Judah Segal
Judah Benzion "Ben" Segal, FBA was Professor of Semitic Languages at the School of Oriental and African Studies.
His father was Professor Moshe Zvi Segal and his brother was the doctor and Labour Party politician Samuel Segal. He had two daughters; one is Prof. Naomi Segal.
Education
- Magdalen College School, Oxford
- St. Catharine's College, Cambridge. Jarrett Scholar, 1932; John Stewart of Rannoch Scholar in Hebrew, 1933; 1st Class Oriental Langs Tripos, 1935; Tyrwhitt Scholar and Mason Prizeman, 1936. BA, 1935, MA 1938; DPhil 1939.
- Colours, Cambridge University Boxing Club, 1935, 1936.
Career
- Mansel Research Exhibitioner, St. John's College, Oxford, 1936–39; James Mew Scholar, 1937.
- Deputy Assistant Director, Public Security, Sudan Government, 1939–41
- Served in World War II, GHQ, MEF, 1942–44, Captain; Education Officer, British Military Administration, Tripolitania, 1945–46. He was awarded a Military Cross in 1942.
- School of Oriental and African Studies from 1946; Head of Department of Near and Middle East, 1961–68; Professor 1961–79, then Emeritus Professor; Honorary Fellow 1983.
- Visiting Lecturer, Ain Shams University, Cairo, 1979
- Research Fellow, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1980
- Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship, South India, 1981
Involvement in Jewish community
- Principal, Leo Baeck College, 1982–85; President, 1985-2003
- Member, Council of Christians and Jews
- President: North Western Reform Synagogue
- President: British Association for Jewish Studies, 1980
- Vice-president, Reform Synagogues of Great Britain, 1985–91
Honours
- Fellow of the British Academy, 1968
- Freedom, City of Urfa, Turkey, 1973
Publications
The Diacritical Point and the Accents in Syriac, 1953The Hebrew Passover, 1963The Sabian Mysteries. The planet cult of ancient Harran, Vanished Civilizations, 1963Edessa, 'the blessed city', 1970Aramaic Texts From North Saqqara, 1983A History of the Jews of Cochin, 1993Aramaic and Mandaic Incantation Bowls in the British Museum, 2000Whisper Awhile, 2000- Articles in learned periodicals.