Questions tagged [tanach]
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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Why do some books in Tanach have a different trop, and how are they sung? [duplicate]
Some books in Tanach have a different kind of trop for the words. (see Psalms, e.g. under בַּעֲצַ֢ת and above רְשָׁ֫עִ֥ים)
Why does this book and others have a different kind of trup?
How is this ...
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Is Yitroh's judicial structure mentioned anywhere else in the Tanakh?
Yitro advised to divide the people into groups of 10, 50, 100,1000 and appoint a corresponding judge for every group.
Is the legal process of any of such judges mentioned in the Tanakh? I mean, does ...
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Defeating death
How did Elijah and Enoch escape death? Why did god take them before they died. Doesn’t this go against what the Bible says that all human beings come from dust and must return to the dust?
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What is the timeline of the 24 books of Tanach?
I am aware that Daniel lived during the time of Purim (as there are opinions he was Memuchan). This led me to think: is there a rough timeline with the 24 books of Tanach and their corresponding years?...
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What is the reasoning behind Avshalom's name
Why was Avshalom named so. It's kind of ironic that his name means "my father is peace", no? Any ideas?
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G-d abrogated the Torah?
I was having a discussion with some Muslims regarding abolishing of the Mosaic law. During that discussion they produced the following as an example of abrogation taking place:
Bamidbar 25:13 states:
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How many instances of Kere and Ketiv?
How many instances of Kere and Ketiv appear within the TaNaKh?
And are there any sources that list every verse in which they occur?
And what are the underlying reasons for differences in count?
For ...
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What may I reference to learn Tanach chapters by topic?
What may I refer to to learn where to locate verses or sections in the Tanach by topic? Preferably one of our own sources rather than a Christian one because the interpretations of the Tanach need to ...
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Ibn Ezra List of Secrets
Often times, Ibn Ezra will say something to the effect of "There is a secret here", and provide perhaps a few terse phrases by way of explanation.
For example, there is his famous Sod ...
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Psalm 82, G.d-Elyon
I would like to have an explanation of Psalm 82. According to an absurd interpretation, G.d and Elyon are different individuals. In the Psalm it would be written that "G.d resides in the assembly ...
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The Tanakh books and the number 24 - what preceded what?
The Talmud evidently describes the existence of numerous extra-Biblical works (Apocrypha?).
When the sages decided on the canon (Bava_Batra.14b?), was it decided on each book separately and the number ...
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Sources used by Maimonides in Mishneh Torah-Avodat Kochavim 1:1
In Mishneh Torah-Avodat Kochavim 1:1 Rambam states:
"During the times of Enosh, mankind made a great mistake, and the wise men of that generation gave thoughtless counsel. Enosh himself was one ...
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Bells on the Kohen's tunic - what are they for?
What are they for bells that bring the priests in exodus and Leviticus?
I find no comments about Rashi or other rabbis.
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Typically how long it takes to finish one page/chapter of the Hebrew bible? [closed]
What is the average time/day/months a prophet can finish writing one page or chapter before writing the next? I can't find a resource online other than how many years it took to finish the whole book.
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How old was Binyamin when he and his brothers went down to meet Yosef
Just like the title reads. Citing the interaction between the brothers and Yosef in Egpyt during the famine retold in Bereishit 42-44, I am curious to know if any mefarshim comment on the age of ...
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Shekhinah and death penalty [closed]
Shalom. Seeing the Shekhinah (probably the fire from where Gd speaks (Deuteronomy 4,12; 5,4) was liable to death according to Exodus 33,22? The Shekhinah is not G-d's face (panim), right?
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Is this stated in the Talmud?
Those who are cruel to the kind, are kind to the cruel. I heard it was stated in the Talmud, but not able to find it. Thoughts?
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The Rabbis of the Septuagint
I’m familiar with the Talmudic account of the Septuagint, but I would like to know if there are any sources/Midrashim that allude to who the 70 rabbis/scholars were and why THEY were chosen to ...
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Is the 1985 JPS Tanach translation available online?
