James L. Kugel is chair of the Institute for the History of the Jewish Bible at Bar Ilan University in Israel and the Harry M. Starr Professor Emeritus of Classical and Modern Hebrew Literature at Harvard University. James Kugel is the author and editor of 16 books and numerous articles on the Bible and its early commentators, focusing on the Second Temple period. In 2001, his book, the Bible As It Was won the University of Louisville and the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Grawemeyer Award in religion. The prize "recognizes outstanding and creative works that promote understanding of the relationship between human beings and the divine." The Bible As It Was was published in 1997 by Harvard University. It is the annotated version of a lengthier work, entitled Traditions of the Bible. In 2007 How to Read the Bible was given the Everett Family Foundation Jewish Book of the Year Award by the Jewish Book Council. James Kugel has published a new book, "In The Valley of The Shadow". It was reviewed glowingly in the New York Times Book Review on Sunday February 13, 2011. He self-identifies as an Orthodox Jew. 

January 1st, 1945 in (Age 79)