This book is an improved translation of a Hebrew book that was published in 2014 and is based on ... more This book is an improved translation of a Hebrew book that was published in 2014 and is based on conversations given on a weekly radio program and later expanded into articles. In this book there are 62 chapters, devoted to Torah parashot and holidays. Each chapter discusses a topic in biblical and historical geography, or topics close to this field. I have tried to deal with issues that have a point of novelty of my own or others', without repeating things that one can read in an encyclopedia or on websites. The book is intended for researchers and scholars but also for an ordinary educated person. I refrained from burdening the reader with long footnotes and multiple references, and contented myself with a short list of main sources and studies at the end of each chapter. My basic approach, on which I was educated by my father and mentor the late Prof. Yehuda Elitzur, is an approach that believes in the sanctity of the Bible and its authenticity on the one hand, and uses all the the tools provided by linguistics, history, geography and archeology on the other. From the innovations in the book: Unknown correspondence between Judith Krause-Marquet the excavator of the mound near Deir Dibwan ('Ai') with Prof. Samuel Klein after no suitable remains were found at the site, The word MUL which probably means the opposite of what is accepted today and resulting geographical interpretations in the Bible, NAHAL EITAN which is a rocky canyon and not a perennial stream, the location of AZAZEL based on both Rabbinic and Christian sources, the background to the name of 'Tel Aviv' in Babylon in the days of Ezekiel - and in the Land of Israel in the early twentieth century CE.
This volume, published by the Academy of the Hebrew Language and Yad Ben-Zvi in 2012, is the seco... more This volume, published by the Academy of the Hebrew Language and Yad Ben-Zvi in 2012, is the second improved edition of the Hebrew version of 'Ancient Place Names in the Holy Land: Preservation and History' (2004, Eisenbrauns & Magnes). As a rule the Hebrew version is more developed and updated than the English volume, and the second Hebrew edition includes hundreds of corrections and additions to the first one.
This book contains 62 chapters, each for one Parashah, Haftarah or Holiday, cocentrating as a rul... more This book contains 62 chapters, each for one Parashah, Haftarah or Holiday, cocentrating as a rule in the geographical aspect. I made an effort to avoid repeating issues well-known to learned people and tried to deal with topics in which I can present an innovative view (of me or of others). In order to make the book appropriate for a broad diversity of population, it was not composed in the so-called 'scientific writing' and it does not contain footnotes. However, every chapter ends with a bibliographical list. An English version of this book is now in a process of publication.
A stroll on the West Bank leads to a remarkable find: a Biblical-era stone altar for animal sacri... more A stroll on the West Bank leads to a remarkable find: a Biblical-era stone altar for animal sacrifice.
As a topographical term, the Hebrew word katef, literally: 'shoulder,' denotes a topograp... more As a topographical term, the Hebrew word katef, literally: 'shoulder,' denotes a topographical feature similar in form to a human shoulder: an elevated flat area with a slope alongside it. As used in the Bible, this term is unique in its usage and distribution. Katef is used exclusively in descriptions of boundaries and is invariably associated with a direction perpendicular to that of the boundary. Hence this direction describes the place where the 'shoulder' breaks off. Accordingly, the phrase (Numbers 34:11) denotes the eastern break of the Golan Heights, that is, the descent to present-day Nahr er-Ruqqad. The term occurs nine times in the Bible, all occurrences except one in Joshua 15 and 18, and describes the boundaries of Benjamin and northern Judah. As there is no topographical justification to distinguish between Benjamin and other tribes, or to such a uniform treatment of all parts of Benjaminite territory, it follows that the term was unique to the Benjamin...
The Believer and the Modern Study of the Bible, 2019
Four facets of names of God reveal clear internal development within the classical biblical perio... more Four facets of names of God reveal clear internal development within the classical biblical period: (1) El Shaddai was used in oral speech only until the Exodus from Egypt. In later periods, the name Shaddai existed as an archaic term used, infrequently, by prophets and poets. (2) The expression YHWH Tzva'ot (the Lord of Hosts) originated only in the time of the book of Samuel, and was in use from then until the compostion of the books of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. (3) The first two cases of the theophoric element YHW/YH/YW in personal names occurred just before and during the life of Moses. From that point, it increased gradually in frequency until the period of the late monarchy, by which time it was included in more than half of all personal names. (4) The name indicating lordship, Adonai, was initially a term of supplicatory address and became a name of God in the eighth century BCE.
