The Waters
In the semiarid Levant, rainfall and water storage were of paramount importance. But for a people who believed that the Earth could be destroyed by flood, it was also part of God’s promise to keep water away.
In the semiarid Levant, rainfall and water storage were of paramount importance. But for a people who believed that the Earth could be destroyed by flood, it was also part of God’s promise to keep water away.
What we can learn about ancient (and modern) Jewish life from hunter-gatherers and their social networks.
The Genesis of Judaism Read More »
Northwestern Saudi Arabia may have played a crucial role in shaping the stories of the Hebrew Bible. A reader of last month’s post was curious about the Land of Midian, which I mentioned twice: once in a story from the Book of Exodus about where Moses fled after killing an Egyptian slave-driver, and a second
Midian and the Midianites Read More »
Many people know about the Jewish practice of circumcision. But in ancient Egypt, pharaohs were circumcised as well. Medical expertise may have been shared by the Israelites and their taskmasters – but what about the belief in a single, unified god?
Medicine and Monotheism Read More »
The unforgiving desert of Saudi Arabia has had periods of lushness. Did the Israelites flee Pharaoh just as the wilderness was greening? Do we still remember the Exodus because of an extraordinary series of lucky breaks? And how will we remember the extraordinary events we are living through today?
Being a teen is rough these days. But it was undoubtedly rougher for Israelites about to become a slave to Pharaoh in Egypt.
The Brink of Slavery Read More »
Aboriginal oral histories in Australia may be accurate to 13,000 years ago, say researchers. So does that mean the most boring parts of the Hebrew Bible, the endless genealogical lists or “begats,” are the most historically accurate?
Generations, centuries, millennia Read More »