Hebrew Bible

Hebrew Bible

A stone relief created in 1958 by sculptor Ferdinand Heseding. The relief, which appears on a fountain in Dusseldorf, Germany, depicts the Biblical spies Joshua and Caleb carrying a cluster of grapes back from the Promised Land (Numbers 13:1-33)

Mar 19

No, No, Bad Dog: Dogs in the Bible

By: Ellen White

Dogs—or celeb in Hebrew—were not well loved in the Bible. Given the negative associations with dogs, it is surprising that one of the great Hebrew spies bears this name.

Screenshot of rock giants in Noah the movie

Mar 2

Rock Giants in Noah

By: Megan Sauter

Can the Book of Enoch shed light on Noah the movie? Ronald S. Hendel examines the flood story.

bible-animals-hyena

Feb 29

Bible Animals: From Hyenas to Hippos

By: Rabbi Dr. Natan Slifkin

Lions and crocodiles and monkeys, oh my! There are about a hundred different types of animal species mentioned in the Bible.

aleppo-codex

Feb 27

The Aleppo Codex

By: Jennifer Drummond

The world’s oldest Hebrew Bible, the Aleppo Codex, is missing pages—and not just a couple leaves, but four of the Five Books of Moses! What happened to them?

This illustration shows Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, where God gave them the command to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). Photo: From Charles Foster, The Story of the Bible (1897).

Feb 24

Who Was the Wife of Cain?

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Who did Cain marry? Where did she come from? Mary Joan Winn Leith suggests that while the Israelite storyteller knew that other men and women in Genesis existed outside of Eden, they did not matter to him or factor into his account. He was concerned with Adam and Eve and their progeny—not those outside of this group.

Ark Tablet

Feb 15

The Animals Went in Two by Two, According to Babylonian Ark Tablet

By: Noah Wiener

A recently translated Old Babylonian flood tablet describes how to build a circular ark.

Joshua hangs back as Moses leads him by the hand in this 15th-century stained-glass panel from the Church of St. Lawrence in Nuremberg, Germany. Image: Sonia Halliday.

Feb 13

Joshua in the Bible

By: Elie Wiesel

Joshua inherits authority from Moses but not his charisma. God performed miracles for Joshua, even causing the sun to stand still, but Joshua’s speech lacks the prophet's magic. Joshua’s story is melancholy: violent victory tinged by deep sadness. As award-winning author and activist Elie Wiesel examines.

A modern street mosaic from Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter depicting the 12 tribes of Israel

Feb 7

Looking for the 12 Tribes of Israel

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Who were the 12 tribes of Israel? While the obvious answer is that they were the descendants of the 12 sons of Jacob, things are […]

Mordechai Beck's Moses

Feb 6

Who Was Moses? Was He More than an Exodus Hero?

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Who was Moses? Was he more than an Exodus hero? Discover the Biblical Moses with Peter Machinist in his article “The Man Moses.”

david-and-goliath-johnson

Jan 30

Who Are the Nephilim?

By: Ellen White

Who are the Nephilim? From where do the “heroes of old, the men of renown” come?