... OF THE DEAD SEA -49-4414) , 4f74"-- AMOS FRUMKIN AND YOEL ELITZUR 7 Genesis ... How can ... more ... OF THE DEAD SEA -49-4414) , 4f74"-- AMOS FRUMKIN AND YOEL ELITZUR 7 Genesis ... How can a place be both a sea and a valley? Authors Amos Frumkin and Yoe! E/itzur, in the accompanying article, explain that the answer lies in the ever-changing level of the Dead Sea. ...
Prof. Y.M Grintz’s hypothesis that the magnificent ossuary found together with the Aramaic inscri... more Prof. Y.M Grintz’s hypothesis that the magnificent ossuary found together with the Aramaic inscription of Abba son of Eleazar the priest “the oppressed, the pursued, who was born in Jerusalem and went to exile into Babylonia, and carried up (for interment) Mattathi[ah] son of Jud[ah] and I buried him in the cave which I purchased by the writ,” belonged to Mattathias Antigonus, the last Hasmonean king, received compelling scientific corroboration in a television program broadcast in December 1974. On the program, the anthropologist Prof. Nicu Hass, who analyzed the bones, presented a sketch of a decapitated skull that in his view had belonged to a tall 25-year-old man, who was tortured until he lost consciousness, after which he was beheaded, a description that is consistent with the manner in which Mattathias Antigonus was executed, as described by Josephus and Dio Cassius. However, these findings were not published scientifically and were forgotten. Nicu Hass suffered a head injury a month after the broadcast and never regained consciousness. The bones, left in cardboard boxes in his office, were reexamined by Prof. Patricia Smith who maintained that the decapitated skull had belonged to a short old woman. In light of her findings, a general consensus took root in the scientific community that rejected Grintz’s analysis. The current paper will (1) survey the history of the subject, including the comments made on the television program that are as yet unpublished, and argue that Hass’s diagnosis is preferable; (2) add unpublished information or information not properly published (a second ossuary found years later apparently containing the bones of Abba the priest, an examination of the caves and the order in which they were dug, the return of the bones of Mattathias son of Judah to their resting place; (3) advance a hypothesis that will try to identify Abba the priest and his family with a family mentioned in Josephus Flavius’s Antiquities of the Jews.
Prof. Y.M Grintz’s hypothesis that the magnificent ossuary found together with the Aramaic inscri... more Prof. Y.M Grintz’s hypothesis that the magnificent ossuary found together with the Aramaic inscription of Abba son of Eleazar the priest “the oppressed, the pursued, who was born in Jerusalem and went to exile into Babylonia, and carried up (for interment) Mattathi[ah] son of Jud[ah] and I buried him in the cave which I purchased by the writ,” belonged to Mattathias Antigonus, the last Hasmonean king, received compelling scientific corroboration in a television program broadcast in December 1974. On the program, the anthropologist Prof. Nicu Hass, who analyzed the bones, presented a sketch of a decapitated skull that in his view had belonged to a tall 25-year-old man, who was tortured until he lost consciousness, after which he was beheaded, a description that is consistent with the manner in which Mattathias Antigonus was executed, as described by Josephus and Dio Cassius. However, these findings were not published scientifically and were forgotten. Nicu Hass suffered a head injury a month after the broadcast and never regained consciousness. The bones, left in cardboard boxes in his office, were reexamined by Prof. Patricia Smith who maintained that the decapitated skull had belonged to a short old woman. In light of her findings, a general consensus took root in the scientific community that rejected Grintz’s analysis. The current paper will (1) survey the history of the subject, including the comments made on the television program that are as yet unpublished, and argue that Hass’s diagnosis is preferable; (2) add unpublished information or information not properly published (a second ossuary found years later apparently containing the bones of Abba the priest, an examination of the caves and the order in which they were dug, the return of the bones of Mattathias son of Judah to their resting place; (3) advance a hypothesis that will try to identify Abba the priest and his family with a family mentioned in Josephus Flavius’s Antiquities of the Jews.
