12,014 related texts · Page 6 of 251
The Book of Jubilees, a text bubbling with detail about the early days of humankind and covenants with God, offers a fascinating glimpse. In the 15th chapter, we find Abraham – sti...
Potiphar's wife tried every day to seduce Joseph. She dressed in her finest ornaments, changed her clothes constantly, and spoke to him with increasing urgency. But Joseph mastered...
A famine has gripped the land, and the Egyptians are desperate. Where do they turn? First, to their idols. But these "deceitful idols," as Joseph calls them, offer no help. So, the...
It's quite a story, one that goes far beyond the familiar narrative in Genesis. Famine had gripped the land, remember? And the people, desperate for food, first spent all their mon...
Rabbi Yishmael examined a verse about the priests serving at the altar and found a surprising teaching hidden inside what appeared to be a redundancy. The verse warns: "so that you...
According to Tree of Souls, when Noah was loading up the ark, Og made a deal. He swore to Noah and his sons that if they’d let him come along, he’d be their servant forever. Now, s...
Abraham had just defeated four kings and rescued his nephew. In (Genesis 15:1), God simply says "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." But the ancien...
After Abraham sent Ishmael away into the wilderness with his mother Hagar, the patriarch did not forget his firstborn son. According to Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer and the Midrash Haga...
Abraham was ninety-nine years old when God renewed the covenant (Genesis 17:1). The sons of Korah composed a psalm about this moment — "Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty on...
One minute you're celebrating abundance, the next you're facing scarcity. The story of Joseph in Egypt gives us a powerful glimpse into this precarious balance, and the ancient rab...
“And did not remember His footstool [hadom raglav],” Rabbi Ḥanina bar Yitzḥak said: The Holy One blessed be He does not remember that blood [hadam] that was between the legs of the...
Our ancestor Abraham knew that feeling well. We find him in a fascinating moment in the Midrash of Philo, grappling with hope, faith, and the very definition of a "blessing." Philo...
We all know Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Esau. But there's so much more to these stories! The Book of Jubilees, for those unfamiliar, is an ancient Jewish text t...
The scene is set: the seven kings of the Amorites—ancient inhabitants of Canaan—are plotting against Jacob and his sons. They're lurking, hiding under trees, with less than noble i...
Chapter 46 tells us about a significant moment: the Israelites, after a period of time, gathered up all the bones of Jacob’s children, with one notable exception: Joseph. And where...
The Book of Jasher, a non-canonical Jewish text that fills in gaps in the biblical narrative, offers some fascinating glimpses. to one particularly dramatic episode from Chapter 15...
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...
To recap, the brothers have already journeyed to Egypt to buy food during a brutal famine, encountering the powerful and mysterious Egyptian viceroy– who is secretly their long-los...
The Book of Jasher, an ancient Hebrew text of uncertain origin, gives us a glimpse into that emotional reunion and the events that followed. It's a powerful story of family, faith,...
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...
As Joseph lay on his deathbed, he made his brethren swear a solemn oath. He didn't just ask it of them, but instructed them to have their sons swear it too: when God would finally ...
It’s a story filled with hidden beauty, shrewd bargaining, and a touch of divine protection. Our tale begins as Abraham and Sarah journey from Canaan to Egypt. According to Legends...
Even if you're Abraham, the father of monotheism, it turns out you're not immune. Imagine this: Abraham has just pulled off an incredible victory, rescuing Lot and defeating a coal...
That’s the situation Abraham found himself in, according to rabbinic tradition. The story goes that God, observing the rampant wickedness in Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding ci...
According to Jewish tradition, the inhabitants of Sodom and the other cities of the plain suffered the ultimate loss: not only their lives in this world, but also their portion in ...
They were old when they finally had Isaac. We're talking ancient! So, naturally, people had questions. Naysayers abounded. The big question on everyone's lips was, "Can a hundred-y...
The story of Hagar and her son Ishmael, wandering in the desert, touches on that very human struggle. According to Legends of the Jews, Sarah, in a moment of jealousy, cast an "evi...
We pick up the story with high drama. They arrive in Egypt, unknowingly standing before the very brother they sold into slavery years before. Joseph, now a powerful figure, sees th...
It wasn't just a plea for his immediate family, according to Legends of the Jews. It was an intercession, a powerful request not only for his sons, but for all of their descendants...
Even a turban for Jacob himself! They were ready to journey to Egypt, to leave Canaan and dwell with Joseph. The word had spread and, according to Legends of the Jews, the kings an...
Jacob, our ancestor, felt it too. Imagine him, poised on the edge of a life-altering decision: leaving the familiar land of Canaan to journey to Egypt. But five nagging questions g...
It wasn't a simple affair, that's for sure. The Bible tells us he died in Egypt, surrounded by his family. But getting him back to the land promised to his ancestors? That was a wh...
Because, according to some traditions, even the ten plagues weren't enough to soften the hearts of the Egyptians. The oppression of the Hebrews continued relentlessly, right up to ...
The kind that whispers, "Are you sure you're ready for this?" It's a feeling that's haunted humanity for millennia, and it even gripped the Israelites on the cusp of entering the P...
The story of Og, King of Bashan, from Legends of the Jews, is a wild ride that explores just that! The Israelites, fresh from their victory against Sihon (a battle that, by the way...
So, Balaam, the non-Jewish prophet hired by Balak, king of Moab, to curse the Israelites, is ready to get down to business. Balak and his princes are all waiting, anticipation thic...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. And they found evidence of it woven throughout the stories of our ancestors. to a fascinating little gem from Midrash Tehillim (a collection of ra...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating and sometimes enigmatic text, sheds light on this very question. It tells us that the sun marks the days, and the moon the nights, their cycle...
It’s a question that leads us to a fascinating passage in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a beautiful, ancient text that weaves together biblical narrative and rabbinic interpretation. The...
The scene: Jacob is on his deathbed. He summons his beloved son, Joseph. This isn't just a goodbye; it's a moment of profound importance. Jacob says, "O my son! Swear to me by the ...
to a fascinating passage from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a beautiful and somewhat enigmatic work of Jewish lore. We're going to unravel a little mystery surrounding the Israelite sojo...
The Book of Deuteronomy, Sefer Devarim, explores just that. In (Deuteronomy 32:9), we read, "For the portion of the L-rd is His people." This verse sparks a fascinating midrash, a ...
The ancient sages grappled with this very idea. The verse we're looking at today, from Sifrei Devarim 329, part of the legal commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, hits hard. It st...
These aren't mistakes. They're invitations to delve deeper, to wrestle with the text and uncover hidden layers of meaning. Consider this: In (Hosea 2:1), we read about the children...
Our story begins in Shittim, a place whose name, as we'll see, carries a weight of meaning. "Israel was dwelling in Shittim, and the people began to engage in harlotry with the dau...
In Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, we find this idea explored through a rather unsettling lens: famine. Specifically, the ...
The book of Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations on the book of Genesis, makes a fascinating claim. It says that there have been ten famines throughout...
The rabbis of old, wrestling with this very question, spun a fascinating tale in Bereshit Rabbah 40, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. The story begi...
