Louis Feldman

Louis Harry Feldman (October 29, 1926 – March 25, 2017) was an American classicist. He was the Abraham Wouk Family Professor of Classics and Literature at Yeshiva University, the institution at which he taught since 1955.

Feldman was a scholar of Hellenistic civilization, specifically the works of Josephus Flavius. Feldman's work on Josephus is widely respected by other scholars.

Thought and writings Feldman was a widely respected antiquities scholar. Robert E. Van Voorst referred to Feldman as "the dean of Josephan scholars", and Paul L. Maier referred to Feldman as "the ranking Josephus authority".

As a historian, Feldman dealt primarily with the writings of Josephus and their role within the larger framework of Jewish civilization during the Second Temple Period. His works on Josephus ranged from discussions of historical accuracy to analysis of Josephus' biblical interpretations. Overall, he viewed Josephus' work as key to understanding Jewish life and interactions with Hellenistic culture during the Greco-Roman era. In addition to his work on Josephus, he published numerous works on the writings of Philo as well as works dealing directly with the nature of Jewish life during antiquity.

Feldman's works include Scholarship on Philo and Josephus, 1937–1962 (1963), Josephus and Modern Scholarship, 1937–1980 (1984), Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World: Attitudes and Interactions from Alexander to Justinian (1993), Studies in Hellenistic Judaism (1998), and Josephus' Interpretation of the Bible (1998). Feldman also translated several volumes of the critical edition of Jewish Antiquities. He contributed extensively to journals in his field, having approximately 170 scholarly articles published. He served as departmental editor of Hellenistic literature for the first edition of Encyclopedia Judaica and as a contributor to the Encyclopædia Britannica.