About Bruce Zuckerman

Bruce Zuckerman

Bruce E. Zuckerman is a professor in the School of Religion at the University of Southern California, where he teaches courses in the Hebrew Bible, the Bible in Western Literature, the Ancient Near East, and Archaeology. He received his Ph.D. in ancient Near Eastern Languages from Yale University and is a specialist in Northwest Semitic languages and Biblical studies. Besides his teaching responsibilities, he directs the USC Archaeological Research Collection and both the West Semitic Research and InscriptiFact Projects. He is also director of the Casden Institute for the Study of the Jewish Role in American Life. He specializes in photographing ancient texts including numerous projects involving the Dead Sea Scrolls. His book, Job the Silent: A Study in Biblical Counterpoint, was published in 1991 by Oxford University Press and The Leningrad Codex; A Facsimile Edition, for which he and his brother Kenneth did the principal photography, was published in 1998. His most recent publication, Double Takes; Thinking and Rethinking Issues of Modern Judaism in Ancient Contexts, coauthored with Zev Garber, was published in 2004. He is currently leading an effort to disseminate electronic images of ancient texts through the West Semitic Research and InscriptiFact Projects.


Presenter at

Bible & Archaeology Fest XVI, November 22 – 24, 2013
“I Don’t Know How to Do This Anymore”: Thoughts on the Inadequacies of Paper-Based Research Articles and What We Need To Do About This

Over the last few years the impact of advanced, imaging technologies has had a profound influence on scholars’ abilities to read and interpret texts. These advancements have also perpetrated an ever-growing crisis: No longer can static, paper-based articles convey the dynamics of the images one needs to publish in order for one’s peers to evaluate the validity of proposed interpretations. But, as yet, there does not exist an electronic presentation-format with sufficient flexibility to allow one to integrate traditional, text based analyses with sophisticated digital imagery. In this presentation, Prof. Zuckerman will outline and illustrate the nature of the problem and the obstacles that need to be overcome in order to break the paper barrier and bring the study of ancient inscriptions of the biblical period into their proper place in the 21st Century.

Bible & Archaeology Fest XII, November 20 – 22, 2009
More on Using Advanced Imaging Technologies to Recover Ancient Texts and Artifacts

When Professor Zuckerman last presented at the Bible and Archaeology Fest, he discussed and showed how ancient technologies aid in helping researchers read ancient texts and analyze ancient artifacts—but so much has happened since then! This illustrated presentation will give an update on his research team’s most recent efforts and show how advances in technology over the last couple of years offer even greater opportunities for scholars, educators and the public to see ancient texts and artifacts with greater clarity than had been previously possible. Special focus will be placed on the most recent advances in imaging Dead Sea Scrolls as well as the “Revelation of Gabriel” inscription—sometimes called the “Dead Sea Stone”—and what we’ve learned.




Bruce Zuckerman Online


BAS Learning Resources Featuring Bruce Zuckerman