Catherine Bonesho

Catherine Bonesho is an Assistant Professor in Early Judaism at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), affiliated with the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. Her research focuses on ancient Jewish communities under imperial rule, particularly their literary and linguistic responses to Greek and Roman influences. She holds a PhD in Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2018) and an MA in Hebrew and Semitic Studies (2014), alongside a BA in Classical Languages and Biology from Macalester College (2008).

Her key research areas include Second Temple and Rabbinic literature, Aramaic dialects, the Roman Near East, and the socio-historical context of Palmyra. She has conducted extensive work on Palmyrene Aramaic inscriptions as part of the Wisconsin Palmyrene Aramaic Inscription Project. Notable awards include the 2021-2022 Frankel Fellowship (University of Michigan) and the 2017-2018 Rome Prize Fellowship (American Academy in Rome).

Bonesho’s publications span peer-reviewed articles, encyclopedia entries, and pedagogical works, with a focus on festivals in Jewish literature, bilingual inscriptions, and imperial contexts. Her current projects include monographs on Jewish portraits of gentile rulers and the role of festivals in ancient Jewish identity.