33
votes
Accepted
Do Jews today consider the King James translation of the Tanakh to be acceptably accurate?
The KJV may give the general sense of a translation in many cases. However, it has a definite Christian bend and does not always follow the Jewish traditions in translation. I will illustrate this ...
- 3,556
25
votes
What is the most-shared name in the Torah? In Tanach?
It turns out the most common name in the Tanach is Zecharayahu:
A Kohen in the time of David (Divrei Hayamim 1:15:24)
A Levite in the time of David (Divrei Hayamim 1:15:18)
A gate-keeper in Ohel ...
- 24.9k
24
votes
Accepted
Does the fact that "Elohim" is plural indicate that parts of the Tanakh hearken from a pre-Jewish polytheistic culture?
The reason this is confusing is that in Biblical Hebrew, the plural can be used to denote a position of authority. For example, in Exodus 22 the Bible refers to a property owner in the plural even ...
- 8,085
21
votes
Accepted
Is it true that a certain book of the Tanach was rewritten because it was lost?
The Sefer Eicha was destroyed by King Yehoyakim who threw it into a fire and rewritten by Yirmiyahu at the command of Hashem.
Yirmiyahu 36:23
23: And it came to pass, when Jehudi read three or ...
- 42.9k
20
votes
Where in Tanach is Shavuot associated with Matan Torah?
Although many good answers exist here already, I want to provide somewhat of a more comprehensive response (as best as I can) by putting all the answers I know of in one place.
There are three ...
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20
votes
what is a good summary of each book of tanach?
[Gen] The world comes to be.
[Exo] A nation goes free,
[Lev] and learns about service divine.
[Num] They wander and gripe.
[Deu] For Canaan they're ripe;
[Jos] they conquer it and land assign.
[Jug] ...
- 73.5k
18
votes
Where in the TaNa"kh is there a discussion about how to slaughter an animal?
There is no description in the Torah (and to the best of my knowledge in the rest of TaNa"KH) as to how to correctly slaughter an animal.
In fact, R. Yehuda HaLevi (Kuzari, 3:35) brings this as a ...
- 41.8k
17
votes
Do Jews today consider the King James translation of the Tanakh to be acceptably accurate?
Harry Orlinsky, editor-in-chief of the NJPS, in a 1990 essay pointed to the example of three texts in the KJV as being faulty and showing Christian bias: Genesis 1:1-3, Psalm 2:12, and Isaiah 7:14. ...
- 1,754
16
votes
Accepted
Do we know how Rabbi Moshe Feinstein felt about Malbim's commentary on Nach?
The following expands upon the comment I made earlier now that I've searched a bit through Igros Moshe.
Here is the original wording of the teshuva:
אבל פשוט שהוא רק כשלמדו כפי פירוש אמת שהוא כאחד ...
- 2,228
15
votes
Accepted
Was Malbim an innovator?
To summarize (and perhaps embellish) Prof. Yaakov Elman's The Rebirth of Omnisignificant Biblical Exegesis in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, which addresses all this at length, Hazal seemed ...
- 35.4k
15
votes
How long was the period of Oppression
Brief Summary:
The commentators almost all agree that the four hundred years was not the time spent in Egypt. Rather, the four hundred years is from an earlier time (with some disagreements as to ...
- 49.1k
15
votes
What is the greatest age difference between a married couple in Tanach?
Based on certain midrashim and assuming they're compatible, Naamah was Noach's wife and was born, at the latest, in 129. Noach was born in 1056. That makes her at least 927 years (+/- rounding ...
- 9,117
15
votes
Where in the Tanakh is the subject of head-covering or hair-covering for females taught or hinted?
The Talmud in Ketubot 72a cites Numbers 5:18 as a Scriptural source/derivation:
ראשה פרוע דאורייתא היא דכתיב ופרע את ראש האשה ותנא דבי רבי ישמעאל אזהרה לבנות ישראל שלא יצאו בפרוע ראש
[Is not the ...
- 49.1k
14
votes
Accepted
Is King Saul positively regarded in Judaism?
There are not very many references to Saul in the liturgy. Here is one that portrays him somewhat negatively, in the context of his failure to destroy Amalek (from Yotser for Zachor):
זָכוֹר נָגִיד ...
- 24k
13
votes
Accepted
Are there any mentions of Torah Scrolls before Ezra?
In Melachim (Kings) Chapters 22-23, King Joshiahu discovers a Torah scroll during renovations of the Temple.
