Cyrus Herzl Gordon
Personal Information
Description
Cyrus Herzl Gordon (1908 - March 30, 2001), was an American scholar of Near Eastern cultures and ancient languages. Gordon was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Lithuanian emigrant and physician Benjamin Gordon. He was raised in an upper class Jewish family with a particular emphasis on devotion to Jewish learning, rational thinking, and an openness to secular learning. Gordon began studying Hebrew at age five and became interested in both Greek and Latin as a young child. Gordon took his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania, and also took courses at both nearby Gratz College and Dropsie College. These three institutions had specialized programs in the Bible, classics, and ancient Near East. At these universities, Gordon studied both Old Persian and Sanskrit. Gordon spent the first half of the 1930s in the Near East as an American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) fellow, working out of both the Baghdad and Jerusalem centers. Gordon dug with Leonard Woolley at Ur, and worked with Flinders Petrie at Tell el-'Ajjul. He worked with W. F. Albright at Tell Beit Mirsim, and accompanied Nelson Glueck on his explorations in Transjordan. He was involved in the examination and translation of the Egyptian Tell el-Amarna tablets while with the J.D.S. Pendlebury expedition. When Gordon returned to the U.S. in 1935, he was unable to find a permanent academic position, primarily due to the Depression. Gordon took a series of temporary positions at Johns Hopkins University, at Smith College, and at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.
Books
The Bible and the ancient Near East
Eblaitica
The discovery of the great Early Bronze Age library at Tell Mardikh, the site of the ancient city of Ebla, has altered significantly our understanding of the history and culture of ancient Syria and the neighboring areas. This volume contains essays that provide additional texts from the site, as well as studies on previously published texts that further the understanding of both the language and culture of the great city-state. These articles are by members of the Ebla Seminar at New York University, as well as from the epigrapher of the Italian expedition at Ebla, Alfonso Archi. Debate about the identification and connections of the language of the tablets found at Ebla will probably continue for some time, and the place and influence of the city in the web of ancient Syrian and Near Eastern culture will be discussed for years to come. This volume provides additional information relevant to both concerns and contributes to clarification of the issues involved. The fourth and final volume in the series Eblaitica: Essays on the Ebla Archives and Eblaite Language embodies eight cogent essays by a variety of specialists. Of particular interest in this issue is the second part of Michael Astour's history of Ebla. Contributors include Alfonso Archi, Michael C. Astour, Cyrus H. Gordon, Gary A. Rendsburg, Robert R. Stieglitz, and Al Wolters. The fourth and final volume in the series Eblaitica : Essays on the Ebla Archives and Eblaite Language embodies eight cogent essays by a variety of specialists. Of particular interest in this issue is the second part of Michael Astour's history of Ebla. Contributors include Alfonso Archi, Michael C. Astour, Cyrus H. Gordon, Gary A. Rendsburg, Robert R. Stieglitz, and Al Wolters.
The living past
Informal view of 7000 years of ancient civilizations all over the world.
Hammurapi's code
"Hammurapi's Code is the best available mirror of Mesopotamian society and it is therein that the importance of the code lies. ... The impact of ancient Mesopotamia on the West was enormous, and the value of the code consists of its being our chief single source for reconstructing the sociology of Old Babylonia. Although only a specialist in ancient history is competent to judge the extent of Mesopotamian influence in the West, nevertheless the general reader can compare the legal, social, and commercial ideas of Old Babylonia with our own." -Introduction, p. 3.
Ugaritic manual
Excellent in every way. A reminder for student's of Hebrew that the Hebrew language existed for many years before the Hebrew Bible was written. Many words found in Hebrew vocabulary are found in Ugaritic vocabulary. Mitchell Dahood has made much of Ugaritic literature as a precursor to Hebrew, failing to understand the unique contribution of Hebrew literature expostulating the "idea of the Holy' that exceeded the Ugaritic concept of the holy.