Since 1992 Professor Machinist has been the Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and a member of the faculty of the Harvard Divinity School. He received his A.B. from Harvard University in 1966, followed by the M.Phil. (1971) and Ph.D. (1978) from Yale University, focusing on Assyriology, with Near Eastern archaeology, Hebrew Bible, and classical Judaism. His main areas of research include: Biblical Studies (especially Hebrew Bible) and ancient Syro-Palestinian history; Hebrew, Akkadian, and other ancient Semitic languages; ancient Mesopotamian studies; interconnections in ancient Near Eastern history. Professor Machinist taught previously at Connecticut College, Yale Divinity School, Case Western Reserve, the University of Arizona and the University of Michigan.