Murder

5 texts

Myths, legends, and mystical writings about Murder from across Jewish tradition.

Herod Drowns the Young High Priest in a Pool

Josephus Josephus

Herod had the throne, but the Hasmonean family still haunted him. His wife Mariamne was a Hasmonean princess. Her mother Alexandra was relentless in promoting Hasmonean claims. And...

(II Chronicles 24 — 25) "and when they left him (Yoash)—for

Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael

The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael cites a devastating passage from (II Chronicles 24:25) to illustrate the consequences of shedding innocent blood. The verse describes the downfall of ...

14) "From My (very) altar shall you take him to die" — We

Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael

The Torah's command in (Exodus 21:14), "From My very altar shall you take him to die," addresses a chilling scenario: a priest, a Kohen (a priest), who has committed murder. The Me...

Murder overrides the sacrificial service—how much more

Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael

The Mekhilta now draws the ultimate conclusion from the legal hierarchy it has been constructing. Murder overrides the sacrificial service. This is established. But saving a life o...

The Miraculous Worms That Found the Murderer

Midrash Aggadah Midrash Aggadah

The unsolved murder ritual in (Deuteronomy 21) is already strange in the Torah—elders break a heifer's neck in a barren valley. Targum Jonathan makes it stranger and more spectacul...