Questions tagged [tanach]
An acronym of "Torah" (Five Books of Moses), "Neviim" (Prophets), and "Kesuvim" (Writings). The three books together form the "Written Torah".
8
votes
3answers
2k views
Is King Saul positively regarded in Judaism?
King David is well-known to be positively regarded in Judaism, not only for his great accomplishments and devotion (psalms, if not authored by him, became prominent because of him), but also as the ...
2
votes
0answers
78 views
Did King Solomon create the first train?
I once heard from a Rabbi in a Nach lesson that King Solomon made the first train, however, the Rabbi cannot remember where the exact source.
Can anyone help?
0
votes
0answers
23 views
Narration of Sheba's Throne [on hold]
Was there ever any mentioning / narration regarding Sheba's Throne (Solomon) or some particular verse referencing it in the Tanach?
0
votes
1answer
124 views
A verse similar to this
Is there a verse in the Tanakh that is similar to or contains some phrase similar to this phrase :
"(G-d said) : This is our gift, so grant or withhold (restrict) without account (as you wish/like)"...
4
votes
0answers
49 views
Why does Rabba bar Mari in the Talmud quote Ben Sira as a part of “the Writings” when it is not in the Ketuvim section of the Tanakh?
As revealed in the answer here, in Bava Kama 92b, Rava asks Rabba bar Mari for the source of a popular saying, and Rabba bar Mari answers with five different sources for it. The third verse, which is ...
3
votes
1answer
205 views
Does anything in the Tanakh resemble the quote “Each shall seek his own kind”?
I just watched "Fiddler on the Roof" and noticed Tevye said the following:
Who says he isn't? It's just that he's a different kind of man. As the Good Book says, "Each shall seek his own kind." In ...
4
votes
0answers
69 views
Torah codes: a message from God?
The Torah has been the subject of many numerological attempts at applying greater / different meaning. The Torah Code being a popular example resulting in a book and a movie (at least one movie). My ...
3
votes
1answer
113 views
How do we attain salvation?
At school we are taught that people who are good will go to Heaven and people who are bad will go to Hell. So if this is true, doing good deeds such as charity, fasting and worship of God should be ...
3
votes
1answer
70 views
Why are several prophetic books collected into 'Trei Asar'?
One of the books of Tanach is Trei Asar, which is actually a collection of 12 prophetic books. I would like to understand why these books were aggregated into one instead of each book being treated ...
2
votes
2answers
52 views
What happened to Leviim as teachers?
In the Torah it seems pretty clear that the Kohanim/Leviim were supposed to be the teachers and moral guides of Bnei Yisrael (e.g., Devarim 33:10):
יוֹרוּ מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ לְיַעֲקֹב וְתוֹרָתְךָ ...
2
votes
2answers
130 views
Does the Dagesh forte really replace a double letter?
I have read about the Dagesh Forte and how it doubles a letter in Tanach.
For example, הָלֵּלוּ has a dagesh forte in the לֵּ.
If this dagesh was not there would there really be two ל instead?
...
1
vote
1answer
146 views
Is the king of Israel called 'God' at Psalm 45:7a as the Septuagint, Aquila, and Theodotion Render?
Psalm 45 is a wedding song for the marriage of a king of Israel. At verse 7a the lyric says:
כִּסְאֲךָ אֱלֹהִים, עוֹלָם וָעֶד
The Jewish Greek translation which came to be called the Septuagint ...
1
vote
2answers
38 views
Sources for receiving blessing through Mitzvot
I am searching for sources for the concept that a Jew keeping the Mitzvot will ultimately bring blessing to / not keeping the Mitzvot will bring destruction to:
A) himself/herself
B) the Jewish ...
1
vote
1answer
96 views
What is the shortest pasuk
What is the shortest verse?
Someone asked me and i did not have an answer
In the tenach?
In the chumash?
How about second to shortest.
How did you find it?
0
votes
2answers
162 views
Why aren't there any Gay people in the Bible?
Our scriptures (the Bible and later) are full of people who sinned.
Every kind of sin, including murder and sexual sins.
The sinners are both from our people as well as non-Jews.
Some of the sinners ...
1
vote
2answers
197 views
Tribal affiliation through the father
Which Tanakh verses support the halacha that tribal affiliation is transmitted through the paternal side?
3
votes
0answers
29 views
What verses of Tanach have penultimate stress on every word?
Saying kaparos this year, I noticed that Iyov 33:24, which is included in the rite, has all its words mil'el, i.e. with the penultimate rather than the ultimate syllable stressed. (Most words in ...