- 5,310
13
votes
May one memorize large swaths of Tanach?
The Gemara in Gittin 60b says
דברים שבכתב אי אתה רשאי לאומרן על פה
Matters that were written you may not express them orally.
This is codified in Shulchan Aruch O.C. 49:1.
However, this rule only ...
- 5,365
12
votes
Accepted
What does it mean that God "remembers" something?
Rav Sa'adya Gaon writes in Emunot V'deot (Ma'amar 2 s.v. v'hinei ani) that in reference to God, remembrance refers to salvation:
ובהצלת הברואים מענין שמצער אותם קוראים אותו זכירה, שאמרו (בראשית ח' ...
- 35.4k
12
votes
Accepted
Was Yonah able to visit the Beis HaMikdash? What about other prophets of his time?
Your question assumes that there were guards blocking anyone from crossing from Judah to Israel. The background of the assumption is probably the following two sources:
Sanhedrin 102a, according to ...
- 24k
11
votes
What is the best English translation of the Tanakh (hard copy, not online)?
Since you said Tanach, I'm going to only include full Tanach translations here and ignore the various translations which only include the Torah.
These are all the complete Tanach translations I know ...
- 6,976
11
votes
References to resurrection and the afterlife in the Jewish Bible?
Deut. 7:11 states: "You shall observe the commandment, and the decrees, and the ordinances, that I command you, today, to perform them."
The Torah writes about Earthly rewards, and not a lot about ...
- 10.7k
11
votes
Do Jews today consider the King James translation of the Tanakh to be acceptably accurate?
KJV is definitely not considered most-accurate; at the bare minimum, it was not a direct Hebrew-to-English translation. KJV was intended to sound old, and to sound really good when spoken out-loud.
...
- 131k
11
votes
Jewish Prophet who could bring fire from the Heaven
Moses was involved in calling down fire from Heaven during the plague of hail in Egypt.
Exodus 9:23-24 : (See the entire chapter for more details of the story.)
"So Moses stretched forth his staff ...
- 10.7k
11
votes
Contradiction in the torah? Please explain this. I have heard many times that a divine book can not contradict
There are some assumptions I've seen you make in the questions and comments that I'd like to directly address, rather than showing how we resolve the specific contradictions, as other answers have ...
- 7,281
10
votes
Could Yonah's "whale" have been a whale?
The only Rishon I saw who identifies the Dag Gadol in his commentary is [R Eliezer of Beaugency to Yonah 2:1][1], and he identifies it as a "בַלְיינְא וכיוצא בו", which is a baleine (etc.) in French (...
- 20.9k
10
votes
Accepted
References to resurrection and the afterlife in the Jewish Bible?
The answer is there are few if any Biblical references. The afterlife is more emphasized in the oral tradition than in the actual Bible. Which is why you had the Sadduccees (the priestly Jews who only ...
- 10.5k
10
votes
Accepted
Pronunciation of בשגם - Patach or Kamatz?
R. Yaakov Sappir had the same question about 150 years ago and asked the community in Aleppo to check the Aleppo Codex for a final ruling. They reported that בשגם has only Patch vowels. You can't ask ...
- 97.4k
10
votes
Accepted
Does anything in the Tanakh resemble the quote "Each shall seek his own kind"?
In Bava Kama 92b, Rava asks Rabba bar Mari for the source of a popular saying along the same lines. Rabba bar Mari answers with five different sources for it. The third verse, which is attributed to &...
- 24k
10
votes
Is King Saul positively regarded in Judaism?
Shaul was great beyond the imagination of the people in his Generation (and how much more so ourselves) and cannot be Judged. Yalkut Shimoni Shmuel II 157:
שגיון לדוד אשר שר לה' על דברי כוש בן ...
- 11.4k
10
votes
Are there examples in Tanach of 3 or more parties having an ongoing conversation?
In Jeremiah 26 there is a conversation involving six different named parties:
Jeremiah speaks to the nation, the priests and the prophets
The nation, the priests, and the prophets respond
The princes ...
- 24k
10
votes
Accepted
Biblical personality prepared wicks of Menorah
You may be thinking of Megillah 14a:
ודבורה אשה נביאה אשת לפידות (שופטים ד:ד) מאי אשת לפידות שהיתה עושה פתילות למקדש
"And Devorah was a prophetess, the wife of Lapidot" (Judges 4:4). What is "the ...
- 97.4k
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