Education
1979-1981 B.A., Cum Laude, Hebrew University, Jerusalem (1987)
Department of Biblical Studies, Including studies in Assyriology:
Akkadian and Sumerian language and history; Egyptology, language and
history; History of the Jewish People in Biblical Times;
Additional language studies: Aramaic, Arabic and Coptic.
1987-1992 M.A., Summa Cum Laude, Hebrew University, Jerusalem (1992)
Department of the History of the Jewish People; Including
studies in Assyriology; Additional language studies: German, Hittite, Ugaritic.
Thesis title: “Biblical Covenant and Ancient Near Eastern Legal Contracts.”
1993-1994 PhD-research at the University of Amsterdam
The Archaeological-Historical Institute
Study of the Hittite language and culture in relation to the
Priestly tradition in the Bible and the Ancient Near East
1998-2004 Ph.D., Ben-Gurion University, Department of Bible and Ancient Near East (2004)
Department of Bible and Ancient Near East; Supervised by
Prof. Theo van den Hout (Oriental Institute, Chicago University), and
Prof. Victor Avigdor Hurowitz (Ben-Gurion University).
Dissertation title: “Hittite Priesthood in Anatolia of the Second Millennium
B.C.E. According to Hittite Texts and in Light of ANE and Biblical Texts.”
RESEARCH SUBJECTS
- Hittite royal cults: religious institutions, beliefs and rituals
- Hittite priesthood and its ANE and Biblical counterparts
- Legal thought and practice as revealed in ANE and biblical texts
- Modern Judaism: literature and culture
- Modern Hebrew language
POSITION
Doshisha University, School of Theology (Kyoto, Japan)
Full Professor, Head of the program of Jewish Studies (2007-currently)
Associate Professor, Coordinator of Jewish Studies (2004-2006)
Core Researcher at the Center for Interdisciplinary Study of Monotheistic Religions
(=CISMOR), Doshisha University (2003-currently); Director (2018- currently)
VISITING PROFESSOR
The University of Chicago, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
(2014)
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Bible – Lady Davis Research Fellow
(2015)
The University of Zurich, The Faculty of Theology (2017)
École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS, Paris) (2020)
MEMBERSHIP IN ACADEMIC ASSOCIATIONS
*Society of Biblical Literature (SBL/ISBL) – Co-chair of the section “Ritual in the Biblical
World” since its foundation (AM-2007-13, 2015-2018; IM 2011-2017; USA)
*National Association of Professors of Hebrew – NAPH (USA)
*World Union of Jewish Studies (Israel)
*The Israeli Society for Assyriology and the Research of the ANE (Israel)
*Japanese Association for Religious Studies (Japan)
*The Society of Near Eastern Studies in Japan (Japan)
Japan Society of Jewish Studies (Japan)
*Kyoto Association of Jewish Thought (Japan)
STUDENTS THESIS Ph.D (main mentor) [in Japanese and English]
HIRAOKA Kotaro
“Theocracy in present age Judaism: Controversy between Gershon Weiler
and Avi Ravitzki” (2014)
ISHIGURO (OIWANE) Anri
“The Zionism of Henrietta Szold as expressed through her work with
the Hadassah Organization: Reinterpreting “Judaism as Tradition” as an American
Jewish Female Zionist” (2016)
UEOKA Yoshiko
“The Evolvement of the Biblical Sabbath Concept” (2019)
AMANO Yuu
“Aspect of Identity in Early 20th century Iraqi Jewish Communities through
focusing on the Arabic magazine Misbah (1924-1929) written by Jewish Intellectuals”
(2020)
For Contact
Prof. Dr. Ada Taggar Cohen
Professor of Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Head of the Program of Jewish Studies at the Faculty of Theology
Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Study of the Monotheistic Religions (CISMOR)
Doshisha University
Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-8580
JAPAN
email: acohen@mail.doshisha.ac.jp