From Egypt to Sinai, Christine Hayes

From Egypt to Sinai, Christine Hayes   This lecture traces the account of the Exodus (and the origin of the Passover festival as a historicization of older nature festivals) and Israel’s liberation from bondage under Pharaoh. The story reaches its climax...

Shiloh

Shiloh   After the Exodus, Joshua brought the Ark of the Covenant to Shiloh, where the Tabernacle was built. Ultimately, David brought the Ark from Kiryat-Yearim (Givah) to Jerusalem, where it stayed until the Babylonian destruction of the First Temple in 586...

A Sacrifice Vessel with Two Doves

A Sacrifice Vessel with Two Doves   A fragment of a  limestone vessel, found in the fill near the southern wall of the Western Wall, bears the inscribed word KRBN (korban), which means “sacrifice.” Two crudely drawn birds, identified as pigeons or doves, also...

Hillel the Elder

Hillel the Elder   Hillel (also known as Hillel the Elder) is one of the best-known and beloved sages of the Talmud. He lived during the last century BCE and served as head of the Sanhedrin, the ancient rabbinic tribunal. He was the founder of Beit Hillel (the...

Ottoman Conquest, 1517-1699

Ottoman Conquest, 1517-1699   Highlights- Rebuilding of the Walls of Jerusalem, 1538-1541 King James Bible, 1611 Nicolas Poussin’s Destruction of Jerusalem, 1625-26 The Ottoman star was very much in the ascendant by the time Selim I reached the throne. (“Ottoman”...