5,112 texts · Page 3 of 107
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...
To a fascinating, and sometimes surprising, peek into the origins of Passover and Shabbat, as seen through the lens of a text called the Book of Jubilees. The Book of Jubilees, som...
A world without evil. Sounds pretty good. The Book of Jubilees, a text from around the 2nd century BCE, paints just such a picture. It's not part of the standard Hebrew Bible, but ...
The Book of Jubilees claims that Moses received far more on Mount Sinai than the Ten Commandments—he received a cosmic download about the very fabric of time itself. The text prese...
The Book of Judith, a story found in the Apocrypha, tells of a brave and pious Jewish woman who saves her people from the Assyrian general Holofernes. But before she steps into her...
Our story begins with Tobi. He’s in exile in Nineveh, in Assyria. And right away, he’s calling out to God: “Remember me, my God, for good.” He’s not just asking for a favor; he’s r...
Remember, Tobit, a righteous man living in exile in Nineveh, had been blinded. His misfortune leads to a painful exchange with his wife, Hannah. It all starts when Tobit, thinking ...
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...
That’s the feeling that hangs in the air as we turn to the Book of Tobit, specifically chapter 7. Remember Tobiyyah, our hero, sent on a quest to retrieve some much-needed silver? ...
That’s the space Tobiyyah and Sarah find themselves in in the Book of Tobit. Imagine this: you’re newly married, but your spouse has a bit of a history. A history of… seven dead hu...
To a little story from the Book of Tobit that might just offer a glimpse. Our hero, Tobiyyah, has just married Sarah, a woman who, shall we say, had a complicated dating history. S...
We’re at a wedding, a joyous occasion. Tobiyyah has finally won the hand of Sarah, overcoming incredible obstacles with the help of the angel Raphael. You'd think the story would b...
He was a good man, generous and righteous, but life had dealt him a seriously cruel blow: blindness. But don't worry, this isn't a tragedy; it's a story of hope, faith, and a serio...
The Book of Tobit, a beautiful story nestled within the Apocrypha, touches on just that. It's a tale filled with faith, healing, and the surprising intervention of angels. We find ...
The Letter of Aristeas, an ancient text attributed to a courtier in the service of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (that's Ptolemy the Second, Philadelphus – quite a name. ) suggests that’...
I want to tell you a story, a personal one, about a mission I undertook. It all started with a plea. I saw an opportunity to speak to the king, to advocate for the Jewish captives....
We're diving into the Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating text that offers a glimpse into the world of Hellenistic Judaism. Imagine you're an advisor to a powerful king, and you're t...
Our tale begins with a letter – the Letter of Aristeas, to be precise. It purports to be from a courtier named Aristeas to his brother Philocrates, recounting the events surroundin...
It all starts with a letter. The Letter of Aristeas, as it's known, recounts the tale of how the Torah—the first five books of Moses—came to be translated into Greek. Now, the lett...
It all starts with a letter, aptly named the Letter of Aristeas. Imagine being a fly on the wall as this letter is dictated. It’s addressed to Philocrates, and the writer, Aristeas...
That's the request King Ptolemy II Philadelphus supposedly received, and it kicks off the fascinating story we find in the Letter of Aristeas. Now, this letter, attributed to someo...
It all begins with a letter – the Letter of Aristeas. Imagine this: you're a high-ranking official in the court of Ptolemy Philadelphus, the Greek ruler of Egypt in the 3rd century...
Nestled within this letter are descriptions of the Temple in Jerusalem, and some of its most magnificent furnishings. Today, we're focusing on just one small detail: a table. But o...
That’s the kind of artistry we encounter in the Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating document that purports to describe the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, creating what w...
Let’s journey back in time, to a world of kings, scholars, and a burning desire to bridge cultures. Our tale begins with a concern. A very practical concern, actually. Imagine your...
This letter, purportedly written by a Greek official named Aristeas, describes the process of creating the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. But it's more than...
The Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating peek into the world of 3rd-century BCE Alexandria, gives us a clue. It's framed as a letter from Aristeas, an official in the court of Ptolemy...
It's not just about following laws, you know. There's a deeper reason, a philosophy woven into the very fabric of Jewish life. Imagine you're sitting with a wise sage, someone deep...
The Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating text that purports to be from the time of the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek (the Septuagint), grapples with this very question. I...
The Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating text that purports to describe the translation of the Torah into Greek, offers a glimpse into this very question. It suggests that these seemi...
It's easy to dismiss them as arbitrary, ancient dietary restrictions. But what if there's something much deeper going on? Something about character, about virtue, about becoming th...
It's not just about taste, folks. It's a whole symbolic system, pointing to deeper truths about ourselves and our relationship with the Divine. The Letter of Aristeas, an ancient t...
It's easy to dismiss them as outdated or just plain weird. But what if there's a deeper wisdom hidden within? The Letter of Aristeas, an ancient text, gives us a fascinating perspe...
The Letter of Aristeas gives us a glimpse into such a world, or at least, the ideal of one. It's a fascinating text, purportedly written by Aristeas, an official in the court of Pt...
Isn't it amazing how a single letter can sometimes open a window into a whole world? A world of ancient cultures, political intrigue, and deep-seated beliefs? That's precisely what...
Let’s journey back to ancient Egypt, to the court of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, a king with a thirst for knowledge and a library that was the envy of the ancient world. He was determ...
The king, deeply interested in matters of governance and morality, poses questions to his advisors. First, he asks how to maintain the truth. The response? A lie brings disgrace, e...
I'm talking about the Letter of Aristeas. It's an incredible text that purports to describe how the Septuagint, that famous Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, came to be. But t...
The Letter of Aristeas, an ancient text purporting to be a firsthand account of the translation of the Torah into Greek, gives us some fascinating insights. It’s not just about pow...
The Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating ancient text, gives us a glimpse into just that. It recounts the story of how the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, came ...
I’m talking about the kind of gathering described in the Letter of Aristeas, a text that purports to tell the story of how the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek, creating the ...
That's the picture the Letter of Aristeas paints for us, a glimpse into the lives of the 70 (or 72, depending on the tradition) Jewish scholars tasked with translating the Torah in...
At its heart lies a fascinating question: what happens when a sacred text meets a new culture? Our window into this world is the Letter of Aristeas, a text itself shrouded in a bit...
The Letter of Aristeas gives us a glimpse into that world, a world where messing with holy scripture wasn't just frowned upon, it could have… consequences. The Letter of Aristeas, ...
This is the world Megillat Antiochus throws us into. The story begins with a chilling proposition, whispered amongst the advisors of King Antiochus. "Come now," they urged, "let us...
Antiochus, king of the Seleucid Empire, knew that feeling all too well. Imagine this: you're a powerful ruler, used to getting your way. Then you hear the news: your viceroy, Nican...
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...
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...