As a result of a mistaken interpretation of the Madaba map, biblical Nahal Zered is often identif... more As a result of a mistaken interpretation of the Madaba map, biblical Nahal Zered is often identified in the scho- ̣ larship as Wadi Al-hsa which marks the boundary between Moab and Edom southeast of the Dead Sea. In reality, the brook of Zered does not appear on the Madaba map and the sole documentary evidence available for its identification is the Bible, which situates Nahal Zered near Nah ̣ al Arnon. The author proposes Wa ̣ ̄di Nkheile, which spills into the Arnon from the southeast, as the most likely candidate for the biblical Zered. This identification perhaps also sheds light on the conflicting biblical sources regarding the question of whether or not the Moabites allowed the Israelites to pass through their territory en route to Canaan. In the postbiblical era Nahal Zered appears in the boundaries baraita (baraita de-teh ̣ umin) as part of the eastern border of ̣ the land of Israel and the article demonstrates that the identification of Nahal Zered as Wadi Nkheile is consis...
As a result of a mistaken interpretation of the Madaba map, biblical Nahal Zered is often identif... more As a result of a mistaken interpretation of the Madaba map, biblical Nahal Zered is often identified in the scho- ̣ larship as Wadi Al-hsa which marks the boundary between Moab and Edom southeast of the Dead Sea. In reality, the brook of Zered does not appear on the Madaba map and the sole documentary evidence available for its identification is the Bible, which situates Nahal Zered near Nah ̣ al Arnon. The author proposes Wa ̣ ̄di Nkheile, which spills into the Arnon from the southeast, as the most likely candidate for the biblical Zered. This identification perhaps also sheds light on the conflicting biblical sources regarding the question of whether or not the Moabites allowed the Israelites to pass through their territory en route to Canaan. In the postbiblical era Nahal Zered appears in the boundaries baraita (baraita de-teh ̣ umin) as part of the eastern border of ̣ the land of Israel and the article demonstrates that the identification of Nahal Zered as Wadi Nkheile is consistent with the geographical logic of the baraita
... OF THE DEAD SEA -49-4414) , 4f74"-- AMOS FRUMKIN AND YOEL ELITZUR 7 Genesis ... How can ... more ... OF THE DEAD SEA -49-4414) , 4f74"-- AMOS FRUMKIN AND YOEL ELITZUR 7 Genesis ... How can a place be both a sea and a valley? Authors Amos Frumkin and Yoe! E/itzur, in the accompanying article, explain that the answer lies in the ever-changing level of the Dead Sea. ...
This book is an improved translation of a Hebrew book that was published in 2014 and is based on ... more This book is an improved translation of a Hebrew book that was published in 2014 and is based on conversations given on a weekly radio program and later expanded into articles. In this book there are 62 chapters, devoted to Torah parashot and holidays. Each chapter discusses a topic in biblical and historical geography, or topics close to this field. I have tried to deal with issues that have a point of novelty of my own or others', without repeating things that one can read in an encyclopedia or on websites. The book is intended for researchers and scholars but also for an ordinary educated person. I refrained from burdening the reader with long footnotes and multiple references, and contented myself with a short list of main sources and studies at the end of each chapter. My basic approach, on which I was educated by my father and mentor the late Prof. Yehuda Elitzur, is an approach that believes in the sanctity of the Bible and its authenticity on the one hand, and uses all the the tools provided by linguistics, history, geography and archeology on the other. From the innovations in the book: Unknown correspondence between Judith Krause-Marquet the excavator of the mound near Deir Dibwan ('Ai') with Prof. Samuel Klein after no suitable remains were found at the site, The word MUL which probably means the opposite of what is accepted today and resulting geographical interpretations in the Bible, NAHAL EITAN which is a rocky canyon and not a perennial stream, the location of AZAZEL based on both Rabbinic and Christian sources, the background to the name of 'Tel Aviv' in Babylon in the days of Ezekiel - and in the Land of Israel in the early twentieth century CE.
