2,028 related texts · Page 26 of 43
And it all starts with a letter. The Letter of Aristeas, as it's known, recounts the tale of how the Torah—the first five books of Moses—came to be translated into Greek. Now, the ...
Sounds like something out of a movie. But this actually happened, according to the Book of Maccabees I! to this intriguing historical moment. The passage we're looking at comes fro...
There are so many fascinating texts just lurking on the fringes, offering alternative perspectives and filling in the gaps in ways you wouldn't expect. Today, we're diving into one...
We all know the story from Genesis 34 – how Shechem, son of Hamor, defiled Jacob's daughter, Dinah, and how Jacob's sons, particularly Simeon and Levi, exacted a brutal revenge. Bu...
We all know the story from Genesis 34: how Jacob's daughter Dinah is defiled by Shechem, son of Hamor, and how Simeon and Levi exact a brutal revenge, slaughtering all the men of t...
We read about their exploits in the Torah, but sometimes the details feel…sparse. That's where books like the Book of Jasher come in. It's considered a type of Midrash (rabbinic in...
We pick up the story of Joseph in Egypt, after his brothers sold him and he's been bought and sold a couple more times. According to Jasher, the Ishmaelites who initially bought Jo...
Remember, this is an ancient Hebrew text, not considered canon, but full of fascinating stories filling in gaps in the biblical narrative. Our story picks up with Jacob and his son...
Chapter 57 of the Book of Jasher gives us a glimpse into a world where old rivalries simmer, erupt, and reshape the landscape. The chapter opens with a clash: the sons of Esau wage...
It’s a relentless chronicle of life and death, battles and betrayals. We're in Egypt, some seventy-nine years after Jacob and his family arrived. The years are marked by a somber r...
The Book of Jasher, a fascinating and controversial text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13 and (2 Samuel 1:1)8), offers a compelling narrative. Chapter 65 plunges us rig...
Sometimes, it's the little-known stories, the tucked-away details, that truly bring the past to life. to a snippet from the Book of Jasher, a text mentioned in the Bible itself (Jo...
There are entire books dedicated to filling in those gaps, offering tantalizing glimpses into the lives of our ancestors. One such book is the Book of Jasher, a work referenced in ...
The ancient Israelites certainly did! And this chapter of the Book of Jasher throws us right into the middle of their long, winding journey. Remember Korah's rebellion? The Book of...
That feeling of frustration, of being turned back just as you're reaching your goal... well, the Israelites knew it well. Chapter 85 of the Book of Jasher plunges us right into a m...
The Book of Jasher, an ancient text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13, (2 Samuel 1:1)8), offers some fascinating glimpses.. The chapter opens by setting the stage: It's ...
The Genesis Apocryphon transforms Abraham from a terse biblical figure into a vivid first-person narrator. In the Aramaic retelling of Genesis 13, Abraham climbs to a high place af...
The Garden of Eden is not a meadow. It is a city of palaces. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle translated by Moses Gaster in 1899, there are...
The night Abraham was born, a star appeared in the sky and swallowed four other stars from the four corners of heaven. Nimrod's astrologers saw it and rushed to the king with a war...
Haran, the eldest son of Terah, made his living selling his father's idols to the Chaldeans. His younger brother Abraham refused to worship them. When the Chaldeans came to test bo...
Esau had moved away from his brother Jacob, but the sages in the Chronicles of Jerahmeel say it was not because his hatred had cooled. "His anger did he bear perpetually, and he ke...
When Pharaoh sought counsel on what to do about the growing Israelite population, he summoned three men: Reuel the Midianite, Job, and Balaam of Petor. Their answers determined the...
Cyrus conquered the known world because God strengthened his hand. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle translated by Moses Gaster in 1899, God...
Esther stripped off her royal garments and the ornaments of her majesty. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle translated by Moses Gaster in 189...
Haman wrote one of the most chilling documents in Jewish legend. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle translated by Moses Gaster in 1899, Haman...
Some believe that certain figures, especially the patriarch Abraham, never truly died. The idea of Abraham continuing to wander the world, making his presence known, is surprisingl...
Jewish tradition certainly has, and the figure of Adam, the first man, looms large in that contemplation. to some fascinating stories about him, drawn from the rich tapestry of Jew...
We often focus on the eating of the fruit itself, but the consequences, as described in Jewish tradition, are pretty fascinating, and, frankly, a little terrifying. According to Gi...
It wasn’t just carpentry; it was cosmic-level engineering! Turns out, according to some fascinating legends, he had a little help… in the form of a very special book. This wasn’t j...
We know that Noah and his family were spared, a fresh start for humanity. But, well, it didn't take long for things to go sideways again, did it? According to Ginzberg’s retelling ...
The sages tell us that there were ten generations between Noah and Abraham. Ten generations! And the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) emphasizes that this long span shows...
The stories are… well, let's just say they’re anything but ordinary. According to Legends of the Jews, as retold by Louis Ginzberg, Abraham's birth was shrouded in secrecy, hidden ...
According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, when Abraham reached the ripe old age of twenty, his father Terah, an idol maker, fell ill. Now, Terah needed some cash, s...
The story goes that Nimrod, a powerful and wicked king, grew furious with Abraham (who was, of course, not called Abraham yet at this point in the narrative—but we'll call him that...
It wasn't all smooth sailing. There were threats, escapes, and a family's journey toward a new destiny. to the story of how Abraham, or Avram as he was originally known, found hims...
Let’s talk about Abraham. Scarcely had Abraham settled in Canaan when a devastating famine struck. Now, famines aren’t exactly rare in the grand scheme of things. In fact, the lege...
It's a tale of ambition, cunning, and a whole lot of grave-robbing... or, well, almost. Our story begins not in Egypt, but in the land of Shinar. There lived a man named Rakyon – m...
We often think of Abraham's journey as beginning with the covenant God made with him, the "covenant of the pieces," promising him descendants as numerous as the stars. But as Legen...
to the legends and find out. According to the Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, the people of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar (the cities of the plain) were… well, let's j...
The story of Abraham pleading for Sodom and Gomorrah, as recounted in Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, is a powerful exploration of just that. God, seeing that the inhabitants of t...
According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, the story starts with a prayer. Abraham had prayed for Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, and when Abimelech recovere...
As Isaac grew, tensions flared between the two half-brothers over inheritance rights. Ishmael, the elder, believed he deserved a double portion, while Isaac should receive only one...
His story, often overshadowed, takes some fascinating turns, especially concerning his wives. According to Legends of the Jews, that incredible compilation of rabbinic lore by Loui...
Abraham, known for his boundless hospitality, once held a grand feast celebrating the birth of his son, Isaac. According to Legends of the Jews, as retold by Ginzberg, everyone who...
One of the most powerful, and frankly, unsettling, of these stories is the Akeidah, the Binding of Isaac. It all starts with a test. God, in perhaps the ultimate trial of faith, as...
The story, as we find it elaborated upon in Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, takes us far beyond the spare verses of Genesis. It paints a vivid picture, filled with dialogue and em...
According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, Isaac's life was, in many ways, a mirror image of his father Abraham's. : Abraham had to leave his birthplace. So did Isaa...
The Bible is full of them, but sometimes the stories between the lines are even more fascinating. to the tale of Jacob and his father-in-law, Laban, a story ripe with tension, accu...
