Max Margolis

Max Leopold Margolis (1866–1932) was a Lithuanian Jewish-American philologist born in Meretz, Vilna Governorate. Educated at a local elementary school, the Leibniz gymnasium in Berlin, and Columbia University, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1891. He began his academic career as an instructor at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati until 1897. Subsequently, he joined the University of California, rising to become head of the Semitic department by 1902. In 1909, he was appointed Professor of Biblical Philology at Dropsie College, where he remained until his death.

Margolis held significant editorial roles, including editor-in-chief of the Jewish Publication Society's English Bible translation (published in 1917), president of the Society of Biblical Literature, and editor of the Journal of Biblical Literature from 1914 to 1921. He also contributed to academic journals with works like "The Theology of the Old Prayer-Book" and co-authored "A History of the Jewish People" in 1927. Recognized for his scholarly contributions, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1927. His legacy is documented in works such as Leonard Jay Greenspoon's *Max Leopold Margolis: A Scholar's Scholar* and collections at the University of Pennsylvania library.