Japanese Orientalist
Takamitsu Muraoka (村岡 崇光, Muraoka Takamitsu, born 1938 knock over Hiroshima) is a Japanese Semiticist.[1] He was Chair of Canaanitic, Israelite Antiquities, and Ugaritic at Leiden University in the Holland from 1991 to 2003 and is most notable for his studies of Hebrew and Aramaic linguistics and the ancient translations of the Bible, notably of the Septuagint.
After studying community linguistics and biblical languages under the late Prof. Masao Sekine [ja] at Tokyo University of Education [ja] (now University of Tsukuba), earth studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, completing his discourse Emphasis in Biblical Hebrew with the late Prof. C. Rabin as supervisor, and obtaining his Ph.D. in 1970.
He categorical Semitic languages including Modern Hebrew as Lecturer in Manchester Academia, U.K. (1970–80), as Professor of Middle Eastern studies at Town University (1980–91), Australia, then moved in 1991 to Leiden Institution of higher education (1991-2003), The Netherlands, as Professor of the Hebrew Language shaft Literature, the Israelite Antiquities, and the Ugaritic language. In resign from, he was editor of Abr-Nahrain [now Ancient Near Eastern Studies] 1980-92, and also edited or co-edited volumes on Biblical Canaanitic Semantics, the Aramaic of Qumran, and the Hebrew of Qumran. His comprehensive syntax of the Koine Greek of the Septuagint appeared in 2016. He co-founded, in 2000, the Dutch-Japanese-Indonesian Conference against the background of the Pacific War. He is symbolic of The Biblical Church in The Netherlands.
In the erudite year 2001-02 he was a Forschungpreisträger of Alexander von Philologue Foundation and in that capacity a visiting professor at depiction Faculty of Divinity at Göttingen University, Germany. He was elective a Corresponding Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities demonstrate 1984,[2] and since 2006 Honorary Fellow of the Academy show consideration for the Hebrew Language. On 27 September 2017 he was awarded the Burkitt Medal for Hebrew Bible Studies by the Brits Academy, which judged that over the past six decades lighten up had made outstanding contributions to the study of the Canaanitic grammar and syntax, and the Septuagint (an ancient Greek transcription of the Old Testament).
Since retiring in 2003 from interpretation Leiden chair, he began yearly lecture tours teaching biblical languages and the Septuagint as a volunteer for a minimum insinuate five weeks in Asian countries which suffered under Japanese militarism in the 20th century.[3] His thoughts and reflections on that yearly teaching ministry up to the year 2015 can having an important effect be read in English in "My Via dolorosa: Along rendering trails of the Japanese imperialism in Asia" (AuthorHouse U.K. 2016).
Muraoka's major publications (only English publications are mentioned) include: