FEIGIN, SAMUEL ISAAC

FEIGIN, SAMUEL ISAAC (1893–1950), Orientalist and biblical scholar. Feigin was born in Krichev. As a youth he went to Palestine; he completed his studies at the Hebrew Teachers' College in Jerusalem and fought in the Ottoman Army during World War I. Feigin emigrated to the United States in 1920 and studied at Yale University until 1923. He held several teaching posts and then in 1932 joined the staff of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. He also taught at the College of Jewish Studies and the Hebrew Theological College (both in Chicago). Feigin's main interest was ancient Babylonian civilization and its relation to biblical life and literature. He wrote Mi-Sitrei he-ʿAvar ("From the Secrets of the Past," 1943), a collection of scholarly studies on biblical themes, and Anshei Sefer (1950), a collection of biographical essays. He also contributed important articles to scholarly journals. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Irwin, in: JNES, 9 (1950), 121–3. (Samuel Sandmel)