An acronym of "Torah" (Five Books of Moses), "Neviim" (Prophets), and "Kesuvim" (Writings). The three books together form the "Written Torah".
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Interpretations of the Akeidah
Our Torah class in school is studying the Akeidah. What different approaches do the meforshim take in interpreting it (e.g. Rashbam says it was a punishment, lehavdil Kierkegaard says it was about ...
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In the book of Esther, was Haman plotting to kill/overthrow Ahasueros?
At first reading, Haman is very powerful and wants to use that power to kill the Jews, but he's not actually interested in harming his boss, King Ahasueros ("Achashveirosh" to most of us), in any way. ...
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434 views
Judeo-Arabic Translation of Bible
Anyone know of any Judeo-Arabic translations of the Bible (i.e. Arabic in Hebrew characters)? It would be great if you could link me to them as well.
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Online tanach with qamatz qatan marked?
Although there are many places to find the Tanach online, I'd like to find one where qamatz qatan is specially marked. Preferably free, of course, though I'll take what I can get. Does anyone know of ...
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109 views
Why does the book (Megillah) of Esther never use the Hebrew word “armon” for palace?
It talks about the capital and "the king's house", but never uses the Hebrew word for "palace", "armon", as appears in Psalms and elsewhere. (Or does it appear and I missed it?) Why not?
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1answer
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Is the term/idea “inviolate” used in the old testament?
I was discussing the idea of privacy with my ethics professor, and he mentioned the concept of "inviolate personality". When it came up he was pretty sure the word inviolate either comes from or is ...
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Why is Hebrew Called “Jewish” in the Bible?
We see that in most of the Bible, the Jews are called "בני ישראל/Israelites"; only in later books are they called "יהודים/Jews" (e.g. Esther 2:5, Zechariah 8:23), after the loss of the 10 tribes. ...
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Ish chai rav pe'alim mikavtze'el
Another in the mi.yodeya gravestone series:
I recently obtained a photograph of the gravestone of one of my ancestors. The first line of the inscription on the stone is:
איש חי רב פעלים מקבצאל
...
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Modern Traditionalist Scholars Combatting Critical Approaches to the Tanach
I know that Shadal, David Hoffman, and many others tried very hard to combat the claims of scholars that criticized the Torah (both in terms of Higher and Lower Criticism). Can anyone help me find ...
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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?
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יוֹשְׁבֵי דְּבִיר
In Y'hoshua 15:15, and again in Shof'tim 1:11, going to the city of דְּבִיר is referred to as "going to יוֹשְׁבֵי דְּבִיר" (something if not unique then nearly so (in Y'hoshua, anyway; I haven't ...
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The Meaning of Aishdas
I have read that Aishdas (Deut. 33:2) means "fiery law" or something of the sort. However, doesn't the word das with the meaning of law/religion come from Persian (i.e. did not have the meaning of ...
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1answer
78 views
Order of birth of Ya'akov's children
The back of my Feldheim Tanakh has a timeline which gives the birth and death years of various Tanakh characters. The birth years of the sons of Ya'akov are not listed in the order given in Parashat ...
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3answers
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Esav & Yishma'el today
Historically, how did Esav come to be associated with Rome/Christianity? How did Yishma'el come to be associated with Arabs/Islam?
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Famous People across time [closed]
Who was יוסף גר צדק and who was his famous son and even more infamous Ancestor?
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Ḥaser form of writing “Jerusalem” in the Bible
It seems that Jerusalem is always written "ḥaser" (defective) in the Bible: that is, as ירושלם, without the י/yud, as opposed "malei" (full), as ירושלים. See, for example, Isaiah 62:6. This presents a ...
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Both with the same name [closed]
Who is the only person in Tanach whose father and father-in-law are two different people and have the exact same name?
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What's the difference in Biblical Hebrew between “zahav” and “paz”?
Artscroll calls one "gold", the other "fine gold." Any other distinctions?
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Why are several Biblical characters called “man of the Lord” (Ish HaElokim), but no one in the Bible is ever “man of God” (Ish Hashem)?
Ramban makes this observation (Deut. 33:1), and says "anyone with a good intellect" can figure out the reason. Okay I'm stumped ... help me out here please?
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3answers
522 views
Which parts of the Chazon Haftorah get sad tune (Eicha trop)?
The Shabbos before Tisha B'Av gets a very sad Haftorah, known as Chazon. It's Isaiah 1:1--27. (I recommend you open the text in a new window, or else the answers to this question will make no ...
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Does the vav hahipuch also mean “and”? Do all those extra “ands” belong in the Bible?
I know that in Biblical Hebrew, take a word like "Vaydaber." "Yedaber" = "He will speak"; the "v" flips the word from future tense to past, so it's "he spoke."
Most translations understand the "v" ...
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2answers
110 views
Psalms 31:5 or 31:6 - beyadcha, etc
Psalms 31:6 in a Tanakh is beyadcha afkid ruchi, padita orti, adonai el emet. The same verse in an English Bible is at 31:5 because they skip what is 31:1 in a Tanakh. Which is correct?
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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 ...
