Jordan Penkower z"l

On 19 September 2025, Michael Avioz informed via Agade of the sad passing of Jordan Penkower as attached below. Penkower was a prolific scholar of the late-antique and medieval Jewish Bible, whose works are of critical importance for the study of the biblical text.

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Prof. Jordan S. Penkower z"l (1943–2025)

The Department of Bible, together with the Penkower family, regret to announce the death of Prof. Jordan S. Penkower z"l.

Prof. Jordan S. Penkower was a world-renowned expert on the history of the Hebrew Bible’s textual transmission. He served for many years as a member of the Department of Bible at Bar-Ilan University, where he made pioneering contributions in three principal areas of research:

Transmission of the Hebrew Bible and the Masorah – investigating manuscripts and printed editions, with special attention to their textual history.

The Bible in Rabbinic Interpretation – exploring how rabbinic literature received and reinterpreted biblical texts.

Medieval Jewish Biblical Exegesis – with a particular focus on Rashi’s commentary and its place in Jewish intellectual history.

In addition to numerous scholarly articles, Prof. Penkower published several influential books in these fields. A full list of his publications is available here.

Prof. Penkower is survived by his brother, Prof. Monti Noam Penkower, and by his sisters and brothers-in-law, Dr. Andrea and David Rosen, and Dr. Sharon and Joseph Kaplan.

He was buried today in Beit Shemesh.

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HT Agade