Is the latest 1985 JPS available online?
I recall seeing it in the past
I have a memory of seeing it online.. and some remarks in some chat or forum somewhere where people said oh I didn't know it was ...
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What does 'inspired by God" mean?
Some people say that God wrote the Torah. That is clear and I understand it. Others say that people wrote the Torah. That is also clear and I understand it. Then there are people who say that ...
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Did Shlomo haMelech use the gold his father accumulated?
I once heard in a shiur that Shlomo haMelech did not use the money that his father Dovid had saved up for the building of the first Beis HaMikdash because a) it was money captured at war b) it should ...
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Did Jews believe other gods really existed as well, or were they just fake gods?
Judging from the Tanakh, did ancient Jews also believe other gods like Baal actually existed? Or did the just believe they were fake gods, that people believe in but don't actually exist?
Looking at 1 ...
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Why are the big heroes of the Tanach not perfect?
Adam and Eve ate the forbidden apple.
Cain killed Abel.
Abraham and Sarah abandoned Ismael and Hagar.
Jacob was Blessed in a cruel move by Rivkah.
Joseph was arrogant and his brothers left him almost ...
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What happened to Yisro?
What happened to Yisro after he went back to Midyan to convert his family?
שמות 18:27
Also, is he mentioned anywhere after in tanach?
(him, not his descendants)
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Why was Nevuchadnezer able to command horses not to whinny, and birds not to fly?
In the second chapter of Daniel in verse 38, At the beginning of his interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream Daniel explains "Hashem, gave you rule over People, wild breasts and birds of heaven, ...
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The Torah Transmission Date Discrepancies?
I'm curious to know the dates of birth and death of the following Torah transmitters, who appear in Pirkei Avot, since I've seen conflicting dates when doing some independent research:
Shimon HaTzadik
...
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How to apply the Masoretic note, “2x, once plene and once defectively” to Ruth 1:1?
In Ruth 1:1, there is a Masoretic note on שְׁפֹט which I do not understand:
The picture is a little unclear, but the note says (I have highlighted the letters with a dot above them):
ב חד מל וחד חס
...
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Instances of epic poetry in Tanach?
In the book "Mevo Lekitvei Hakodesh" - "Introduction to The Holy Scriptures" by Shmuel Shrira, he writes that there are different types of poetry or songs ("shirah") in ...
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Did Yechezkel (Ezekiel) bring the dead back to life, or did he just say a prophecy about it?
See here - https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/16135/jewish/Chapter-37.htm
The question is if he actually brought them to life, or if he simply said a prophecy about it and Hashem was the one ...
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Was Abraham given a scripture?
According to the Quran, Abraham was given a scripture just like Moses.
This is certainly ˹mentioned˺ in the earlier Scriptures— the
Scriptures of Abraham and Moses. [Quran 87/18-19]
The scripture ...
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Why was Yehoshua chosen to lead the Israelits and not Kaleb?
We can see that Kaleb as well as Yehoshua tried to convince the Israelits not to believe to the spies and enter the state of Israel. Moreover, it seems that Kaleb was more dominant in his trial to ...
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Anomalous root word frequency in Scripture
Is there a program available online that can detect statistically significant higher incidence of a specific root (שרש), and/or of a specific sequence of letters, in a specific portion of Tanach. For ...
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In a life or death situation is breaking the Torah permissible?
In a situation where you could die (or other Jews could), would you be allowed to break the rules in order to survive?
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Do you have the source for the quote about not trusting liars
Does anyone remember a quote about how once someone is a confirmed liar nothing they say or said can be trusted and should be questioned?
I cannot find the exact words.
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Good picture seforim (books) for nach [duplicate]
I am having a hard time keeping track of all of the places and wars in Sefer Yehoshua and Shoftim (and probably will for the rest of nach). Are there any good seforim which go through nach and have ...
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Are there Traditional Jewish sources say that the story of Adam and Chava is a metaphor?
(Original: Are there any traditional Jewish sources that state that the story of Adam Harishon is a metaphor and/or that there were other intelligent human beings already on the earth prior to Adam’s ...