3
votes
2answers
118 views
Animals with short lifespans on noah's ark
How did the animals that have short natural lifespans (less than a year) - and given that they were prohibited from reproduction
see Rashi here - survive in the ark?
These are mainly insects such as ...
3
votes
1answer
75 views
Where can I find a transliterated; translated Tanakh?
I'm looking for a Tanakh that has the following specifications:
The original Hebrew text
Transliteration of that text into the Latin alphabet
English translation
Does anyone know where I could find ...
1
vote
1answer
36 views
Travel Nach set with Targum?
I came upon a travel נ״ך set recently. It had some basic commentaries such as רש״י and מצודת דוד, however there was no Targum.
Are there any travel sets which have Targum as well?
5
votes
1answer
190 views
Children of the Exodus (families, names, ages)
I hope my question will not be considered too broad. I am writing young adult fiction taking place during the Exodus (from just before the 10th plague until just after the giving of the second set of ...
7
votes
2answers
93 views
Pronunciation of בשגם - Patach or Kamatz?
This past Shabbos in shul, I saw a paper about the pronunciation of the word בשגם (Bereishis 6 3).
"וַיֹּאמֶר ה' לֹא־יָדוֹן רוּחִי בָאָדָם לְעֹלָם בְּשַׁגַּם הוּא בָשָׂר וְהָיוּ יָמָיו מֵאָה ...
1
vote
1answer
79 views
Has the “Mäṣḥafä Kedus” (Holy Scriptures) of Beta Israel been translated into English?
From Wikipedia:
Mäṣḥafä Kedus (Holy Scriptures) is the name for the religious literature. The language of the writings is Ge'ez. The holiest book is the Orit (from Aramaic "Oraita" – "Torah") which ...
1
vote
0answers
43 views
When was music attached to trope?
My shul's chazzan and I have a good relationship, B"H. I ask him nusach questions; he asks me (A Torah reader) Torah questions. So, I'm passing this on from him...
We both understand that the main ...
3
votes
1answer
42 views
Sources for the location of the Red Sea
I am looking for Jewish sources that touch on the question of where (on a modern map) the crossing of the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds) took place.
In my research, I'm finding several possible locations, ...
2
votes
0answers
68 views
Is there a surviving Jewish translation of the entire Masoretic Text in Greek?
Please don't say "the Septuagint" because I know that this has fallen out of favor among most modern Jews (the only exception being Beta Israel, which I believe still uses it - correct me if I am ...
0
votes
0answers
40 views
Which Mitzvot have their observance described in Tanach?
Despite the more or less direct reference to the 613 Mitzvos in the Torah, only a few of them are mentioned in the text explicitly to be observed in fact.
For example, Torah mentions Abraham ...
4
votes
0answers
35 views
Zecharia 14:4 vis-a-vis the reality of Har haZeisim being a cemetary?
This question has bothered me on and off over the years - typically around this time as we read this perek on the first day of Sukkot as the haftarah:
וְעָמְד֣וּ רַגְלָ֣יו בַּיּוֹם־הַ֠הוּא עַל־...
1
vote
0answers
47 views
What books discuss general rules of Tanach? [closed]
In particular, I am looking for books that deal with philosophical and linguistic questions on Tanach, such as:
If there is seemingly no reason to place one passuk before another, is it reasonable/...
5
votes
0answers
67 views
Criteria for special formats of some chapters in the Tanach Scrolls
Usually, when writing verses in Tanach Scrolls, words are written across the column from the right margin to the left (except, of course, for required Parsha spacing.)
I have seen two "special" ...
0
votes
0answers
30 views
Where is there a rabbinic discussion about the Covenant at Sinai being a renewal of the Covenant with Abraham?
Where is there a rabbinic discussion about the Covenant at Sinai being a renewal of the Covenant with Abraham?
I once heard the parallel discussed after shul, after the rabbi's sermon, but I could ...
2
votes
1answer
140 views
best Hebrew-English Tanakh in printed form, interlinear if possible?
I've been using the Artscroll Interlinear series to read the Torah and it's helping me make a lot of progress in finally learning Tanakh Hebrew. But outside of the five scrolls and the psalms, ...
2
votes
1answer
51 views
What date was the crossing of the Red Sea?
Some dates relating to Exodus are in the Book of Exodus, others are in other Books of Torah, or elsewhere in the Bible. And some are speculative, with evidence from a variety of sources.
Note: I'm ...
1
vote
3answers
73 views
Verse about becoming grateful
Is there any verse in the Tanach which tells/hints on how to become grateful to God for his gifts?
