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Category: Academic Bible Study

The Star Spangled Banner and The Song at the Sea of Exodus 15

The Star Spangled Banner and The Song at the Sea of Exodus 15

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The most rousing expression of American Civil Religion is the well-known The Star-Spangled Banner sung ritually at patriotic events especially on July 4. What is less known is how much the American anthem was inspired by ancient Israel’s hymn, the Song at the Sea. Both the Song at the Sea in Exodus 15 and the Anthem were triggered by a wondrous upset. As America surprisingly eluded the British effort to resubjugate them at Chesapeake Bay, so Israel miraculously eluded the…

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Key Words in the Narrative of Aaron’s Death

Key Words in the Narrative of Aaron’s Death

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Rabbi Dr. Itamar Warhaftig is professor of Jewish law (emeritus) at Bar-Ilan University and affiliated with the Zomet Institute in Alon Shvut. In the account of Aaron’s death (Numbers 20:22–29), several leitwort-style expressions appear—that is, words or phrases that recur at least twice. Let us trace these occurrences and examine their significance. The phrase “Aaron shall be gathered to his people” appears in verse 24, and again in verse 26: “And Aaron shall be gathered and shall die there.” This…

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ועשו להם ציצת – What to Make of Tzitzit

ועשו להם ציצת – What to Make of Tzitzit

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ויאמר ה׳ אל משה דבר אל־בני ישראל ואמרת אלהם ועשו להם ציצת על־כנפי בגדיהם לדרתם ונתנו על ציצת הכנף פתיל תכלת והיה לכם לציצת וראיתם אתו וזכרתם את כל מצות ה׳ ועשיתם אתם, ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם אשר אתם זנים אחריהם למען תזכרו ועשיתם את כל מצותי והייתם קדשים לאלקיכם אני ה׳ אלקיכם אשר הוצאתי אתכם מארץ מצרים להיות לכם לאלקים, אני ה׳ אלקיכם במדבר ט׳׳ו, ל׳׳ז – מ׳׳א And HaShem said to Moshe as follows. Speak to…

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“Why are the Books of Ruth and Esther so much alike?”

“Why are the Books of Ruth and Esther so much alike?”

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/Brandeis University וְנַהֲפוֹךְ הוּא “Why are the Books of Ruth and Esther so much alike?” No title is more intriguing than “Why are the Books of Ruth and Esther so much alike?” for a study of two biblical books ostensibly having nothing in common besides the featuring of a heroine. Otherwise, there are hardly two narrative biblical books seemingly more unalike. The Book of Ruth takes place in rural Judea, in Bethlehem, in the period of the Judges, before the…

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Post-Mosaic Additions to the Torah?

Post-Mosaic Additions to the Torah?

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H. J. Zimmels published the two passages from R. Avigdor just mentioned,[1] but there is another comment that appears as a note to R. Avigdor’s manuscript. It has recently been published by Miriam Weitman,[2] and states: וישם את אפרים לפני מנשה פי’ לא על יעקב אמ’, אל’ משה רבינ’ שם ראש דגל אפרי’ לפני מנשה בעבור שיעקב אמ’ ואחיו הקטן יגדל ממנו, ויהושע או אנשי כנסת הגדול’ כתבו, דאי משה כתבו אם היה לו [צ”ל היה לו לומר] אני שמתי…

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The Breadth of Rabbinic Opinion Regarding Mosaic Authorship of the Torah in the Middle Ages

The Breadth of Rabbinic Opinion Regarding Mosaic Authorship of the Torah in the Middle Ages

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Arguably, Orthodox theology today is much narrower than what was acceptable in the Middle Ages. For example, ArtScroll is editing Rashbam’s (Rabbi Samuel ben Meir, ca 1080 -1174) more radical comments out of their new edition of the Rabbinic Bible (Mikraot Gedolot). In this paper, I will discuss a dramatic example of Biblical exegesis, which could even be considered within the realm of so-called “higher Biblical criticism”, and the implications of this exegesis re medieval Jewish theology. Numbers 21:1-3 describes…