This volume, published by the Academy of the Hebrew Language and Yad Ben-Zvi in 2012, is the seco... more This volume, published by the Academy of the Hebrew Language and Yad Ben-Zvi in 2012, is the second improved edition of the Hebrew version of 'Ancient Place Names in the Holy Land: Preservation and History' (2004, Eisenbrauns & Magnes). As a rule the Hebrew version is more developed and updated than the English volume, and the second Hebrew edition includes hundreds of corrections and additions to the first one.
This book contains 62 chapters, each for one Parashah, Haftarah or Holiday, cocentrating as a rul... more This book contains 62 chapters, each for one Parashah, Haftarah or Holiday, cocentrating as a rule in the geographical aspect. I made an effort to avoid repeating issues well-known to learned people and tried to deal with topics in which I can present an innovative view (of me or of others). In order to make the book appropriate for a broad diversity of population, it was not composed in the so-called 'scientific writing' and it does not contain footnotes. However, every chapter ends with a bibliographical list. An English version of this book is now in a process of publication.
A stroll on the West Bank leads to a remarkable find: a Biblical-era stone altar for animal sacri... more A stroll on the West Bank leads to a remarkable find: a Biblical-era stone altar for animal sacrifice.
As a topographical term, the Hebrew word katef, literally: 'shoulder,' denotes a topograp... more As a topographical term, the Hebrew word katef, literally: 'shoulder,' denotes a topographical feature similar in form to a human shoulder: an elevated flat area with a slope alongside it. As used in the Bible, this term is unique in its usage and distribution. Katef is used exclusively in descriptions of boundaries and is invariably associated with a direction perpendicular to that of the boundary. Hence this direction describes the place where the 'shoulder' breaks off. Accordingly, the phrase (Numbers 34:11) denotes the eastern break of the Golan Heights, that is, the descent to present-day Nahr er-Ruqqad. The term occurs nine times in the Bible, all occurrences except one in Joshua 15 and 18, and describes the boundaries of Benjamin and northern Judah. As there is no topographical justification to distinguish between Benjamin and other tribes, or to such a uniform treatment of all parts of Benjaminite territory, it follows that the term was unique to the Benjamin...
The Believer and the Modern Study of the Bible, 2019
Four facets of names of God reveal clear internal development within the classical biblical perio... more Four facets of names of God reveal clear internal development within the classical biblical period: (1) El Shaddai was used in oral speech only until the Exodus from Egypt. In later periods, the name Shaddai existed as an archaic term used, infrequently, by prophets and poets. (2) The expression YHWH Tzva'ot (the Lord of Hosts) originated only in the time of the book of Samuel, and was in use from then until the compostion of the books of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. (3) The first two cases of the theophoric element YHW/YH/YW in personal names occurred just before and during the life of Moses. From that point, it increased gradually in frequency until the period of the late monarchy, by which time it was included in more than half of all personal names. (4) The name indicating lordship, Adonai, was initially a term of supplicatory address and became a name of God in the eighth century BCE.
... OF THE DEAD SEA -49-4414) , 4f74"-- AMOS FRUMKIN AND YOEL ELITZUR 7 Genesis ... How can ... more ... OF THE DEAD SEA -49-4414) , 4f74"-- AMOS FRUMKIN AND YOEL ELITZUR 7 Genesis ... How can a place be both a sea and a valley? Authors Amos Frumkin and Yoe! E/itzur, in the accompanying article, explain that the answer lies in the ever-changing level of the Dead Sea. ...
