3,020 related texts · Page 92 of 336
It turns out, this isn't just a human tendency. The Torah itself, according to some rabbinic interpretations, goes out of its way to avoid using harsh or impure language. Take the ...
It's like a chameleon, shifting its color to match the background. Take the Hebrew word hu, meaning "he is" or "he was." It seems simple enough. But in Bereshit Rabbah, a collectio...
We find a list in the Book of Genesis, chapter 10, verses 15-19, detailing the descendants of Canaan, son of Ham. "And Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, and Ḥet," the Torah tells u...
Take this story from Bereshit Rabbah 39, a midrash – that is, an interpretive commentary – on the Book of Genesis. Rabbi Berekhya, quoting Rabbi Neḥemya, tells us of a king traveli...
It’s more profound than you might think. Genesis 12:5 tells us, “Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot, son of his brother, and all their property that they had acquired, and the peop...
Turns out, that impulse might be older – and more significant – than you think. We’re talking about land, about ownership, and about the very act of claiming something as your own....
The passage opens with Abram, later known as Abraham, learning that his brother has been taken captive. The text connects this to a verse from Isaiah (33:15): "He seals his ears fr...
The Book of Genesis 14:15 tells us, "He divided up against them at night, he and his servants, and he smote them and pursued them until Ḥova, which is north of Damascus." But it’s ...
We find a fascinating glimpse into that struggle in Bereshit Rabbah 44, a section of the ancient midrashic collection on the Book of Genesis. It all centers around Abraham and a ra...
