Mordechai Cogan

Mordechai Cogan

Prof.

Prof. Mordechai Cogan is Professor (emeritus) in the Department of Jewish History at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and has written widely on the political and cultural connections between ancient Israel and the empires of the ancient Near East. Cogan is the author of many studies and books, among them: Imperialism and Religion; The Raging Torrent: Historical Inscriptions from Assyria and Babylonia Relating to Ancient Israel; Bound for Exile: Israelites and Judeans Under Imperial Yoke, Documents from Assyria and Babylonia; commentaries in the Anchor Bible series on 1 Kings; 2 Kings (with Prof. Hayim Tadmor); commentaries in Hebrew in the Mikra Leyisrael (Bible for Israel) series on Obadiah, Joel, Nahum and Kings, and the recently published Under the Yoke Ashur: The Assyrian Century in the Land of Israel. His well-received The Raging Torrent just appeared in its 3rd updated and expanded edition.

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Articles by Author

Transjordan Is Not the Promised Land, Even in Deuteronomy

Transjordan Is Not the Promised Land, Even in Deuteronomy

So why does YHWH instruct Moses to conquer the Transjordanian territory of King Sihon? Deuteronomy knows that Israelites lived in the Transjordan and claims that they applied the Deuteronomic law of ḥerem to Amorites living there. Thus, YHWH hardens Sihon’s heart, forcing him to fight the Israelites, giving them a reason to annihilate the local Amorites and ensuring that they would not be led astray by their idolatry.
Deuteronomy Revamps King Hezekiah’s Failed Reform

Deuteronomy Revamps King Hezekiah’s Failed Reform

Hezekiah’s centralizing worship in Jerusalem, one altar for one God, failed in part because it created a spiritual vacuum for the average Judahite villager living far from the capital. Less than a century later, Deuteronomy revives the law, adding new provisions—a stipend for unemployed Levites, permission to slaughter animals outside the sacred precinct, and a requirement to make pilgrimage to the holy site three times a year—to address the law’s challenges.
The Book of Jonah: A Parody of the Northern Prophet Jonah Son of Amittai

The Book of Jonah: A Parody of the Northern Prophet Jonah Son of Amittai

The post-exilic book of Jonah opposes the chest-thumping that was prevalent during the northern kingdom’s resurgence under Jeroboam II, as displayed by the historical Jonah of Gath-hepher (2 Kings 14:25). It insists that YHWH is a universal god and that Israel must reconcile itself to living in a world where all penitents, regardless of nationality, are pardoned.
Israel’s Incomplete Conquest of Canaan

Israel’s Incomplete Conquest of Canaan

Biblical authors struggled to explain why Canaanites remained on the land after Israel settled it. Exodus (23:29–30) and Deuteronomy (7:22) suggest that Israel needed time to settle the land. The opening of Joshua reimagines the past to include an Israelite Blitzkrieg that removed the inhabitants entirely. Other approaches see the remaining Canaanites as a punishment (Judges 2) or a test of Israel's resolve (Joshua 23).

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