Frank Polak is Associate Professor in the Department of Biblical Studies at Tel Aviv University. He was born in Amsterdam, Holland, in 1943. Coming to Israel in 1965, he was for some years member of Kibbutz Matzuva , before resuming studies in Jerusalem. He obtained his MA in 1975 with the thesis “Lines of Continuity and Integration in the Succession Narrative of David”; PhD in 1984 on the thesis “The Main Strand in 1 Samuel 1-15”; both theses were tutored b y S.E. Loewenstamm). Frank Polak is married and has two daughters.

He teaches at the Department since 1976-1977, receiving the degree of Senior lecturer in 1991. In 1997 he was named Associate Professor.

Literary Studies, Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Phenomenology of Religion, Ancient Translations and Exegesis, Textual Transmission, Computer Aided Study of the Bible. In the last years he is mainly studying (a) th e links between the redaction processes and the literary interconnections between various narratives (intertextuality), (b) stylistics of biblical narrative, (c) ancient translations.

Frank Polak has been among the research assistants of the Hebrew University Bible Project, and has done much work on the Ancient Versions of the Book of Jeremiah. He is member of the board of the International Association for Bib le and Computer (Association Internationale Bible et Informatique).

History of Art, Philosophy, General History, Poetry.

In the current year of studies he has been teaching the following subjects:

• David as a literary Character;
• The Book of Numbers;
• The Book of Samuel;
• Historical writings in the Ancient Near East and the Bible;
• the Redaction of the Pentateuch: Problem and Solution.

The subjects of next year:

• Textual Tradition and Ancient Exegesis of the Pentateuch;
• The Creation Theme in the Ancient World and the Bible;
• Style and Syntax of Biblical Hebrew;
• Angels in Biblical Narrative;
• Politics, Power and Religion in the Book of Kings

1. Biblical Narrative: Art and Design, Mossad Bialik, Jerusalem (Hebrew)

2. Y. Hoffman - F.H. Polak (ed.) A Light for Jacob. Studies in Biblical and Post-Biblical Literature in Memory of Jacob Licht (Jerusal emקTel Aviv 1997)
3. In Preparation: A Classified Index of the Minuses of the Septuagint, Vol.1: The Pentateuch (Computer Assisted Tools for Septuagint Studies (CATSS) Volume 4/1; with G. Marquis, co-author).

Articles on Biblical Narrative:

1. “The Attitude to Joab in the Epic of David,” in: A. Rofé - Y. Zakovitch (ed.), Isac Leo Seeligmann Volume, I (Jerusalem 1983), pp. 213-228 (Hebr.; English Summary);

2. Literary Design in Ezra-Nehemia, (Shnaton - An Annual for Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, IX (1985), pp. 127-143 (Hebr.; English Summary);

3. “Some Aspects of Literary Design in the Ancient Near Eastern Epic,” in: A.F. Rainey (ed.), kinattËtu _a dÅrâti -Raphael Kutscher Memorial Volume (Tel Aviv Occasional Publications 1;
Tel Aviv 1993), pp. 135-146

4. “David's Kingship — A Precarious Equilibrium,” in Y. Hoffman & H. Reventlow (ed.), Politics and Theopolitics in the Bible and Postbiblical Literature (Sheffield 1994), pp. 119-147

5. “Bottom-Up Structuring and Top-Down Analysis: Narratology and Computer Analysis of Biblical Texts,” in: E. Talstra (ed.), Narrative and Comment - Essays W. Schneider (Kampen 1995), pp. 126-136

6. “The Messenger of God and the Dialectic of Revelation,” in: Y. Hoffman - F.H. Polak (ed.) A Light for Jacob. Studies in Biblical and Post-Biblical Literature in Memory of Jacob Licht (Jerusalem—Tel Aviv 1997), pp. 14*-30*

7. “There Was One Man...” - The Book of Samuel, its Character and its Place in Ancient Israelite Historiography,” Shnaton - An Annual for Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, XII (Forthcoming; Hebr.; Engl. Sum mary)

Articles on Stylistics:

8. “ The LÅqa_-NÅtan Formula: Some Additional Comments,” Shnaton - An Annual for Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, VII-VIII (1983-1984), pp. 179-186 (Hebr.; Engl. Summary)
“Epic Formulas in Biblical Narrative: Frequency and Distribution,” in: R. Poswick e.a. (ed.), Les"actes du second colloque internationale Bible et"Informatique: mèthodes, outils, résultats ( Jerusalem, 9-13 Juin 1988) (Genève 1989), pp. 435-488

9. “Epic Formulae in Biblical Narrative and the Origins of Ancient Hebrew Prose,” in: M.A. Friedmann, M. Gil and Y. Hoffman (ed.), Studies in Judaica (Te'udah VII; Tel Aviv 1991), pp. 9-53 (Hebr.; Engl. Summary )

10. “The Daniel Tales in their Aramaic Literary Milieu,” in: A.S. van der Woude (ed.), The Book of Daniel in the Light of New Findings (Leuven 1993), pp. 249-265

11. “New Means... New Ends: Scholarship and Computer Data,” in: R.F. Poswick e.a. (ed.), Proceedings of the Fourth International Colloquium Bible and Computer: Desk and Discipline (Amsterdam, 15-18 august 1994) (Paris 1995), pp. 282-312

12. “On Prose and Poetry in the Book of Job”, Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society 24 (1996), pp. 61-97

13. “Development and Periodization of Biblical Prose Narrative,” Beit Mikra 43 (1997-98), pp. 30-52, 142-160 (Hebr.; Engl. Summary)

14. “The Restful Waters of Noah,” Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society 23 (1995), pp. 69-74

15. “Theophany and Mediator: The Unfolding of a Theme in the Book of Exodus,”in: M. Vervenne (ed.), The Book of Exodus (Leuven 1996), pp. 113-147

16. “Water and Rock and Wood:Structure and Thought Pattern in the Exodus Narrative,”Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society 25 (1997), pp. 19-42

Articles on Ancient Versions and Textual Transmission:

17. “Jer. 23:9 - An Expanded Colon in the LXX?,”Textus XI (1984), pp. 119-123

18. “Further Textual Evidence for Rob ‘Adversary’,”Textus XII (1985), pp. 189-196

19. “Statistics and Textual Filiation: The Case of 4QSam^a/LXX (with a Note on the Text of thePentateuch),” in:G. J. Brooke — B. Lindars (ed.), Septuagint, Scrolls and Cognate Writings - Papers Presented to the International Symposium on the Septuagint and its Relations to the Dead Sea Scrolls and OtherWritings (Manchester 1990) (Septuagint and Cognate Studies Series 33;Atlanta 1992), pp. 215-276

20. “The Interpretation of Kulloh/Kalah in the LXX: Ambiguity and Intuitive Comprehension,”Textus 17 (1994), pp. 57-77

21. “Classifying the Minuses of the Septuagint on the Pentateuch,” in R. F. Poswick e.a. (ed.), Proceedings of the Fifth International Colloquium Bible and Computer: Transmission and Translation (Aix, 1-5 september 1997), Forthcoming

Frank Polak, 16 Shalom Yahudah, 93395 Jerusalem

Telephone at the Office: 03-6409077

Telephone/Fax at Home: 02-6712227

E-mail: frankha@post.tau.ac.il