5,406 related texts · 40 related myths · Page 3 of 113
Jacob knew Esau would ask three questions, so he wrote the answers in advance. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves the briefing given to the first servant in the caravan (Genesis 32:1...
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan speaks plainly about what many readers would rather leave implicit (Genesis 33:2). Jacob "placed the concubines and their sons foremost." And the Targum even...
"And he himself went over before them, praying and asking mercy before the Lord; and he bowed upon the earth seven times, until he met with his brother." Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (Ge...
Esau looked at the caravan and asked the question any returning brother might ask: "Who are these with you?" (Genesis 33:5). In the plain text Jacob answers simply, "the children w...
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves a small, piercing detail from the moment the family bowed before Esau (Genesis 33:7). The handmaids and their children came forward. Leah and her c...
Hamor and his son Shekem needed to convince the men of their city to undergo mass circumcision, an extraordinary demand. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (Genesis 34:21) preserves the sales ...
"And all they who came out of the gate of his city received from Hamor and from Shekem, his son; and they circumcised every male, all who came out of the gate of the city." Targum ...
"And they delivered into Jacob's hand all the idols of the people which were in their hands, which they had taken from the temple of Shekem, and the jewels that had been in the ear...
Book of Jubilees turns to Esau — Edom and the Patriarchs. It all starts with Esau, wrestling with a dark thought: "I shall die; of what profit to me is this birthright?" for a seco...
In chapter 38, we read about what happened after Jacob’s sons came into conflict with the sons of Esau in the mountains of Seir. The sons of Jacob, fierce and determined, pressed h...
Joseph, after some theatrics and accusations, has now demanded they bring their youngest brother, Benjamin, back to Egypt as proof of their honesty. But getting Jacob to agree? Tha...
The story in Genesis leaves us with Esau heading off to Mount Seir, and it feels like maybe, just maybe, the brothers have finally found a way to coexist. But as readers often find...
The story of Shechem is one of those stories. In Legends of the Jews, the people of Shechem weren't just a little bit bad; they were profoundly wicked. It wasn't just the incident ...
It's often because the story isn't just about one family or one kingdom, but about the tangled web of relationships between them all. Take, for instance, the story of Esau and Jaco...
Legends of the Jews turns to Jacob Suspected His Sons of Lying About Joseph and Simeon. The words Jacob spoke, "Me have ye bereaved of my children," weren’t just a lament. Accordin...
Our journey begins with Isaac. According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 29, Isaac himself circumcised his twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Now, The text suggests that just as Esau despised hi...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer turns to The Dark History of Shechem from Adam to Jacob. The Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer asks: who is this serpent? The text startlingly equates the serpent with ...
It paints a picture of a final transaction, a division of inheritance, that has echoes even today. The story goes that Esau took all that his father, Isaac, had left. But then – an...
The standard Genesis 36 reads like a dry census of Esau's descendants. But the Targum Jonathan, the ancient Aramaic interpretive translation, quietly inserts theological details th...
A father can love his sons and still refuse to stand on their side. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves one of the hardest lines in Jacob's blessing, a public disavowal. "In their cou...
The scene is set: Jacob, disguised as his brother Esau, deceives his aging and blind father Isaac to receive the blessing meant for the firstborn. The Torah tells us, "He came to h...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Joseph's Birth Gave Jacob Courage to Face Esau. What does Joseph’s birth have to do with Jacob wanting to leave Laban? Our sages see something deeper here....
Dina, Jacob’s daughter, goes out to visit the women of the land, and is defiled by Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite. Shechem then asks his father to obtain Dina as his wife. Ja...
Our story begins not just at the beginning of time, but with the very blueprint for it. The Israelites are wandering in the desert, led by more than just Moses. The text says that ...
Book of Jubilees turns to Jacob's Transgression of Levi. The moment. Jacob, having tricked his father into giving him the blessing meant for Esau, now stands before the aging, near...
The tribe of Levi receives a unique blessing. And with it, a sacred role. They will "speak the word of the Lord in righteousness, and they will judge all His judgments in righteous...
Book of Jubilees turns to Levi — Jacob and the Patriarchs. Our story begins on the fourteenth of the month. Jacob, fresh from his experiences, gets up early. What does he do? He gi...
The Book of Jubilees, for those who aren't familiar, is an ancient Jewish text, considered part of the biblical apocrypha or pseudepigrapha – writings that hover around the edges o...
We've all been there. Sometimes even the most ancient texts can feel a little… dry. The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text considered preserved in Ethiopian manuscript tradition ...
Book of Jubilees turns to Joseph Holds Simeon Hostage and Demands Benjamin. The Book of Jubilees, a text preserved in Ethiopian manuscript tradition and valued by many others for i...
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." His sons were ...
Jacob, after leaving his previous location, arrives in the land of Shalem, near the city of Shechem – a place in Canaan. He buys a piece of land for five shekels (a type of ancient...
Book of Jasher turns to Isaac Dies at 180 and Esau Returns From Edom. The scene opens with Isaac, Abraham's son, nearing the end of his long life – a whopping 180 years! Esau, havi...
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...
The mourning period ended, but the story certainly didn't. In fact, it was then that the simmering conflict between the descendants of Jacob and Esau erupted again with full force....
Jewish tradition certainly seems to think so. Take the story of Jacob and Esau, those eternally feuding twins from the Book of Genesis. Their very names, given at birth, are loaded...
The patriarch Jacob and his brother Esau, those iconic twins, grappled with these very questions in a fascinating exchange, as recorded in Legends of the Jews. The scene. These two...
Villains is often remembered as straightforward, but sometimes their motivations are twisted and surprising. Take Esau, for example. The Ginzberg's says retelling in Legends of the...
A monumental compilation of Jewish folklore by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, Rebekah, overcome with distress, began to weep as soon as Jacob departed. Isaac, ever the comforter, reassured ...
Legends of the Jews turns to Jacob's Journey of Esau. As Legends of the Jews recounts, Jacob wasn't just casually strolling off. He was wrestling with a profound question: "My pare...
Our ancestor Jacob certainly did. The story Remember Laban, Jacob’s less-than-honest father-in-law? Well, his words acted like fuel on a dying fire. The Legends of the Jews, a mast...
How he tricked Esau out of his birthright and blessing. But imagine the weight of that, the fear, the uncertainty… Well, the story doesn’t end there. The Legends of the Jews, that ...
While Jacob and his sons were sitting in the house of learning, occupied with the study of the Torah, Dinah went abroad to see the dancing and singing women, whom Shechem had hired...
Our story today dives right into that murky territory, exploring the story of Shechem, the son of Hamor, and his burning desire for Dinah, Jacob's daughter. We last left off with S...
Legends of the Jews turns to Jacob and Noah of Shechem. Can you imagine Jacob's reaction? He’s terrified. "Why have you brought such evil upon me?" he cries out to Simon and Levi, ...
It wasn’t exactly a warm reunion. The story, as retold in Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, paints a picture of simmering tensions boiling over. Judah, ever the pragmatist, wasn't bu...
Sometimes, the most fascinating tales lie just beyond the edges of the well-known ones. Take Joseph, for instance. We know he rose to power in Egypt, but what about his wife, Asena...
Legends of the Jews turns to Jacob Tithed His Sons and Consecrated Levi for Priesthood. Tithing, in this context, wasn't just about giving a tenth of your income. It was a consecra...
