Credible Theories
ProfileSources (3)Mentioned in (2)
NA1905–1992
Person · Historical

Nahman Avigad

Israeli archaeologist and epigraphist

Born
1905
Died
1992
Known for
A Genesis Apocryphon (1956, with Yigael Yadin); Jewish Quarter excavations, Jerusalem
Position
Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1949–1974)
Honours
Israel Prize (1977)

Israeli archaeologist who unrolled and published the Genesis Apocryphon with Yigael Yadin in 1956 and dug Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter.

What is Nahman Avigad known for?

Nahman Avigad was an Israeli archaeologist and one of the leading experts on ancient Hebrew inscriptions and seals. He taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from 1949 to 1974.

In 1956 he and Yigael Yadin published A Genesis Apocryphon, the first edition of one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran Cave 1. The scroll was so brittle that it could not be opened for years after its discovery. Written in Aramaic, it retells stories from Genesis, including the birth of Noah, whose father Lamech fears that the child was fathered by one of the Watchers.

From 1969 Avigad led excavations in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City, uncovering the Broad Wall, the Burnt House from the Roman destruction of 70 CE and an early depiction of the Temple menorah. He received the Israel Prize in 1977.

Why it is on Credible Theories

Co-published the Genesis Apocryphon in 1956, the Dead Sea Scroll in which Lamech suspects a Watcher fathered Noah.

Mentioned on these pages

Sources

  1. Wikipedia, 'Nahman Avigad'Reference
  2. Biblical Archaeology Society Library, 'Nahman Avigad, 1905–1992'Reference
  3. Wikipedia, 'Genesis Apocryphon'Reference

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