English／日本語
I was born in Jerusalem, a city divided by walls between two peoples, and grew up surrounded by its different Jewish communities, both religious and non-observant. I learned to speak Arabic and was familiar with both the city’s Islamic and Christian communities.
As an undergraduate I studied the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East, enjoying the novelty of discovering the writing systems of ancient languages such as Hieroglyphic Egyptian, Sumerian, Akkadian, and especially the ancient Hebrew inscriptions.
For my PhD degree I studied Hittite texts and went on to concentrate on the language and culture of the Hittites, which I found fascinating due to its many similarities with the Hebrew Bible traditions, especially regarding the cult, as well as its laws and politics.
The results of my research on the Hittite Priesthood were published in Hittite Priesthood (Texte der Hethiter 26; Heidelberg: Winter Verlag, 2006). Other publications are listed in the publication section of this Home Page.
My other passion is Modern Hebrew Language and its literature and culture, which I have been teaching with much enthusiasm, to several generations of students for more than thirty-five years.
I have published two volumes, one in English/Hebrew the other in Japanese/Hebrew on understanding the use of prepositions, with the aim of teaching how to use the language correctly. See: Hebrew Prepositions – A Handbook for the Study and Practice of Modern Hebrew Prepositions (Jerusalem: Academon), 2000. [English and Hebrew]; and 『現代ヘブライ語における前置詞の重要性－ヘブライ語の歴史と発展に関する一考察』 (有限会社リトン、 2018). [Japanese and Hebrew].
I joined the faculty of Doshisha University in 2004 with the purpose of establishing a program on Jewish Studies. This program has now produced a new generation of scholars in Japan. For more on the program see here.
I hope to continue teaching classes on the Hebrew Bible, the Ancient Near East and Jewish Studies in the years to come.
イスラエルのエルサレム生まれ。
ヘブライ大学で聖書と古代近東の言語・歴史・宗教を専攻し、学士号と修士号を取得。アムステルダム大学へ博士号取得のために留学し、ヒッタイトの言語・歴史・宗教を研究したのち、ベングリオン大学で博士号を取得。研究分野は紀元前二千年紀から紀元前一千年紀にかけての古代イスラエルやヒッタイト、メソポタミア、シリア北部の文化圏における宗教や法思想について。また、シュメール語、ヒッタイト語、アラム語、ウガリット語、ヘブライ語など古代近東の言語に精通し、1981年より現代ヘブライ語とその文化の専門家としてヘブライ語を母国語としない人たちを対象にした講義も行っている。
著書には、ヘブライ語の構文法について書いた 『現代ヘブライ語における前置詞の重要性－ヘブライ語の歴史と発展に関する一考察』 (有限会社リトン、2018)とヒッタイトの宗教と祭司制について書いた Hittite Priesthood (Texte der Hethiter 26; Heidelberg: Winter Verlag, 2006) がある。
