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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What's this recurring progression in Hallel?
Commonly recited from Psalms is Chapter 118, recited in Hallel on Rosh Chodesh and Festivals. It begins (v. 1-4):
הוֹד֣וּ לַיהוָ֣ה כִּי־ט֑וֹב כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּֽוֹ׃
Praise the LORD, for He is ...
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Could Moses Have Failed?
Was having a conversation with another user in which I made the argument that Moses didn't fully believe he was talking to God because he doubts he can fulfill this mission from God even with God's ...
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Where does "Yeshurun" come from?
Am Yisrael has a number of names in Tanach. "Yaakov" (such as "Beit Yaakov") and "Yisrael" ("Bnei Yisrael") come from the names of Yaakov Avinu. "Yehudim&...
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Do any Jewish commentators or any targum or midrash see Haggai 2:7 as a reference to the messiah?
Haggai 2:7 speaks about the coming of "the desired of nations". Christians say this is a reference to the messiah. But I'm wondering if any of the sages - the commentaries or targum or ...
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Do we considered Yoav a Tzadik (righteous)?
It often seems that Yoav is referred to as righteous, however, navi scripture also lambasts him for the various killings, disregarding orders, and disloyalty to David, culminating in Solomon having ...
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Looking for a Portuguese translated Tanakh
I am looking for a Portuguese translated Tanakh?
My brother in law wishes to explore Torah and is Brazilian by background. I would like to help him read in his native tongue to understand.
Thank you!
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What areas of the body are ervah according to law?
While custom can further bind what areas of the body need to be covered, when it comes to dress, is there a line that separates clothing that is tzniut from clothing that is not? For example, does ...
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Why are 2 Shevatim missing a Vav
In Devarim 27:12-13
אֵ֠לֶּה יַֽעַמְד֞וּ לְבָרֵ֤ךְ אֶת־הָעָם֙ עַל־הַ֣ר גְּרִזִ֔ים בְּעׇבְרְכֶ֖ם אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן שִׁמְעוֹן֙ וְלֵוִ֣י וִֽיהוּדָ֔ה וְיִשָּׂשכָ֖ר וְיוֹסֵ֥ף וּבִנְיָמִֽן׃
וְאֵ֛לֶּה ...
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Are there words in the Hebrew bible where we find the letter Hei/Yod subsituted for an Alef?
For example, עמק הבכא in Psalams 84:6 is often translated as "Valley of weeping", even though we should expect the word weeping to be בכי, and not at all with an Alef.
Do we have more ...
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Chronology in Karaite selicha
In a Karaite siddur from 1527-9 (link, pg. 514), in the section of selichot, there's one selicha that's similar to the rabbinical selicha "מי שענה ל...הוא יעננו". In this case, it's "...
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Explanation of number shifts in the Tanach
In many places in Tanach, the grammatical number (plural or singular) shifts. One famous example has to do with the rocks that Yaakov put under his head. When he woke, the "rock" is referred ...
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Do different branches of Judaism authorize the same Hebrew text edition of the Tanach?
In Christianity, recent Bible translations in most languages use the Hebrew text edition from the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (1983 edition) while consulting other ancient manuscripts (such as the ...
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How did Jewish scholars deal with supposed "scribal errors" in the Tanach [closed]
There are some contemporary Christians (Evangelicals, etc) say that there are contradictions in the Old Testament caused by scribal errors (Who Killed Goliath? (2 Samuel 21:19; 1 Chronicles 20:5), How ...
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Pesukim for Hilchos Shabbos
I'm looking for a list of all the pesukim relevant to learning Hilchos Shabbos. This would preferably include pesukim in Nach. The more thorough the better. It could be either in a well-known sefer ...
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Is hell a concept in judaism? [duplicate]
Hell is a culturally pervasive term referring to a metaphysical location where a person after death may eternally suffer at the judgement and wrath of non-human entities.
Is there a basis to this ...
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72 verses after morning prayer
I've been looking at early printed prayer books, and it caught my attention that many of them contain 72 verses (שבעים ושתים פסוקים) after Aleinu (see this Venice edition on p. 70 or this on p. 84, ...
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Miracles in Pagan Rituals
שלום!
It writes in ויקרא כה:כג:
"והארץ לא תמכר לצמתת כי־לי הארץ כי־גרים ותושבים אתם עמדי׃ עמדי׃"
But the land must not be sold beyond reclaim, for the land is Mine; you are but strangers ...
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Questions about Jeshua and the Tanakh [closed]
How does Judaism thinks about Jeshua, and why?
Also which YouTube channels could you recommend to learn about the Tanakh?
And does Judaism has different versions of the bible, just like you can see in ...
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How do Jewish sects view the role of the legal law of the Halacha in today's society?
The legal laws of the books of Moses included rulings on stoning adulterers, homosexuals, disobedient children, etc. Christians view these laws as no longer binding on Christians today through the ...
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Can the word "Torah" refer to the Tanakh in general?
Can the word Torah include other books in the Tanakh? If so, are there examples of this in Jewish literature (ancient rabbinical literature, medieval, etc)
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The difference between "hu" and "zeh"
In Yeshayahu, 42:8, the text reads
אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה ה֣וּא שְׁמִ֑י
This is translated in most English version I can find as
"I am God, THAT is my name."
The targum doesn't translate it at ...
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Why aren't peas mentioned in the Tanach/Talmud?
Or if my premise is wrong, please correct me?
Guns, Germs, & Steel talks about early domesticated crops of the Fertile Crescent. No surprise that he quickly mentions wheat, barley, olives, dates, ...
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When was book of Shmuel written?
The Gmara says :
שמואל כתב ספרו והכתיב (שמואל א כח, ג) ושמואל מת דאסקיה גד החוזה ונתן הנביא
(Baba Batra 15:1), that is Shmuel, Gad and Nathan wrote the book of Shmuel.
However, in Shmuel 1 27:6 it ...
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Are Neviim Rishonim written by prophecy?
It seems to be obvious that all the Tanah' is prophecy, or at least "Ruach' Hakodesh".
However, we see that the Gmara try to prove that Esther was written by Ruach' Hakodesh; but why there ...
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Names of God in Eicha
The name אדני is used with unusual frequency in Eicha, but not exclusively. Why does the the book change back and forth? (I mention the frequency to explain why my question about the switching is ...
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Question about Shmuel 1:11:11 and Tehillim 83:8
From what I can tell, whenever the word "Amon" - "עמון" appears in Tanach (not עמוני/ת, etc), it's always preceded by the word "bnei" - "בני", except for two ...
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Are bad and evil the same thing?
In English (at least my understanding of it), "bad" is simply the opposite of "good".
If someone builds a useful bench from scrap materials, that is good; if they hit their thumb ...
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How are the trope / taamim of Sifrei Emeth Sung? [duplicate]
Some books in Tanach have a different kind of trop for the words. (see Psalms, e.g. under בַּעֲצַ֢ת and above רְשָׁ֫עִ֥ים)
How is this trop read/sung?
Related
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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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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)