Prof. Y.M Grintz’s hypothesis that the magnificent ossuary found together with the Aramaic inscri... more Prof. Y.M Grintz’s hypothesis that the magnificent ossuary found together with the Aramaic inscription of Abba son of Eleazar the priest “the oppressed, the pursued, who was born in Jerusalem and went to exile into Babylonia, and carried up (for interment) Mattathi[ah] son of Jud[ah] and I buried him in the cave which I purchased by the writ,” belonged to Mattathias Antigonus, the last Hasmonean king, received compelling scientific corroboration in a television program broadcast in December 1974. On the program, the anthropologist Prof. Nicu Hass, who analyzed the bones, presented a sketch of a decapitated skull that in his view had belonged to a tall 25-year-old man, who was tortured until he lost consciousness, after which he was beheaded, a description that is consistent with the manner in which Mattathias Antigonus was executed, as described by Josephus and Dio Cassius. However, these findings were not published scientifically and were forgotten. Nicu Hass suffered a head injury a month after the broadcast and never regained consciousness. The bones, left in cardboard boxes in his office, were reexamined by Prof. Patricia Smith who maintained that the decapitated skull had belonged to a short old woman. In light of her findings, a general consensus took root in the scientific community that rejected Grintz’s analysis. The current paper will (1) survey the history of the subject, including the comments made on the television program that are as yet unpublished, and argue that Hass’s diagnosis is preferable; (2) add unpublished information or information not properly published (a second ossuary found years later apparently containing the bones of Abba the priest, an examination of the caves and the order in which they were dug, the return of the bones of Mattathias son of Judah to their resting place; (3) advance a hypothesis that will try to identify Abba the priest and his family with a family mentioned in Josephus Flavius’s Antiquities of the Jews.
Prof. Y.M Grintz’s hypothesis that the magnificent ossuary found together with the Aramaic inscri... more Prof. Y.M Grintz’s hypothesis that the magnificent ossuary found together with the Aramaic inscription of Abba son of Eleazar the priest “the oppressed, the pursued, who was born in Jerusalem and went to exile into Babylonia, and carried up (for interment) Mattathi[ah] son of Jud[ah] and I buried him in the cave which I purchased by the writ,” belonged to Mattathias Antigonus, the last Hasmonean king, received compelling scientific corroboration in a television program broadcast in December 1974. On the program, the anthropologist Prof. Nicu Hass, who analyzed the bones, presented a sketch of a decapitated skull that in his view had belonged to a tall 25-year-old man, who was tortured until he lost consciousness, after which he was beheaded, a description that is consistent with the manner in which Mattathias Antigonus was executed, as described by Josephus and Dio Cassius. However, these findings were not published scientifically and were forgotten. Nicu Hass suffered a head injury a month after the broadcast and never regained consciousness. The bones, left in cardboard boxes in his office, were reexamined by Prof. Patricia Smith who maintained that the decapitated skull had belonged to a short old woman. In light of her findings, a general consensus took root in the scientific community that rejected Grintz’s analysis. The current paper will (1) survey the history of the subject, including the comments made on the television program that are as yet unpublished, and argue that Hass’s diagnosis is preferable; (2) add unpublished information or information not properly published (a second ossuary found years later apparently containing the bones of Abba the priest, an examination of the caves and the order in which they were dug, the return of the bones of Mattathias son of Judah to their resting place; (3) advance a hypothesis that will try to identify Abba the priest and his family with a family mentioned in Josephus Flavius’s Antiquities of the Jews.
As a result of a mistaken interpretation of the Madaba map, biblical Nahal Zered is often identif... more As a result of a mistaken interpretation of the Madaba map, biblical Nahal Zered is often identified in the scho- ̣ larship as Wadi Al-hsa which marks the boundary between Moab and Edom southeast of the Dead Sea. In reality, the brook of Zered does not appear on the Madaba map and the sole documentary evidence available for its identification is the Bible, which situates Nahal Zered near Nah ̣ al Arnon. The author proposes Wa ̣ ̄di Nkheile, which spills into the Arnon from the southeast, as the most likely candidate for the biblical Zered. This identification perhaps also sheds light on the conflicting biblical sources regarding the question of whether or not the Moabites allowed the Israelites to pass through their territory en route to Canaan. In the postbiblical era Nahal Zered appears in the boundaries baraita (baraita de-teh ̣ umin) as part of the eastern border of ̣ the land of Israel and the article demonstrates that the identification of Nahal Zered as Wadi Nkheile is consis...
