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The Book of Jubilees, treasured as scripture by some ancient Jewish communities like the Essenes of Qumran, retells the Torah with a storyteller's eye for detail — and chapter 6 li...
Think of it as a really old "director's cut" of the Bible. Specifically, we're looking at Jubilees 6. The passage is talking about a particular festival. What festival? Well, that’...
The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text from around the 2nd century BCE, sheds some unique light on it. Jubilees focuses on calendar and law, presenting itself as a revelation giv...
Ancient texts wrestled with this too, and the Book of Jubilees dives deep into the complexities of time, observance, and the potential for things to go terribly, terribly wrong. Th...
I feel that way often when I delve into the lesser-known corners of Jewish tradition. Take the Book of Jubilees, for example. It's an ancient Jewish text, considered scripture by s...
We often read the stories of the Torah, of the Hebrew Bible, as one continuous flow, but sometimes pausing to consider when things happened adds a whole new layer of meaning. Take ...
We often trace them back to the Torah, to Moses at Sinai. But what if some of those traditions, the feel of them, actually predate the Torah itself? to the Book of Jubilees, a fasc...
We often think of holidays as something ancient and unchanging, but every tradition has a beginning. Let’s peek into one possible origin story, found in the Book of Jubilees, a tex...
The Book of Jubilees gives us a glimpse into one of those moments – a moment of profound blessing and recognition. We're talking about Abraham. Imagine him, standing at a crossroad...
We often think of the Torah as the ultimate source, and of course, it is foundational. But there are other ancient texts, bubbling with stories and traditions, that shed even more ...
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, and (b...
The Book of Jubilees, a text not included in the canonical Hebrew Bible, offers a fascinating, often expanded, retelling of biblical narratives. It paints a vivid picture of ancien...
More specifically, it's the year Abraham passed away. And where are his sons, Isaac and Ishmael? They’re making a journey. The Book of Jubilees, a text considered canonical by the ...
The Book of Jubilees, for those unfamiliar, is an ancient Jewish text that retells stories from Genesis and Exodus, but with extra details, moral lessons, and a very specific calen...
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...
That’s where Jacob found himself when he heard the news – unbelievable news – that his beloved son, Joseph, was not only alive but thriving in Egypt. Can you imagine the scene? His...
We all know about the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and the giving of the Ten Commandments. But what about the details that fill in the cracks, the "behind-the-scenes" momen...
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 Jubilees, also sometimes called Lesser Genesis, is considered apocryphal by many Jews and Protestants, but canonical in Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Christianity. Ap...
The Book of Jubilees, an ancient Jewish text, speaks directly to that feeling, especially when it comes to sacred obligations. It pulls no punches: "That man who is clean and close...
The Book of Jubilees, a fascinating text from around the 2nd century BCE, gives us a pretty strong clue. It’s not included in the Tanakh, meaning it’s not included in the standard ...
Not just any Passover, but the Passover as envisioned in the Book of Jubilees. The Book of Jubilees, for those unfamiliar, is an ancient Jewish text that retells the stories of Gen...
It's considered apocryphal by some, pseudepigraphal by others (meaning, falsely attributed to a biblical figure), but no matter what you call it, it's a fascinating window into a w...
The Book of Jubilees, for those of you who aren’t familiar, is an ancient Jewish text. Think of it as a retelling – and slight expansion – of the Book of Genesis and the first part...
We’re not just talking about a nice nap after a good meal. We're diving deep into a vision of Sabbath so profound, so all-encompassing, that it could be, well... deadly serious. Le...
This guy, he was living a life of devotion, even in exile in Nineveh. And as we pick up the story in the Book of Tobit, chapter two, things are about to get… well, complicated. It’...
Sometimes, they spring from the most unexpected places – a victory, a chance encounter, a shared feast. Let me tell you a story that hints at just such an origin. Imagine this: You...
That lifeline comes with a catch – a compromise of everything you hold sacred. That’s the agonizing dilemma faced by the Jews in Megillat Antiochus, a scroll recounting the events ...
He’s not exactly a household name like, say, Antiochus. But in the little-known scroll called Megillat Antiochus – the Scroll of Antiochus – he plays a pretty nasty role. Think of ...
That’s the feeling that practically leaps off the page of Megillat Antiochus, an ancient text that recounts the story of Hanukkah from a different angle. This isn't the familiar ta...
It's more than just latkes and dreidels. It's a story of courage, faith, and a miraculous victory against all odds. But where do we really get the details of that story? We all kno...
The brave Ḥashmonaim rising up against the oppressive King Antiochus and his Greek armies. But what happened after they reclaimed the Temple in Jerusalem? Well, the scroll known as...
Sometimes, it's not as glorious as we imagine. The Book of Maccabees I opens with a scene far removed from the triumphant rededication of the Temple that we celebrate during Hanukk...
That's the story that unfolds in the Book of Maccabees, and it starts with a wolf in sheep's clothing. The passage we're looking at from 1 Maccabees 1 describes the actions of Anti...
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 about a time when the Seleucid Empire, under King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, was in full swing, trying to Hellenize, or make Greek, everyone under its rule. It wasn't ju...
Let’s peek into a moment of incredible renewal – the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after it had been defiled. We find this story not in the Hebrew Bible as we know it, bu...
Sometimes, the story is right there in the history books... well, maybe "history books" isn't quite the right term here. Let's turn our attention to Judas Maccabeus and his brother...
Ever hear of the Maccabees and think, "Yeah, Hanukkah, I got it?" Well, there's more to the story than just latkes and dreidels. : how did word of the Maccabees' exploits spread so...
It's the seventh month – Tishrei – of the year 160 according to the Seleucid calendar. A very important time. Think autumn in Judea. The air is crisp, and the Feast of Tabernacles,...
The story of the Maccabees gives us a glimpse into exactly that world. We've talked about the Maccabees before, of course. Their fight for religious freedom against the Seleucid Em...
The Book of Maccabees, a historical account not included in the Hebrew Bible but important for understanding the Hanukkah story, gives us a glimpse. Let's set the stage. The Seleuc...
You remember who you are, what you stand for, and you fight back. That's the spirit that leaps off the page when we delve into the story of Maccabees. Picture this: the Temple, onc...
This one involves a king, a temple, and a whole lot of stones. We find ourselves in the story told in 2 Maccabees, specifically 2 Maccabees 1. Now, 2 Maccabees isn't actually in th...
Some feel ancient, etched in stone, while others… well, they have a specific, traceable origin. to one such story, connected to Ḥanukkah and the rededication of the Temple, but roo...
It’s a whirlwind of battles, faith, and political intrigue, all centered around the Maccabean revolt. But tucked away in the midst of all that action, there's a quiet moment that s...
It’s a longing, a hope so fervent it practically vibrates off the page. This ancient text, not included in the Tanakh but preserved in the Septuagint, gives us a glimpse into the h...
That’s what happens when I think about the story tucked away in the Second Book of Maccabees. We find ourselves in a moment of intense persecution. The Seleucid Empire, under Antio...
