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(Genesis 9:21). It's a head-scratcher. What are we supposed to make of that? The question itself isn't new. Generations of interpreters have wrestled with this verse. And one fasci...
We all know the story of the Ark, but what happened after the flood? The text tells us that Noah planted a vineyard and "drank of the wine, and was drunken" (Genesis 9:21). A simpl...
It offers a reading that's surprisingly insightful, telling us it’s actually a praise of the wise person. Yes, you read that right: praise! But how can nakedness be praiseworthy? P...
It's like the biblical text is hinting at something more, inviting us to dig a little deeper. Take, for example, the story of Noah and his sons after the flood. It's a well-known t...
The tale of Noah and his sons after the flood certainly has that quality. We're talking about the incident where Ham sees his father naked and then tells his brothers. It seems sim...
It's in these tiny seeming inconsistencies that some of the most fascinating interpretations are born. Take the story of Noah and his sons, for instance. We all know the story: the...
Philo, that brilliant Jewish philosopher from Alexandria, had thoughts on this. He saw the story of the "younger" son not just as a matter of birth order, but as a reflection of th...
Philo grapples with this very question: Why are the names "Lord" and "God" sometimes used together? His answer? It's all about God's attributes, specifically benevolence and kingly...
Take Noah’s blessing of his sons after the flood. It's a doozy. Specifically, let's zoom in on Japhet. Noah says, "God shall enlarge Japhet, and bid him to dwell in the house of Sh...
We often think of blessings as straightforward – good health, wealth, maybe a loving family. But what if there's a deeper layer to unpack? What if the blessings themselves aren’t e...
Take the story of Noah and his sons after the flood, specifically Ham and his son Canaan. We read in (Genesis 9:27) that Canaan, not Ham, is cursed to be a servant. Why? What's goi...
They tell a story. They hint at something deeper. Take Noah's sons: Shem, Ham, and Japhet. You'd think their order would be consistent. But it's not! Isn't that peculiar? Sometimes...
Philo tackles a seemingly simple question: why are Shem, Ham, and Japhet, the sons of Noah, listed in that specific order? Some might assume it's based on age, with the first-named...
We're so used to breezing past those genealogical lists in Genesis, but tucked within them are echoes of ancient understandings about the world and its peoples. Today, let's zoom i...
Let's take a detour into the world of ancient Jewish thought, specifically, a fascinating text known as the Midrash of Philo. Now, Philo of Alexandria was a Jewish philosopher livi...
You might recall Nimrod from (Genesis 10:8). It's a brief mention, almost a genealogical footnote: "Chus was the father of Nimrod, who began to be a giant and a hunter before the L...
That struggle, that internal tug-of-war, is something ancient thinkers grappled with too. And one place we find it explored is in the writings attributed to Philo of Alexandria. In...
"I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the land of the Chaldaeans to give thee this land for an inheritance" (Genesis 15:7). It's not just a generic "Hey, I'm God!" introdu...
The ancient sages certainly did. And sometimes, the most straightforward stories hide the deepest truths. Take the tale we find in The Midrash of Philo, for example. It seems simpl...
Even Abraham, the patriarch of faith, had moments of doubt. Our question comes from the Midrash of Philo, an exploration of the Hebrew Bible through the lens of the writings of Phi...
We’re promised something amazing, something life-changing, but a little part of us whispers, "Show me. Just a little sign." That tension is ancient. And it’s right there, simmering...
Philo, in his exploration of Genesis, delves into this very question. He points out that these five animals – the ox (represented by the heifer), the goat, the sheep (the ram), the...
Sometimes, it feels like there's a whole hidden world waiting to be unlocked. Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher who lived in the first century CE, was absolutely convinced ...
Sometimes, those tiny details hold the biggest secrets. Take (Genesis 15:10), for example. It’s a verse about Abraham, and God's covenant with him. Seems straightforward. "And he t...
The Midrash of Philo, a collection of interpretations and elaborations on the Torah, offers a profound perspective. It highlights the expression, "And he took unto him," suggesting...
What does it even mean? The verse appears in the context of the brit bein ha-betarim, the “covenant between the pieces.” God makes a covenant with Abraham, promising him descendant...
to a fascinating little corner of Jewish tradition, a passage from what's known as The Midrash of Philo. Now, Philo of Alexandria was a Jewish philosopher who lived a long, long ti...
It all starts with the verse: "Abraham passed over and sat upon them" (Genesis 15:11). Simple enough. But what does it mean? What is Abraham sitting on? Some interpret this verse a...
Our ancestor Abraham felt it too. The Torah tells us, in (Genesis 15:12): "About the time of the setting of the sun a trance fell upon Abraham; and lo, a great horror of darkness c...
Philo, the great Jewish philosopher of Alexandria, writing millennia ago, gives us a fascinating glimpse into this concept of divine ecstasis, or trance. He describes it as "a depa...
The Torah, in its unflinching honesty, doesn't shy away from these tough questions. to one particularly weighty example. In (Genesis 15:13), God tells Abraham – Avraham, the patria...
The ancient sages certainly did. And they found profound meaning in that feeling. to a fascinating interpretation of a well-known biblical passage, explored in the Midrash of Philo...
We find ourselves pondering this very question in a fascinating corner of Jewish thought, a place where ancient wisdom meets profound insight. The question arises from the Book of ...
Philo, a Jewish philosopher living in Alexandria in the first century CE, offers a unique take on a familiar phrase: "Thou shalt go to thy fathers." What does this really mean? It'...
Take, for instance, that cryptic line in (Genesis 15:16): "For the sins of the Amorites were not as yet completed." What does that even mean? It's a verse that on the surface seems...
Take the writings attributed to Philo of Alexandria, for example. Now, there’s some debate about whether these are actually from Philo himself, but the collection known as “The Mid...
And, surprisingly, this feeling isn't exactly new. to a fascinating ancient text called "The Midrash of Philo." Now, when we say midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), we're t...
Take the covenant God makes with Abraham in Genesis 15. It's a big moment. God promises Abraham this whole huge swathe of land for his descendants. But then it gets…well, geographi...
The ancient sages certainly did. to a fascinating interpretation from the Midrash of Philo that uses geography to explain the pursuit of happiness itself. Philo, a Jewish philosoph...
Not quite. The beauty of Jewish tradition lies in its layers. We don't just read the text; we wrestle with it. We ask questions. We search for deeper meaning. And that's where midr...
It’s a theme that echoes throughout Jewish tradition, doesn't it? And it makes you wonder: why that particular miracle? Well, one perspective comes to us from a fascinating text at...
But, like so many things in the Torah, there's a deeper layer, a hidden meaning waiting to be uncovered. The ancient sages, particularly those who engaged in midrash (rabbinic inte...
Let’s pull up a chair and delve into one of those moments – a complicated one, to be sure, involving Sarah, Abraham, and Hagar. The question before us is this: Why did Sarah, barre...
Philo, a Jewish philosopher from Alexandria, writing way back in the first century CE, thought so. He saw these narratives as having layers of meaning, a literal interpretation and...
They're not just labels, you know. In Jewish tradition, a name can be a destiny, a reflection of character, a clue to understanding the deeper story. Take Sarah, for example. Why i...
This particular piece tackles the tricky subject of a virtuous man taking a concubine, even though he already has a wife. How could that possibly be seen as righteous? Well, Philo ...
Our question comes from (Genesis 16:4): "When she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes." Seems simple enough. Hagar, Sarai’s maidservant, becomes pregn...
The Torah, in its often subtle way, touches upon this very question. Our passage focuses on a seemingly small detail in the story of Sarah and Hagar. You remember the story. Sarah,...
