3
votes
1answer
63 views

Why are few names the same in Tanakh?

Nowadays we name our children after characters in Tanakh and/or great tzaddikim. In Tanakh why weren't people named after the Avot, the Shevatim, Moshe Rabbeinu, etc?
-1
votes
2answers
100 views

Etymology/origin of the name “Ishmael”

What is the etymology of the Biblical name "Ishmael"? Was this name ever used for any of the Biblical characters before Ishmael, the son of Abraham?
-1
votes
3answers
126 views

Names of Angels in Judaism

What are the names of angels mentioned in Jewish scriptures ?
4
votes
1answer
100 views

Why isn't Shimson's mother named?

Why isn't Shimson's mother named in Pesukim that tell the story? She is featured rather prominently, and the angel appears to her before speaking with both her and Manoaḥ. It would stand to reason ...
6
votes
2answers
118 views

Changing someone else's name

In parshas Shlach Moshe changes Yehoshua's name. Does this mean his name really changed? IE was he called up to the torah as Yehoshua? Were his kids "ben Yehoshua"? Are there any other examples in ...
9
votes
1answer
137 views

Names of the books of Tanakh

When did the books of Tanakh get their canonical names? I understand that Five Books of the Torah were named after the first words in them, and that most of Navi was named after their authors, but ...
2
votes
2answers
160 views

From the Torah itself how do we know that various names of God points to the same God?

Jews believe that God, while having many names, is actually one. So the idea is that El Elyon, Elohim, El Shadai, YHWH, Adonai, El, are just names mostly referring to the same being. Is there any ...
6
votes
1answer
106 views

Root of the name Aharon

What is the etymology of the name Aharon? The only serious site I've found that proposes an etymology is this, but I'm hoping for a more classical source, i.e. Chazal or Rishonim.
-1
votes
1answer
111 views

Bible inerrancy and the Ashbaal→Ishboshet change

In another answer, someone said that Rashi thinks Ashbaal is changed to Ishboshet (sorry for spelling) as derogatory to the baal. So Ishboshet's real name is Ashbaal but then some scribes changed ...
8
votes
1answer
161 views

Jewish names commonly used in a different form than found in Tanach

Some names are popularly used in a different form than the way they're spelled or pronounced in Tanach. A few that I can think of are: Nochum (נָחוּם) - is written in Tanach (Nah. 1:1) as נַחוּם ...
16
votes
2answers
263 views

Why are none of the Pharaohs in the Torah identified by name?

Throughout the Torah, the various Egyptian Pharaohs are always referred to as simply "Pharaoh" or "the king of Egypt" (or both), but never with any other parts of their official titulary. By ...
8
votes
3answers
254 views

Is it permissible to name one's child with a name from the opposite gender?

Is a person allowed to name a boy with a girl's name and vice versa? I remember seeing that one musn't, although in Nach one finds these things a lot. I understand it is not best practice for ...
3
votes
2answers
183 views

Spouses in Tanach whose names start with the same letter?

This is one of those parsha sheet trivia questions: There are six couples in Tanach where the names of the spouses start with the same letter. Who are they? I've got five of them, but I can't think ...
4
votes
4answers
138 views

Is there a Possuk in Tanach that starts with a Samech ס and ends with a Aleph א?

I have a relative with the name סימא and she has been unable to find a Possuk in Tanach that starts with a Samech ס and ends with a Aleph א. Is there such a Possuk?
7
votes
1answer
134 views

Binyamin spelled with or without a second Yud

In Tanach the name Binyomin appears 150 times as בנימן. It appears 16 times as בנימין. Why the difference? The 16 times it appears with a Yud are as follows. בראשית לה:יח ויהי בצאת נפשה כי מתה ותקרא ...
5
votes
2answers
187 views

The spelling of the name פינחס Pinchas in Tanach

In the entire Tanach the name Pinchas פינחס is spelled with a Yud. The only place the Yud is missing is שמואל א: א. ג. ועלה האיש ההוא מעירו מימים ימימה להשתחות ולזבח ליהוה צבאות בשלה ושם שני בני עלי ...
11
votes
2answers
459 views

Why Yehoshua **Bin** Nun and not Yehoshua **Ben** Nun

The Torah refers to Yehoshua as Yehoshua Bin Nun. (See here for an example). Why Bin Nun and not Ben Nun? Are there any places in Tanach where he is referred to as Ben Nun? Is there anyone else in ...
2
votes
2answers
74 views

Why is Yosef sometimes spelled with an extra Hai?

עֵדוּת | בִּֽיהוֹסֵף שָׂמוֹ בְּצֵאתוֹ עַל־ אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם In Tehilim 81 we see Yosef spelled with an extra Hai? What is the reason for this?
11
votes
6answers
302 views

Silent letter in Yisachar

Why don't we pronounce the second ש in יששכר?
4
votes
5answers
480 views

ALL Names of God

Where can I find an exhaustive list of all of the names of Hashem (preferably שמות and כינוים) in תנ"ך (Tanakh) and elsewhere? Is this too ill-defined a topic to have an exhaustive answer? Do the 70 ...
6
votes
1answer
72 views

Why do the names of neviim change?

I was curious why a number of names in Navi- the prophets- seem to change. Yirmiyah is also called Yirmiyahu, Yeshayah/Yeshayahu, etc. and a number of the kings have a similar variation. Is there a ...