1,822 related texts · Page 28 of 38
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...
That’s the emotional whirlwind that engulfs the sons of Jacob after selling their brother Joseph into slavery, as recounted in Chapter 43 of the Book of Jasher. The chapter opens w...
The Bible gives us glimpses, but the Book of Jasher, an ancient Hebrew text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13, (2 Samuel 1:1)8), offers a more detailed narrative.. The c...
The Book of Jasher, an ancient Hebrew text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13 and (2 Samuel 1:1)8), offers a fascinating account. .. The scene opens with Isaac, Abraham's...
That’s exactly what happens to Pharaoh in Chapter 48 of the Book of Jasher. The story opens with a looming crisis: a famine. "In those days, after the death of Isaac, the Lord comm...
Remember Joseph? The Hebrew slave who correctly interpreted Pharaoh's dream about the famine? Well, Pharaoh hasn't forgotten. According to the Book of Jasher, after seeing that Jos...
It's one of those fascinating texts just outside the mainstream of the Hebrew Bible, referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13 and (2 Samuel 1:1)8), yet remaining somewhat myste...
Picking up where we left off, Jacob’s sons, finally convinced to bring their youngest brother Benjamin, journey back to Egypt. Can you imagine the tension? They're carrying gifts, ...
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...
But this tale comes from a different, less-known source: The Book of Jasher. Specifically, we’re diving into Chapter 60. Now, the Book of Jasher isn't part of the standard biblical...
And then, out of nowhere, we get a completely separate war story! Buckle up, because we're diving in. First, let's set the stage. Levi, one of Jacob's sons, passes away at the ripe...
We read about the conquest of Canaan in the Book of Joshua, but the story doesn't quite end there. The Book of Jasher, a non-canonical Jewish text that fills in some of the gaps in...
Jewish tradition holds that a handful of people never died. They walked into Gan Eden - the Garden of Eden - while still alive, bypassing death entirely. The Alphabet of Ben Sira, ...
While the dream sequence in the Book of Giants gets most of the attention, the scroll also describes something the Watchers tradition in 1 Enoch only mentions in passing: the Nephi...
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...
Antiochus Eupator, son of the infamous Antiochus Epiphanes, inherited his father's hatred of the Jews. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle pre...
Uriel took Ezra back to the beginning. Before the portals of the world were in place. Before the winds blew or thunder sounded. Before the innumerable hosts of angels were gathered...
I’m talking about Noah, the hero of the Ark, the one chosen to rebuild humanity after the Great Flood. But before the ark, before the flood, there was a birth story so extraordinar...
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 of Abraham, or Avraham in Hebrew, is a powerful exploration of just that. The ancient texts tell us that Abraham faced ten trials, each designed to test the depths of his...
According to Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, God revealed Himself to Abraham shortly after, to ease his conscience about the spilling of innocent blood, a scruple that caused him g...
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...
The story of Jacob and Esau, from the book of Genesis and elaborated on in texts like Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, is a classic example. As young children, it was difficult to t...
The traditional texts offer some fascinating, and frankly, unsettling insights into Esau's true character and the events surrounding that infamous stolen blessing. According to Leg...
The story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob, and the events that unfolded in Shechem, offer a stark and troubling example of just that. According to Legends of the Jews, as retold by Gin...
The story of Jacob's sons, Simon and Levi, and their actions in Shechem is a prime example. As we know, they took drastic revenge for the rape of their sister Dinah. But as Legends...
According to Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, after the incident at Shechem, where Simon and Levi took drastic action, fear rippled through the surrounding lands. The neighboring p...
It all revolves around Joseph’s coat – that infamous coat of many colors. The story goes that after selling Joseph into slavery, Jacob's sons were immediately overcome with regret....
According to these accounts, Joseph's imprisonment wasn't just a random act of misfortune. It was, in a way, a consequence for speaking ill of his brothers before their father, Jac...
That feeling, that undercurrent of destiny, hums through the story of Joseph and his brothers. The famine wasn't just devastating Egypt. As Ginzberg recounts in Legends of the Jews...
They'd already made one harrowing trip to Egypt for food during a devastating famine. But now, the meager supplies they brought back were gone. The little children were crying, beg...
The Bible gives us a glimpse, but the Jewish tradition, particularly in works like Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, really fills in the emotional and narrative gaps. The reunion, a...
We know the big names – Abraham, Moses, David. But what about the supporting cast, the characters who, while not central to the main narrative, still managed to leave their mark, h...
I'm talking about Joseph, of course, and his brothers. We know the story: Joseph, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, rises to power in Egypt, and then, years later, fate br...
The Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg recounts this scene, drawing from various rabbinic sources. Zebulon, at the ripe old age of 114 – two years after Joseph's death – calls his son...
There was a transition, a gradual dimming of the light. It’s almost like the Egyptians were waiting for something… or someone. Ginzberg tells us that as long as the sons of Jacob w...
According to Legends of the Jews, as retold by Ginzberg, it was the one hundred and thirtieth year after the Israelites arrived in Egypt. Pharaoh, uneasy in his power, had a distur...
We know him as the ultimate liberator, the lawgiver, the one who spoke to God face to face. But there's a fascinating story, tucked away in Jewish legend, about Moses the King of E...
According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, Moses encountered seven maidens at a well. One of them, Zipporah, caught his eye with her modesty. He proposed marriage, b...
That's the story of Hiwwa and Hiyya, the sons of Shemhazai, one of the fallen angels. Now, Shemhazai wasn't just any angel gone rogue. He was a pretty big deal, and his kids, well,...
The story is actually far more intriguing, and it all starts with Adam. According to Legends of the Jews, upon Adam's death, a certain holy book mysteriously vanished. Talk about a...
But not just any book. According to Legends of the Jews, that incredible compilation by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, this was a sapphire book, encased in gold! Think of the bling! More im...
Our story begins with Terah, Abraham's father, falling ill. He needed cash – specifically, money to cover expenses. And his solution? "Sell these idols!" he tells his sons Haran an...
And let me tell you, it wasn't pretty. After two years had passed – two years since Abraham defied him and was thrown into that fiery furnace – Nimrod was haunted by a vision. He s...
The story goes that Nimrod, a powerful ruler in ancient times, was deeply shaken by a dream. As soon as the sun rose, he summoned his wise men and magicians, desperate to understan...
It wasn't quite as simple as a divine command, at least not at first. The traditional narrative often focuses on Abraham's calling, but let's rewind a bit and look at the fascinati...