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כּלּה kallâh “bride, spouse” < כּלל kâlal “to make perfect”?
Reading Strong's Real Hebrew dictionary, I discovered that כּלּה kallâh "bride, spouse" < כּלל kâlal "to make perfect". What does a bride have to do with perfection?
cf. Hebrew ...
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Biblical Hebrew words for “sister” & “bride” interchangeable? “sister” can mean “friend”?
Paul M. Conner, O.P., Celibate Love p. 23 (PDF p. 27), claims:
In Hebrew the terms "sister" and "bride" do not always have literal application. Often they are interchangeable. ...
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Do some scholars believe that “לנבא” (“lenabe”) meant “to philosophise”/“to entertain”/“to dramatise”?
I read with interest Julian Jaynes' Bicamerlism book where he claims that lenabe was mistranslated as "to prophetise" in LXX which also influenced Jewish thought. Later on, I wrote out of ...
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do tanach teach original sin? [closed]
does that verses give a christian notion that man can not be righteous and have original sin?
isaiah 48:8
Neither did you hearken, neither did you know, nor was your ear opened from then, for I knew ...
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Are there any examples of “par ha'elem davar” in Tanakh or Talmud?
In Lev. 4:13-15, we learn
If it is the whole community of Israel that has erred and the matter escapes the notice of the congregation, so that they do any of the things which by the LORD’s ...
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The four letter name vs. Ado-nai
In hundreds of verses (such as Psalms 51:17 אֲ֭דֹ-נָי שְׂפָתַ֣י תִּפְתָּ֑ח וּ֝פִ֗י יַגִּ֥יד תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ׃) God is named with the word Ado-nai seemingly referring to the same pronunciation and meaning ...
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What is the rationale for only marking certain letters with sheva, when they are the last letter in a word?
In printed and manuscript editions of Tanach, I've noticed that a sheva on the final letter of a word is almost never marked, and is meant to be inferred.
The two exceptions I've come across are:
A ...
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Why is נַעֲרָ sometimes marked as a keri uketiv and sometimes not?
The word נַעֲרָה na'arah (girl, maiden, young lady) is almost uniformly spelled in the Torah in the form נַעֲרָ, without the concluding heh.
However, it seem that it is marked as an instance of keri ...
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Which nations were the Cherethites and Pelethites?
Which nations were the Cherethites and Pelethites?
Divrei Hayamim I - I Chronicles - Chapter 18:17 And Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and the sons of
David ...
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Sheva and Dedan
Is there any connection between Sheva and Dedan, sons of Yokshan ben Avraham (Beresheet 25:3, Divrei Hayamim 1:1:32) and Sheva and Dedan, sons of Ra'ama ben Cush (Beresheet 10:7)?
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Why was Shaul prophecising naked?
In 1 Shemuel 19:24, Shaul HaMelech is mentioned as taking off his clothes, laying naked, and prophesying. And the end of the passuk seems to indicate that prophesying naked was occasionally a trait of ...
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Are there any cases in the Tanakh where the form of the word could ambiguously have either the root יָרֵא (fear) or רָאָה (see)?
Abijah originally asked this question in Biblical Hermeneutics (https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/52502/translating-forms-of-yirah-as-fear-or-seeing). Abijah stated how the question ...
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Shaul's genealogy compared to David's genealogy
David's full genealogy is outlined in both in Ruth 4:18-24 (although without Yehudah here) and in Divrei Hayamim 1:2:3-15:
Yehudah-Peretz-Chetzron-Ram-Aminadav-Nachshon-Salma-Boaz-Oved-Yishai-David.
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Why in Sidra Ki Tavo G-d is intended to curse the source - trees and not the product (oil and wine)
In Sidra Ki Tavo, Book of Deuteronomy 28:39-40. It is mentioned that if the sons of Israel won't obey G-d commands and Mitzvot they will get punishments.
כְּרָמִים תִּטַּע, וְעָבָדְתָּ; וְיַיִן לֹא-...
