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.