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Two Jewish Temples in Egypt

Two Jewish Temples in Egypt

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is the author of the newly-released work God versus Gods: Judaism in the Age of Idolatry (Mosaica Press, 2018). His book follows the narrative of Tanakh and focuses on the stories concerning Avodah Zarah using both traditional and academic sources. It also includes an encyclopedia of all the different types of idolatry mentioned in the Bible. Rabbi Klein studied for over a decade at the premier institutes of the Hareidi world, including Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood and Yeshivas Mir…

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Avunculate Marriage in the Bible

Avunculate Marriage in the Bible

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(Rudolph) Klein Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein is the author of the Lashon HaKodesh: History, Holiness, & Hebrew [available here]. His book is available online and in bookstores throughout the world. Rabbi Klein published articles in various journals including Jewish Bible Quarterly, Kovetz Hamaor, Kovetz Chitzei Gibborim, and Kovetz Kol HaTorah. He studied at premier Yeshivas including the Mir in Jerusalem and BMG in Lakewood. He was most recently a fellow at the Tikvah Institute for Yeshiva Men (Summer 2015) and…

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The Seven Nations of Canaan

The Seven Nations of Canaan

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This study deals with the war and the seven Canaanite nations. It complements my previous post on Amalek of March 13, 2014, “The Ethics of the Case of Amalek: An Alternative Reading of the Biblical Data and the Jewish Tradition. “The popular conception in both cases is that the Bible demands their extermination thereby providing a precedent for genocide. The popular reading of the Canaanites filters it through the prism of Deuteronomy. The popular reading of Amalek filters the Torah…

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Maccabean Psalms? (and more)

Maccabean Psalms? (and more)

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(This post was originally part of the previous one, but since I know people don’t like reading posts more than twenty pages long, I split it up into two parts.) 1. I know that every year around Christmas time some people read my article on Torah study on Christmas eve. At the end of the article I raise the possibility that the various Nittel practices were actually based on non-Jewish superstitions. My suspicion was proven beyond any doubt in a…

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Abraham’s Chaldean Origins and the Chaldee Language

Abraham’s Chaldean Origins and the Chaldee Language

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(Rudolph) Klein Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein is the author of the newly published Lashon HaKodesh: History, Holiness, & Hebrew [available here]. His book is available online and in bookstores in Israel and will arrive to bookstores in America in the coming weeks. Rabbi Klein published articles in various journals including Jewish Bible Quarterly, Kovetz Hamaor, and Kovetz Kol HaTorah. He is currently a fellow at the Kollel of Yeshivas Mir in Jerusalem and lives with his wife and children in…

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How many children did Michal have? Explanation of a Talmudic passage in light of the writings of Josephus Flavius

How many children did Michal have? Explanation of a Talmudic passage in light of the writings of Josephus Flavius

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The following Talmudic passage appears in Sanhedrin 19b (we are using mostly Soncino translation): R. Yossi was asked by his disciples: How could David marry two sisters while they were both living? He answered: He married Michal after the death of Meirav. R. Yehoshua ben Korha said: His marriage to Meirav was contracted in error, as it is said, Deliver me my wife Michal whom I betrothed unto me for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. How does this prove…

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Review of Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture by Shaye J.D. Cohen

Review of Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture by Shaye J.D. Cohen

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Shaye J. D. Cohen is the Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations of Harvard University. This is his first contribution to the Seforim blog. Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture. Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture. Edited by Louis H. Feldman, James L. Kugel, and Lawrence H. Schiffman. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, and Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2013. xxviii+3361. These three hefty volumes,…

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The Yeshivah and the Academy: How We Can Learn from One Another in Biblical Scholarship

The Yeshivah and the Academy: How We Can Learn from One Another in Biblical Scholarship

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’s latest book, Peshat Isn’t so Simple, has just been published. The Seforim Blog is happy to present this excerpt. The Yeshivah and the Academy: How We Can Learn from One Another in Biblical Scholarship I The study of Tanakh is an awesome undertaking, given its infinite depth. This chapter will explore the approaches of the yeshivah and the academy to Tanakh study. We will define the yeshivah broadly to include any traditional religious Jewish setting, be it the synagogue,…

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