As a result of a mistaken interpretation of the Madaba map, biblical Nahal Zered is often identif... more As a result of a mistaken interpretation of the Madaba map, biblical Nahal Zered is often identified in the scho- ̣ larship as Wadi Al-hsa which marks the boundary between Moab and Edom southeast of the Dead Sea. In reality, the brook of Zered does not appear on the Madaba map and the sole documentary evidence available for its identification is the Bible, which situates Nahal Zered near Nah ̣ al Arnon. The author proposes Wa ̣ ̄di Nkheile, which spills into the Arnon from the southeast, as the most likely candidate for the biblical Zered. This identification perhaps also sheds light on the conflicting biblical sources regarding the question of whether or not the Moabites allowed the Israelites to pass through their territory en route to Canaan. In the postbiblical era Nahal Zered appears in the boundaries baraita (baraita de-teh ̣ umin) as part of the eastern border of ̣ the land of Israel and the article demonstrates that the identification of Nahal Zered as Wadi Nkheile is consistent with the geographical logic of the baraita
... OF THE DEAD SEA -49-4414) , 4f74"-- AMOS FRUMKIN AND YOEL ELITZUR 7 Genesis ... How can ... more ... OF THE DEAD SEA -49-4414) , 4f74"-- AMOS FRUMKIN AND YOEL ELITZUR 7 Genesis ... How can a place be both a sea and a valley? Authors Amos Frumkin and Yoe! E/itzur, in the accompanying article, explain that the answer lies in the ever-changing level of the Dead Sea. ...
The Dead Sea, the Holocene terminal lake of the Jordan River catchment, has fluctuated during its... more The Dead Sea, the Holocene terminal lake of the Jordan River catchment, has fluctuated during its history in response to climatic change. Biblical records, calibrated by radiocarbon-dated geological and archaeological evidence, reinforce and add detail to the chronology of the lake-level fluctuations. There are three historically documented phases of the Dead Sea in the Biblical record: low lake levels ca. 2000–1500 B.C.E. (before common era); high lake levels ca. 1500–1200 B.C.E.; and low lake levels between ca. 1000 and 700 B.C.E. The Biblical evidence indicates that during the dry periods the southern basin of the Dead Sea was completely dry, a fact that was not clear from the geological and archaeological data alone.
נסקרו מאמרים, שנושאיהם העיקריים הם:
יוסף עופר – פירוש של רש"י שהתבסס על נוסח שגוי במקרא
מרדכי סבת... more נסקרו מאמרים, שנושאיהם העיקריים הם: יוסף עופר – פירוש של רש"י שהתבסס על נוסח שגוי במקרא מרדכי סבתו – שינויים שעשה הרמב"ן בסדר הפסוקים חננאל מאק – אברבנאל על אחאב ואיזבל כבבואה של פרננד ואיזבל יואל בן נון – הבנות חדשות בעשרת הדברות יהושע רייס – משה ויהושע ושבטי עבר הירדן דניאל שוורץ – ניתוח מקורי של פרשת פילגש בגבעה נח חכם – מוטיב שפיכות הדמים בסיפורי דוד יונתן' גרוסמן - מבנה כיאסטי בנבואות עמוס עמוס פריש – אליטרציה ומבנים לשוניים במזמורי תהלים שולמית אליצור - 'עלילה' בלשון המקרא וגלגולה בלשון המדרש חנן אשל – 70 שנות גלות בבל ו-490 השנה בדניאל במגילות קומראן עוזי פוקס – 'כבושים' במאמר תלמודי והגהות אידיאולוגיות של הגאונים בתלמוד
Teshurah le-‘Amos: Collected Studies in Biblical Exegesis Presented to Amos Hakham, ed. M. Bar-As... more Teshurah le-‘Amos: Collected Studies in Biblical Exegesis Presented to Amos Hakham, ed. M. Bar-Asher, N. Hacham, and Y. Ofer, Alon Shevut: Tevunot, 2007, 581 pp.
