Leonard J. Greenspoon
Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization
Professor of Classical and Near Eastern Studies and of Theology
Creighton University

We are saddened to hear of the passing of Leonard J. Greenspoon (1945-2025), who served as IOSCS president for six years (1993-1999) and contributed much to Septuagint studies over the course of his scholarly career.

Leonard received BA and MA degrees in classical studies from the University of Richmond, after which he earned a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1977. After teaching for twenty years at Clemson University, he held the Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization and was Professor of Classical and Near Eastern Studies and of Theology at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

During his studies at Harvard, a course on the book of Joshua with Professor G. Ernest Wright especially sparked his interest in Greek Joshua, which became the subject of his dissertation and first book, Textual Studies in the Book of Joshua (HSM 28; Scholars Press, 1983). Along with his regular column “The Bible in the News” for Biblical Archaeology, Leonard published extensively on the Septuagint along with other Jewish Bible translations and authored a biography of an earlier expert on Greek Joshua: Max Leopold Margolis: A Scholar’s Scholar (BSNA 15; Scholars Press, 1987). Leonard also contributed to Septuagint studies by serving as president of IOSCS (1993-1996) and was instrumental to the publication of New English Translation of the Septuagint, for which he served as chair of the steering committee and translated Greek Joshua.

A festschrift published for Leonard in 2018—Found in Translation: Essays on Jewish Translation in Honor of Leonard J. Greenspoon, ed. James W. Barker, Anthony Le Donne, and Joel N. Lohr (Purdue University Press: 2018)—features a biographical interview, essays by his students and colleagues, and a long list of his many publications. His last book, Jewish Bible Translations: Personalities, Passions, Politics, Progress (Jewish Publication Society: 2020), demonstrates the breadth of his interest in the subject of Bible translations, beginning with the Septuagint and going on to cover Jewish translations into Aramaic, Arabic, Yiddish, German, English, and many other languages. Leonard will be remembered for his kindness to colleagues and students and his work will continue to impact the next generations of Septuagint scholars.

Joshua Alfaro

The following note was added by Kristin De Troyer:

From discussing marginal readings in manuscript 344 and identifying Kaige and/or Theodotion, to organizing brilliant conferences, such as the Esther 2000 one, and most importantly to his ability for connecting scholars with each other and allowing some to connect with him on a deeper level, showing his beautiful fragility, Lennie was an exceptional scholar and a true Mensch.

One example of his care is engraved in my memory. When Seppo Sipilä needed a copy of the Joshua edition of Margolis—long before the existence of scanning and pdfs—Lennie not only had made a copy of the edition and brought it to the SBL meeting, but he had also thought about its transport and roadmap, telling me to show up on a late evening in a bar at the SBL meeting where Moshe Bernstein, to whom Lennie had given the copy, would be waiting to hand it to me. Per instruction, I had to then give the copy to Anne-Marit Enroth-Voitila, who would take it to Helsinki and give it to her husband, Ansi Voitila, who in turn would take it to the faculty of theology in Finland and give it to Seppo. The care given to the whole process, taking into account that he would miss part of it, showed his care for both academic research and personal connections. I will miss his laugh. The universe has just lost a beauty of a soul.