midrash
Explanations of Jewish interpretive traditions and how midrashic readings illuminate Scripture.
RABBINIC DISTORTION OF SCRIPTURE Paid Members Public
GOD STANDS AT ABRAHAM’S DOOR In this post I will provide an example of how rabbinic Judaism deliberately perverts the plain reading of the Scriptures. I will be using the case of Genesis 18-19 where the narrative explicitly states that YHWH God and two other individuals appeared to Abraham
THE RABBIS ON ISAIAH 7:14 Paid Members Public
The prophet Isaiah announced that a specific virgin will give to birth to Immanuel, “Then Yahweh spoke again to Ahaz, saying, ‘Ask a sign for yourself from Yahweh your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.’ But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask, and I will not
MELCHIZEDEK REVISITED Paid Members Public
In this post I extract the section on Melchizedek from James Kugel’s book, Traditions of the Bible: A Guide to the Bible as It Was at the Start of the Common Era, Chapter 8. Melchizedek (GENESIS 14:17-20), published by Harvest University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts/London, England, in 1998.
THE WORD, MESSIAH & TARGUM OF ISAIAH Paid Members Public
In this post I will be citing particular chapters and verses from Isaiah and contrasting them with the Aramaic paraphrase known as Targum Pseudo-Jonathan. The Targum was produced by Jews for the benefit of their countrymen who could only understand Aramaic. This paraphrase of Isaiah gives us an insight into
Prayers of Jews to Angels and Other Intermediaries Paid Members Public
During the First Centuries of the Common Era MEIR BAR-ILAN I. Introduction It has been claimed that angels with divine power have no place in Judaism, a monotheistic religion, as the strength of such a religion lies in the exclusivity of the divinity.1 Angels can thus be no more
THE TWO POWERS OF THE SAMARITAN RELIGION Paid Members Public
In this post I will be sharing some of the beliefs of the Samaritans to show this was another group that sprung forth from Israel which held/holds to a belief in two divine Powers. The specific Samaritan work I will be citing from shall be John MacDonald’s English
METATRON IS THE WORD OF GOD? Paid Members Public
The Hebrew Bible depicts God’s Word as a living divine entity whom God sends into the world to accomplish his will, including relaying his messages to his servants (Cf. Genesis 15:1-6; 1 Samuel 3:6-7, 20-21; Psalm 107:19-20; 147:15, 18; Jeremiah 1:4-11; Zechariah 4:8-9)
Akedah: What Could It Mean? Paid Members Public
By Rich Robinson |January 01 1986 Every Rosh Hashanah, synagogue readings include the story of the Akedah from Genesis 22. Akedah is Hebrew for “binding” and refers to the central action in the story when Abraham binds his son Isaac on the altar in order to sacrifice him. The Story