The twenty-seven variegated articles by leading scholars in this collection range from original biblical exegesis, to a profound analysis of the doctrines of the classical exegetes and other medieval sages, to literary and linguistic studies of the Bible. This volume contains three parts: “The Gates of Interpretation,” “The Gates of Bible,” and “The Gates of Wisdom.” The article surveys eleven of the papers in this collection, of which comments on several are summarized here. First I note the view of Rashi as a “pedagogic homilist” presented by Avraham Grossman and Elie Assis in their contributions. I suggest the possibility that various trends they attribute to Rashi actually derive from talmudic and midrashic doctrines. Bryna Levy’s discovery regarding Radak’s commentary on Kings is of great interest. She proposes that, regarding the son of the woman of Zarephath whom Elijah revived, Radak first wrote that the son was not quite dead, later himself correcting his commentary and writing that he was absolutely dead. She attributes the initial exegesis to an anti-Christian tack, which shifted during the controversy over Maimonides’ Guide, in which Radak was a participant. Whether Radak himself had a firm opinion on this matter, which he concealed for pedagogical or apologetic reasons, remains an open question. Sara Japhet examines the expulsion of the foreign women in Ezra’s day from the halakhic perspective. The halakhic aspect could have been more fully realized in my opinion; in addition, the importance of the national-religious aspect was overlooked: the fears of Ezra and the elders that the returnees would be absorbed by the local society. However, her article contains an intriguing sociolinguistic discovery: namely, that for marriage and divorce of the foreign women, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah use specific terminology that is not found in earlier or later sources, aimed at delegitimizing marriage with foreign women. Moshe Bar-Asher’s contribution treats the word ידיד. Bar-Asher cites evidence that, originally, its meaning was like the passive participle אהוב and that morphologically, the correct vocalization is יָדִיד in the qatil pattern. I suggest that perhaps the difference between qatil and qetil is simply phonological, with both representing the original qatil. In his thought-provoking article, Haim Sabato compiles instances in which post-talmudic sages retained the customs of the mishnaic and talmudic sages and derived halakhot from Scripture itself through midrashic exegesis. This fascinating article, however, overlooks some historical aspects and uses second-hand citations, which led to some errors. The most captivating section is found at the end of the book. It tells the story of Amos Hakham who achieved prominence in a single day, on winning the first International Bible Contest in August 1958, and how he came to be a leading biblical scholar and exegete.
Amer Dahamshe, A Local Habitation and a Name: A Literary and Cultural Reading of the Arabic Geogr... more Amer Dahamshe, A Local Habitation and a Name: A Literary and Cultural Reading of the Arabic Geographical Names of the Land, Beer-Sheva 2017
The book, based on the author's doctoral dissertation, presents the names of many Arab villages and sites in the Galilee, including marginal and small sites, and focuses on explanations in the field of etiology and popular etymology for these names, carefully recorded by local residents. The author is an Arab born in the Galilee whose mother tongue is Arabic who also specialized in methods of study and academic research and thus has an advantage over Jewish and Christian scholars. However, there are errors or inaccuracies in the book. The main problem in the book is the political trend that is evident throughout the book, which sees the whole country as 'Falstin' and Israel as occupying and dispossessing. In the end, this is more a political manifesto rather than a scientific study.
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My basic approach, on which I was educated by my father and mentor the late Prof. Yehuda Elitzur, is an approach that believes in the sanctity of the Bible and its authenticity on the one hand, and uses all the the tools provided by linguistics, history, geography and archeology on the other.
From the innovations in the book: Unknown correspondence between Judith Krause-Marquet the excavator of the mound near Deir Dibwan ('Ai') with Prof. Samuel Klein after no suitable remains were found at the site, The word MUL which probably means the opposite of what is accepted today and resulting geographical interpretations in the Bible, NAHAL EITAN which is a rocky canyon and not a perennial stream, the location of AZAZEL based on both Rabbinic and Christian sources, the background to the name of 'Tel Aviv' in Babylon in the days of Ezekiel - and in the Land of Israel in the early twentieth century CE.
An English version of this book is now in a process of publication.
My basic approach, on which I was educated by my father and mentor the late Prof. Yehuda Elitzur, is an approach that believes in the sanctity of the Bible and its authenticity on the one hand, and uses all the the tools provided by linguistics, history, geography and archeology on the other.
From the innovations in the book: Unknown correspondence between Judith Krause-Marquet the excavator of the mound near Deir Dibwan ('Ai') with Prof. Samuel Klein after no suitable remains were found at the site, The word MUL which probably means the opposite of what is accepted today and resulting geographical interpretations in the Bible, NAHAL EITAN which is a rocky canyon and not a perennial stream, the location of AZAZEL based on both Rabbinic and Christian sources, the background to the name of 'Tel Aviv' in Babylon in the days of Ezekiel - and in the Land of Israel in the early twentieth century CE.
