2,285 related texts · Page 28 of 48
And Bezalel made the ark (Exod. 37:1). You find that everything constructed for the Tabernacle was made in its proper order. First he made the boards and joined them together. Afte...
What is written after this passage (in Lev. 21:10)? “And the priest that is highest among his brothers”22Lev. R. 26:9. Why is he called by the name, “high priest?”23THE PRIEST THAT...
And when you approach the battle, the priest shall come forward and address the people (Deuteronomy 20:2): And so [too] does it state (Deuteronomy 21:5) "The priests, the Sons of L...
Imagine, if you will, the very first family facing the ultimate crisis. Adam, the first man, is nearing his end. Can you even fathom the weight of that moment? The realization that...
Ben Sira, in chapter 46 of his wisdom text, paints a vivid portrait of Samuel, a leader renowned for his unwavering faith and powerful connection to God. It's a portrait that reson...
The Book of Jubilees, an ancient Jewish text, offers us a glimpse into his extraordinary life. This book, considered scripture by some, expands on the biblical narrative, filling i...
Where does that come from, really? We find a fascinating glimpse into its ancient roots in the Book of Jubilees. Now, the Book of Jubilees is a fascinating text, considered part of...
We know he built an altar, offered sacrifices (Genesis 8:20), and, well, planted a vineyard (Genesis 9:20-21). But what about teaching? Did he just let humanity wander off to rebui...
Jubilees, for those unfamiliar, is an ancient Jewish text that retells the stories from Genesis and Exodus, but with some… shall we say, interesting additions. It's considered pseu...
And it's a little different than what you might expect. In Jubilees 14, we find Abraham in a very familiar role: making sacrifices. He offers up pieces of animals, birds, fruit-off...
And He said, "Because thou hast obeyed My voice, and hast not withheld thy son, thy first-born, but hast offered him up to Me, in order that I might make a great nation of thee, an...
That’s the heart of one of the most powerful, and frankly, disturbing stories in the Hebrew Bible: the Akeidah, the Binding of Isaac. We all know the basic story from Genesis 22. G...
That feeling, that connection, is at the heart of this passage from the Book of Jubilees. Jubilees, for those unfamiliar, is an ancient Jewish text that retells the stories of Gene...
Jubilees, for those unfamiliar, is an ancient Jewish text that expands on the stories in Genesis and Exodus, offering a unique perspective on history and law. Some consider it part...
Sometimes, the answers lie in unexpected places – like the Book of Jubilees. It’s an ancient Jewish text, considered by some to be part of the biblical canon, though it's not inclu...
We throw them around pretty casually these days, don't we? "Bless you" after a sneeze. "Have a blessed day." But what if a blessing held real, tangible power? What if it could shap...
The story of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel – now that's a tangle! It all boils down to love, deception, and the weight of heavenly decrees. Jacob, as we know, was head-over-heels for Rac...
The Book of Jubilees, also known as the Lesser Genesis, is an ancient Jewish text that retells the stories of Genesis, but with some extra details. Think of it like a director's cu...
Our ancestors grappled with it too. to a moment with Jacob, a patriarch wrestling with destiny in the Book of Jubilees. What's the Book of Jubilees, you ask? Think of it as a retel...
Jacob certainly did. Imagine this: you've just wrestled with an angel (or at least, a really tough guy who might as well have been an angel!), you're about to face your estranged b...
We all know the dramatic ending – sold into slavery, rising to power in Egypt, and eventually saving his family from famine. But what about those missing pieces, the everyday strug...
Sometimes, the answers are tucked away in unexpected corners of our history, like in the Book of Jubilees. Now, the Book of Jubilees isn't part of the standard Hebrew Bible we read...
It’s a question as old as… well, as old as families themselves. And in the Book of Jubilees, we find a powerful little exchange between Jacob and his mother, Rebekah, that sheds li...
It expands on stories we already know from the Torah, filling in details and offering new perspectives. Here, we're looking at Chapter 37, and the drama is thick with sibling rival...
The famine in the land was brutal. The people were starving. Desperate, Jacob turned to his sons: "Go again," he pleaded, "and procure food for us, that we die not." But his sons w...
It tells a fascinating detail about the passing of knowledge, specifically within the family of Jacob. Chapter 46 tells us a simple but profound thing: "And he gave all his books a...
It’s a story etched in blood and freedom, a tale not just of liberation, but of divine protection. And it’s a story that gets even richer when we delve into texts beyond the famili...
The Book of Tobit, one of those fascinating stories tucked away in the Apocrypha, opens with a stark reminder of what happens when we choose pleasure over empathy. Imagine the scen...
He’s lying there, remembering a debt, a sum of money he entrusted to a man named Gabael, way back in Rages, a city in Media – ancient Persia. "Behold, I ask every day to die," he t...
Our heroes, Tobiyyah and the angel Raphael (disguised as a human, of course), are on a journey. They arrive at Agbatauis (Ecbatana), and Raphael drops a bombshell. "My brother," he...
Remember Tobiyyah (sometimes called Tobias), our hero? He's on this epic journey to retrieve some money for his blind father, Tobit. And he's got the angel Raphael disguised as a h...
The Letter of Aristeas, an ancient text that purports to describe how the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek, touches on this very thing. Why, it asks, should we even bother ta...
This one, from Megillat Antiochus – the Scroll of Antiochus – is definitely one of those. It's a tale of unwavering faith and heartbreaking sacrifice, a testament to the strength o...
We're diving into Megillat Antiochus, also known as the Scroll of Antiochus, which recounts the story of Ḥanukkah – though it offers a unique perspective compared to the more famil...
That feeling of being utterly unworthy... it's a human experience that echoes through centuries, and finds a powerful voice in a short, potent prayer attributed to a very unlikely ...
The story of Hanukkah, the festival of lights, isn't just about oil lasting for eight nights. It's a story etched in blood, faith, and unwavering defiance. Let's turn the clock bac...
We're talking, of course, about the spark that ignited the Maccabean revolt, that incredible story of Jewish resistance against the Seleucid Empire. Mattathias, a priest from the v...
Let’s rewind for a moment. We're in a tumultuous time, the era chronicled in the Book of Maccabees I. Things are tense, battles are raging, and the Jewish people are fighting for t...
The Book of Jasher, an ancient Hebrew text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13 and (2 Samuel 1:1)8), fills in some fascinating details.. Jacob, now on the run toward Haran...
The Book of Jasher, a collection of Jewish legends and lore, fills in some of those gaps, offering a more detailed (and sometimes surprising) account.. So, the brothers have just t...
We know the biblical account, but there are other traditions that fill in the gaps, offering a more detailed picture of his reign. Today, we’re diving into Chapter 58 of the Book o...
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 ...
Two false prophets in Babylon, Ahab ben Kolaya and Zedekiah ben Maaseyah, used their religious authority to commit adultery and fraud. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 1...
They walked together for forty days and forty nights. Abraham ate no bread and drank no water. His food was the sight of the angel beside him. His drink was Iaoel's speech. This wa...
Baruch went to the holy place — the place where the Temple once stood — and sat down on the ruins. The ground where the high priest had once offered sacrifices and placed fragrant ...
Zebulun, sixth son of Jacob and Leah, was dying in his hundred and fourteenth year, two years after Joseph. He gathered his sons and said: "I am not conscious that I have sinned al...
Benjamin, twelfth and last son of Jacob, born of Rachel, had lived a hundred and twenty-five years. He kissed his sons and began to speak. "As Isaac was born to Abraham in his old ...
We often picture Adam and Eve immediately ashamed, rushing to cover themselves. But what if the story is richer, stranger, and even more revealing about human nature than we imagin...
