Yair Zakovitch

Professor Yair Zakovitch is a distinguished scholar of Biblical Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he held the prestigious Father Takeji Otsuki Professor of Bible Studies chair until his retirement in 2010. Born in Haifa in 1945, he began his academic journey studying biblical studies, literature, and Hebrew language at the University of Haifa, eventually completing his doctorate in 1978. He is renowned for developing innovative methods for identifying interrelationships between biblical texts through word games and motif analysis. His scholarly work has earned him the Israel Prize in Bible Studies, recognizing his original contributions to biblical scholarship both in Israel and worldwide. Though retired, he continues to teach voluntarily in the Bible Department, sharing his expertise through courses such as "Moses' Face," which explores the various representations of Moses throughout Jewish literary history. His numerous publications in both Hebrew and English have significantly advanced the field of biblical interpretation and made biblical scholarship accessible to the general public