The book of Jubilees belongs to a category of literature that contemporary scholars designate by the pleasantly vague tag “the Rewritten Bible.” The author of the book, like a number of other ancient Jewish writers, found it convenient to convey his message through an annotated presentation of the older text. In this way he could show […]
True or not, Anita Hill told the story of her alleged sexual harassment by the now-Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to a nationwide television audience of millions, fascinated by the drama of sex and power. But Susanna was never given the opportunity to tell how she had been sexually harassed by two scurrilous old men. […]
A mix of folktale and prayer, biblical themes and classical motifs, Tobit depicts a fantastic tale of Diaspora life. Containing an angel in disguise, a murderous demon, a magical fish and a young man on a journey to maturity, the Book of Tobit is not told simply to entertain. Rather, it provides carefully crafted instructions […]
Greco-Roman Period 1Love righteousness, you rulers of the earth, think of the Lord in goodness and seek him with sincerity of heart; 2 because he is found by those who do not put him to the test, and manifests himself to those who do not distrust him. 3 For perverse thoughts separate people from God, […]
1These are the words of the book that Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah son of Zedekiah son of Hasadiah son of Hilkiah wrote in Babylon, 2 in the fifth year, on the seventh day of the month, at the time when the Chaldeans took Jerusalem and burned it with fire. 3 Baruch read […]
Greco-Roman Period 1 There was a man living in Babylon whose name was Joakim. 2 He married the daughter of Hilkiah, named Susanna, a very beautiful woman and one who feared the Lord. 3 Her parents were righteous, and had trained their daughter according to the law of Moses. 4 Joakim was very rich, and […]
Greco-Roman Period 4When the Israelites living in Judea heard of everything that Holofernes, the general of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Assyrians, had done to the nations, and how he had plundered and destroyed all their temples, 2 they were therefore greatly terrified at his approach; they were alarmed both for Jerusalem and for the […]
Greco-Roman Period The book of Jubilees purports to project those things revealed to Moses during the forty days he spent on Mount Sinai (Ex. 24-18). It opens with God’s revealing to Moses the future of the Jewish people. In the persona of an angel recounting Jewish history until the time of Moses, Jubilees retells the […]
Greco-Roman Period Lawrence H. Schiffman, From Text to Tradition, Ktav Publishing House, Hoboken, NJ, 1991. All in all, the apocrypha are a varied group of texts that have in common little more than their approximate dates of composition and their preservation in the Septuagint Bible. There is little of literary or historical significance to distinguish […]
From Text to Tradition The Apocrypha Pseudepigrapha Historical surveys Shaye Cohen. “Roman Domination- The Jewish Revolt and the Destruction of the Second Temple.” Primary sources Book of Tobit 11-12- The Reward of the Righteous Book of Judith 4-16- The Pious Heroine (oremus Bible Browser) Greek Esther 13-14- The Letter and the Prayer (oremus Bible […]