We were saddened to hear that Ada Yardeni passed away on June 29, 2018 at the age of 81. Known for her work in the historic development of the Hebrew language and epigraphy, Yardeni was also an excellent calligrapher and forgeries expert. Her personal website describes her as having “authored and co-authored over fifty books and papers on Hebrew Paleography. She is most famous for The Book of Hebrew Script—the authority on the subject and for A-dventure-Z: The Story of the Alphabet. In addition to her scholarly work, Dr. Yardeni has drawn on her artistic experience and released a number of books and other media for general audiences.”
Accordance users have long appreciated The Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt that Yardeni co-authored with Bezalel Porten. A number of Yardeni’s other writings and credits also appear in Accordance resources:
- “Who Was He? Rare DSS Text Mentions King Jonathan” with Esther Eshel and Hanan Eshel (Biblical Archaeology Review).
- “They Would Change the Dates of Clearly Stratified Inscriptions—Impossible!” (Biblical Archaeology Review)
- “Cross and Eshel Misread the Qumran Ostracon Relating the Settlement to the Dead Sea Scrolls” (Biblical Archaeology Review)
- “A New Dead Sea Scroll in Stone? Bible-like Prophecy Was Mounted in a Wall 2,000 Years Ago” (Biblical Archaeology Review)
- “2,000 Ancient Aramaic Business Scribbles (including the Delivery of 30 Mice)” (Biblical Archaeology Review)
- Multiple images for The Sacred Bridge: Carta’s Bible Atlas
- Multiple images for Understanding Biblical Archaeology: An Introductory Atlas
Besides her academic contributions, the beautiful artistic work of Ada Yardeni should not be overlooked, such as that found in her book Artistic Prayers and Blessings. A sample of the images from this book can be found in the gallery section of her website.
Ada Yardeni and her academic and artistic contributions will be truly missed. For other mentions of her passing, see the following links:
“In Memoriam: Ada Yardeni (1937 – 2018)” – Bible History Daily
“Dead Sea Scrolls Decoder Remembered as Grande Dame of Semitic Paleography” – The Times of Israel