4,543 related texts · 51 related myths · Page 5 of 95
On the road to Egypt, the Holy One issues a warning that has troubled readers for two millennia. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan softens the Hebrew's I will harden his heart into something ...
On the road to Egypt, one of the strangest scenes in the Torah unfolds. The Hebrew is terse to the point of confusion: the Lord met him and sought to kill him. Targum Pseudo-Jonath...
When the foremen finally confront Moses and Aaron, their rage is spectacular. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves the accusation: Our affliction is manifest before the Lord, but our p...
"(It shall be) not so as ye devise; but the men only shall go and worship before the Lord; for that it was which ye demanded. And he drave them out from before the face of Pharoh" ...
"Lift up thy hand over the land of Mizraim for the locust, that he may come up over the land of Mizraim, and destroy every herb of the earth, whatsoever the hail hath left" (Targum...
After three days of darkness, Pharaoh calls Moses back. "Go, worship before the Lord; only your sheep and your oxen shall abide with me: your children also may go with you" (Targum...
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 11:3) notes a transformation that had happened gradually, almost without anyone noticing. "The Lord gave the people favour before the Mizraee;...
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan keeps one detail from the Hebrew and clarifies another. Miriam, the sister of Aaron, is called the prophetess. She takes a tambourine, and all the women come...
When Amalek attacked, Moses turned to Joshua with instructions that reveal what kind of army Israel would fight with. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan records the order: "Choose such men...
News travels, but rarely does it move a prince of Midian to action. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan records the turning point: "And Jethro, prince of Midian, the father-in-law of Moses,...
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan closes Jethro's advice with a striking promise: "If thou wilt do this, and exempt thyself from judging (every case) as the Lord shall give thee instructi...
Moses encountered seven maidens at a well. One of them, Zipporah, caught his eye with her modesty. He proposed marriage, but Zipporah wasn't immediately swept off her feet. She tol...
The familiar story is this: Joseph, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, ends up in Egypt. He rises through the ranks, but then gets thrown in jail after being falsely accuse...
Pharaoh, you'll remember, had ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill all newborn baby boys. But these women – Shifra and Puah are their names in (Exodus 1:15) – defied him. They feare...
The familiar story is this: Pharaoh, terrified by the growing number of Israelites, orders all newborn Hebrew boys to be cast into the Nile. A desperate act of cruelty. But what wa...
Legends of the Jews turns to Bithiah Pretended to Be Pregnant Then Produced Moses. One charming detail, found in Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, is how Bithiah, Pharaoh's daughter,...
Legends of the Jews turns to Moses — The Burning Bush. Ginzberg, in his Legends of the Jews, paints a fascinating picture of Moses's early life, one filled with unexpected turns. H...
The Torah is full of these kinds of startling transformations, and the story of Moses' rod is a perfect example. It’s more than just a cool magic trick; it’s a lesson about power, ...
Moses didn't exactly jump for joy when he got the divine call. In fact, he voiced some pretty significant doubts. Can you blame him? He argued, "O Lord of the world, I a prophet an...
As retold by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, the great leader wasn't exactly racing toward his destiny. He was accompanied by his wife and children, yes, and riding on a truly remarkable ani...
Moses, our leader, lawgiver, the one who spoke to God face to face. even he wasn't perfect. Moses is often remembered as this unwavering figure. But the texts paint a more nuanced ...
Terrifying. That's exactly where Moses and Aaron found themselves when they approached Pharaoh. Pharaoh's palace wasn't just a building; it was a fortress, a symbol of absolute pow...
Oh no, that would be far too simple. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, at every single entrance stood two massive lions. Lions! Terrifying. These weren't yo...
Except Moses knew better. He knew the hearts of his people, the Israelites. The verse reads, "The last was a most difficult task." See, this wasn't just about facing a powerful kin...
The familiar story is this: Moses and Aaron plead with Pharaoh, Pharaoh refuses, plagues ensue. But what about the details? The little human moments tucked away in the grand narrat...
Moses, the man who stood toe-to-toe with Pharaoh, the man who witnessed unimaginable plagues unleashed upon Egypt, still maintained a certain level of deference. It's almost counte...
Legends of the Jews turns to Pharaoh Hunts for Moses on the Night of Death. The Ginzberg's says retelling in Legends of the Jews, Pharaoh didn't wait for the usual royal waking hou...
Legends of the Jews turns to Pharaoh — Moses and the Dreamer. The Legends of the Jews, that incredible compilation of rabbinic lore collected by Louis Ginzberg, gives us a glimpse ...
At first, Moses wasn't exactly thrilled to hear from Jethro. Imagine receiving a letter, and your first instinct is to ignore it! But God, in a moment of profound teaching, tells M...
Legends of the Jews turns to Moses Mourns Miriam and the Well Disappears for Hours. The grief was immense. That Miriam's death plunged everyone into mourning. Moses and Aaron wept ...
The answer? Well, it's a bit…uncomfortable. The Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar, a later, and in some ways wilder, expansion on the core Zohar, tackles this very question head-on...
When God told Moses in (Exodus 7:1), "See, I have made you an overlord to Pharaoh," a question immediately arose in the minds of the ancient rabbis. The verse seems to single out M...
Variantly: "And he called to Moses and to Aaron": What is the intent of this? Pharaoh had said to him (Ibid. 10:28) "Go from me." (29) "And Moses said: "True have you spoken" (and ...
When God told Moses to take the staff that had struck the Nile, the Mekhilta explains the reason: it was because of Israel's "murmurings." The people had been complaining, and now ...
Israel looked at the staff of Moses and saw only devastation. It had brought ten plagues upon the Egyptians in Egypt, blood, frogs, lice, and all the rest. Then it brought ten more...
Rabbi Yossi ben Zimra noticed a single word in the Torah that most readers skip right past. And from it, he derived an astonishing claim about the staff of Moses. When God instruct...
Midrash Tehillim turns to The Bitter Irony When Moses Faced Pharaoh's Court. Can you imagine the scene? The sky darkening, the air thick with anticipation of the coming storm. Phar...
The Torah portion of Bamidbar (Numbers) opens a fascinating window into exactly that, with a story about Miriam and Aaron speaking against their brother, Moses. The verse in (Numbe...
Sifrei Devarim turns to Miriam — Moses and the Dreamer. Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, offers a fascinating insight. It tells us ...
When the Hebrew Bible says Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and it became a serpent (Exodus 7:10), the Targum Jonathan makes a far more terrifying claim. The rod did not b...
The Targum Jonathan on Exodus 8 contains one of the most remarkable theological additions in all of ancient Aramaic literature: the reason Moses personally refused to bring the pla...
The book of Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers, illuminates this very question. We find ourselves at a pivotal moment in the Israelites' jou...
The story revolves around Miriam's affliction with tzara'at, often translated as leprosy, after she and Aaron speak critically of Moses. When Moses witnesses his sister's suffering...
The scene: Pharaoh, terrified by the growing Israelite population, issues a horrifying command to the Hebrew midwives. "When you deliver the Hebrew women," he says, "and you see th...
That feeling isn’t new. In fact, it echoes through one of the most powerful stories in the Torah. The familiar story centers on Moses. Born into slavery, hidden away, destined for ...
The Torah tells us, "His sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter: ‘Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’" (Exodus 2:7). But why specifically ...
It’s a story filled with palace intrigue, near-fatal tests, and a touch of divine intervention. The familiar version gives us the basics: baby Moses in a basket, found by Pharaoh's...
It all centers around Moses, and a rather interesting agreement he makes with Jethro (also known as Yitro), his future father-in-law. Remember, Moses has just fled Egypt after, sha...
