in Google Books one of his most popular books, Introduction to the Old Testament