​Cook obtained a DLitt in Semitic Languages in 1982. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Ancient Studies. He specialises in textual criticism and hermeneutics. His fields of specialisation include the versions of the Hebrew Bible, namely the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible); the Aramaic translations (including the Syriac translations) and the Dead Sea Scrolls. He is also interested in Persian cultures. In 2009 he received the Harry Oppenheimer Memorial Trust Award for research at the University of Leiden and was awarded the Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Research from Stellenbosch University twice and once for general achievement. He is a member of various international academic associations. He serves on the editorial boards of Aramaic Studies and JSem. He is the Chairperson of the South African Society for Near Eastern Studies and is the President of the Association for the Study of the Septuagint in South Africa (LXXSA). He has completed two bilateral research projects on the Septuagint, one between Germany (the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) and the South African National Research Foundation, and the other between Belgium (Leuven) and the SANRF.

E-mail: cook@sun.ac.za

For information about the Department in which Cook is based, click here.