An English version of this book is now in a process of publication.
יוסף עופר – פירוש של רש"י שהתבסס על נוסח שגוי במקרא
מרדכי סבתו – שינויים שעשה הרמב"ן בסדר הפסוקים
חננאל מאק – אברבנאל על אחאב ואיזבל כבבואה של פרננד ואיזבל
יואל בן נון – הבנות חדשות בעשרת הדברות
יהושע רייס – משה ויהושע ושבטי עבר הירדן
דניאל שוורץ – ניתוח מקורי של פרשת פילגש בגבעה
נח חכם – מוטיב שפיכות הדמים בסיפורי דוד
יונתן' גרוסמן - מבנה כיאסטי בנבואות עמוס
עמוס פריש – אליטרציה ומבנים לשוניים במזמורי תהלים
שולמית אליצור - 'עלילה' בלשון המקרא וגלגולה בלשון המדרש
חנן אשל – 70 שנות גלות בבל ו-490 השנה בדניאל במגילות קומראן
עוזי פוקס – 'כבושים' במאמר תלמודי והגהות אידיאולוגיות של הגאונים בתלמוד
The twenty-seven variegated articles by leading scholars in this collection range from original biblical exegesis, to a profound analysis of the doctrines of the classical exegetes and other medieval sages, to literary and linguistic studies of the Bible. This volume contains three parts: “The Gates of Interpretation,” “The Gates of Bible,” and “The Gates of Wisdom.”
The article surveys eleven of the papers in this collection, of which comments on several are summarized here. First I note the view of Rashi as a “pedagogic homilist” presented by Avraham Grossman and Elie Assis in their contributions. I suggest the possibility that various trends they attribute to Rashi actually derive from talmudic and midrashic doctrines.
Bryna Levy’s discovery regarding Radak’s commentary on Kings is of great interest. She proposes that, regarding the son of the woman of Zarephath whom Elijah revived, Radak first wrote that the son was not quite dead, later himself correcting his commentary and writing that he was absolutely dead. She attributes the initial exegesis to an anti-Christian tack, which shifted during the controversy over Maimonides’ Guide, in which Radak was a participant. Whether Radak himself had a firm opinion on this matter, which he concealed for pedagogical or apologetic reasons, remains an open question.
Sara Japhet examines the expulsion of the foreign women in Ezra’s day from the halakhic perspective. The halakhic aspect could have been more fully realized in my opinion; in addition, the importance of the national-religious aspect was overlooked: the fears of Ezra and the elders that the returnees would be absorbed by the local society. However, her article contains an intriguing sociolinguistic discovery: namely, that for marriage and divorce of the foreign women, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah use specific terminology that is not found in earlier or later sources, aimed at delegitimizing marriage with foreign women.
Moshe Bar-Asher’s contribution treats the word ידיד. Bar-Asher cites evidence that, originally, its meaning was like the passive participle אהוב and that morphologically, the correct vocalization is יָדִיד in the qatil pattern. I suggest that perhaps the difference between qatil and qetil is simply phonological, with both representing the original qatil.
In his thought-provoking article, Haim Sabato compiles instances in which post-talmudic sages retained the customs of the mishnaic and talmudic sages and derived halakhot from Scripture itself through midrashic exegesis. This fascinating article, however, overlooks some historical aspects and uses second-hand citations, which led to some errors.
The most captivating section is found at the end of the book. It tells the story of Amos Hakham who achieved prominence in a single day, on winning the first International Bible Contest in August 1958, and how he came to be a leading biblical scholar and exegete.
The book, based on the author's doctoral dissertation, presents the names of many Arab villages and sites in the Galilee, including marginal and small sites, and focuses on explanations in the field of etiology and popular etymology for these names, carefully recorded by local residents. The author is an Arab born in the Galilee whose mother tongue is Arabic who also specialized in methods of study and academic research and thus has an advantage over Jewish and Christian scholars. However, there are errors or inaccuracies in the book. The main problem in the book is the political trend that is evident throughout the book, which sees the whole country as 'Falstin' and Israel as occupying and dispossessing. In the end, this is more a political manifesto rather than a scientific study.