24 passagesMasoretic text (Tiberian, c. 10th century CE)HebrewCC-BY
Individual passages from Torah (Masoretic Text), indexed for close reading, source verification, and myth source-checking.
The story of Moses begins with an act of unimaginable cruelty. Pharaoh, fearing the growing number of Israelites, issued a horrifying decree: "Every boy that is born you shall thro...
The Torah gives us a beautiful, evocative image: "Such is the story of heaven and earth when they were created. When the Lord God made earth and heaven, when no shrub of the field ...
The Bible gives us a glimpse, a tantalizing description of such a place: the Garden of Eden. As we read in Genesis (2:8-17), God planted this garden "in the east" and placed Adam t...
Torah turns to Moses Encounters the Bush That Burns but Is Not Consumed. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appears to him in a blazing fire, right in the middle of a bush. Can you ima...
Not just on Earth, but in this state of… well, existence. Fraught with hard work, pain, and ultimately, mortality? The story of the exile from Eden, found in (Genesis 3:1-24), trie...
The Torah actually grapples with this very question, and the answer, as you might expect, is layered and fascinating. Moses, standing before the burning bush, is tasked with leadin...
Torah turns to Cain And Abel. The story begins simply enough. As we read in Genesis (4:1-16), "Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain…" Eve, in a moment of ...
The Torah tells us about a man named Enoch who did just that. And his story, though brief in the Book of Genesis (Genesis 5:21-24), has blossomed into a rich and fascinating tradit...
The Torah, in its own way, grapples with this very question. We find ourselves in the Book of Exodus, a pivotal moment in the story of the Israelites. Moses is about to ascend Moun...
The answer, according to Jewish tradition, lies in a story of ambition, unity, and divine intervention: The Tower of Babel. Genesis (11:1-9) tells us that in the beginning, "everyo...
It all starts with a command. A voice. God says to Abram (that's Abraham's name before it was changed, much like his wife was originally Sarai, not Sarah), "Lekh Lekha" – "Go forth...
His nephew, Lot, has just departed, choosing a different path, and perhaps a more materially prosperous one. Abram might be feeling a little…lost. Then, something incredible happen...
Torah turns to A Scapegoat For Azazel. What in the world was that about? This custom – sending a scapegoat into the desert as an offering to Azazel – it just screams of something o...
The Torah tells us a story about just that. It's a scorching day, and Abraham is sitting at the entrance to his tent, near the terebinths of Mamre. Suddenly, he looks up and sees t...
The tale of Sodom and Gomorrah definitely fits that bill. It's a story of hospitality gone wrong, moral decay, and divine retribution that leaves you breathless. It all starts with...
They’ve journeyed far, and now, they're about to experience something beyond comprehension. Exodus 19 tells us that on the third day, as morning broke, the atmosphere crackled with...
Their grumbling had some pretty fiery consequences. We find ourselves in the book of Numbers (Bamidbar in Hebrew, meaning "in the wilderness") chapter 21. The Israelites are trekki...
The Binding of Isaac, or Akedat Yitzhak as it's known in Hebrew, is one of those stories. It’s right there in the book of Genesis, chapter 22, verses 1 through 19. It's a cornersto...
The story of Jacob and Esau, found in (Genesis 25:21-26), really makes you wonder about that. It's a tale filled with sibling rivalry, destiny, and some serious prenatal drama. The...
Genesis tells us that the twins were different from the start. "When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the outdoors; but Jacob was a mild man who stayed in ...
The Torah gives us one of the most powerful and mysterious stories of just such a struggle: Jacob wrestling with the angel. The scene is set. Jacob, alone after sending his family ...
Moses certainly did. In the book of Exodus (33:18-23), we find Moses pleading with God, "Oh, let me behold Your presence!" It's a raw, human moment. Can you imagine the courage, th...
Remember the scene: Moses, up on Mount Sinai, receiving the very word of God, etched onto stone tablets. And then… disaster. The Israelites, impatient and faithless, melt down thei...
That's a glimpse into the story of Moses and the divine radiance. We find the account in (Exodus 34:29-35), a passage that has captivated and, at times, puzzled readers for centuri...