In what sense should one be grateful to God? What I mean is how a person can develop the feeling of ...
0
votes
1answer
255 views
Jewish Prophet who could bring fire from the Heaven
Was there any Jewish Prophet in the Tanach in which it is said that he was depicted as being able to send down fire from the Heavens? How did this Prophet actually die?
Are there very different ...
1
vote
2answers
167 views
The Torah Commandment to keep Shabbat and how it applies to non-Jews
"Exodus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 5:14 refer to the stranger who is within your cities and both imply that he should observe Shabbat. I see from earlier questions that Shabbat is not to be kept by non-...
3
votes
0answers
31 views
How early were maps used to understand Tanach?
In many editions of Tanach I’ve seen there are often maps of the middle eastern area in attempt to explain the places where certain events occurred. (For example, the journeys of יעקב אבינו or stuff ...
8
votes
4answers
224 views
Have any Jewish commentaries been written on the Septuagint?
While a number of Jewish commentaries have been written on Targum Onkelos, Targum Yonasan, Targum Pseudo-Yonasan, and Targum Yerushalmi (see the list in the Targum section at Parshablog, for example), ...
1
vote
1answer
74 views
Where is there a rabbinical discussion or a mentioned in the TaNaKH about ethnic designation to mean “white” or “white person” or non-black person?
Where is there a rabbinical discussion or a mentioned in the TaNaKH about ethnic designation to mean "white" or "white person" or non-black person?
I am aware that there is an ethnic designation in ...
0
votes
1answer
37 views
The three missing titles of Shofet
The era commonly known as the period of the Shoftim, Judges of the Jewish nation, spanned from the leadership of Osniel Ben K'naz through Shimshon Hagibor.
Prior to these judges, The Seder olam also ...
0
votes
0answers
31 views
In Halakha, is the name מקרא or תנ״ך more appropriate?
I understand that Tanakh can be referred to as either מקרא or תנ״ך. Is there one that is more appropriate to use according to halakha?
2
votes
0answers
72 views
What is the best translation of the Tanakh with commentary? [closed]
I am looking for a good translation of the Tanakh with commentary.
6
votes
1answer
105 views
Using Eicha trop when learning
When leining in shul, there are a few minhagim about what gets read with the Eicha trop. This is what I've seen most often (in chronological order through the year):
איכה אשא לבדי in Devarim
Most of ...
4
votes
1answer
45 views
Categorization of Mepharshim by PaRDeS?
I was wondering if anyone has ever come across a classification or categorization of the different mepharshim on the Chumash or Na"Kh, grouping them by the type of perush they give (i.e., whether ...
5
votes
1answer
193 views
Chapters of Tanach present in Talmud Bavli
I heard there is a style of Talmud study somewhere, where as a verse presents itself in the Talmud, the student would learn the entire chapter from תנ״ך.
With that, were one to complete the entire ...
0
votes
1answer
68 views
Layout of Shirim in Tanakh
In the Tanakh Simanim, primarily Tehillim, (Feldheim) much of Ketuvim is written in a "shir format" where there are lots of line breaks and open spaces, not unlike Hazinu, Shirat HaYam or Shirat ...
7
votes
0answers
83 views
How did Chana vow that her son should be a Nazir?
How did Chana vow that her son (Shmuel hanavi) should be a Nazir, when the (Gemara Sotah 23a) says a woman can't impose Nezirut on her son?
4
votes
1answer
64 views
Were Prophets originally called “Seers”?
In Samuel 1 9:9 it says:
לְפָנִ֣ים ׀ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל כֹּֽה־אָמַ֤ר הָאִישׁ֙ בְּלֶכְתּוֹ֙
לִדְר֣וֹשׁ אֱלֹהִ֔ים לְכ֥וּ וְנֵלְכָ֖ה עַד־הָרֹאֶ֑ה כִּ֤י לַנָּבִיא֙
הַיּ֔וֹם יִקָּרֵ֥א לְפָנִ֖ים הָרֹאֶֽה׃...
1
vote
4answers
87 views
Does Midrashim exist for Neviim and Ketuvim?
I am looking for where I can find Midrashic literature on every other book of Tanakh. I own Artscroll's series of the Midrash and of course have the Megillos. If it even exists, where can I find this ...
0
votes
0answers
90 views
Is “40 days and 40 nights” an idiom, or to be taken literally?
This phrase appears in numerous different contexts, such as Gen. 7:4, where it rained for that time, and Exod. 24:18 where Moses was on the mount for that time.
In the same way, Jonah was "three days ...
