Many people who read the Hebrew Bible recognize that it does not try to conceal the faults of even the most significant people, such as the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and its most famous kings such as King David and King Solomon. Yet, since the general public needs heroes without blemishes, there are [...]
Do we want a king?[1] Deuteronomy 17:14-20 contains laws concerning kings, specifically what a king should not do. The royal power brings to mind the ridiculous belief once held by many people, and still held some today, people who don’t know they are retaining this ancient idea. It is the [...]
By Israel Drazin There are many phrasings in this portion (16:18-21:9) that allows us to examine the biblical writing style: obscure and ambiguous texts, apparently unnecessary word, God’s view of non-Israelites, and which people should guide us. Obscurities and ambiguities I mentioned previously that all good literature contains obscurities and ambiguities [...]
Bringing the Prophets to Life By Neil N. Winkler Gefen Publishing House, 2011, 193 pages Many Jews consider the Bible to be the sacred text revealed by God to the Israelites trough Moses. Multiple commentaries were composed on the Torah. Some emphasized the Torah’s literal meaning, such as the commentaries of Rashbam, David Kinchi, [...]
The Life of David By Robert Pinsky Nextbook, 2005, 217 pages Was King David pious? Was he a holy man who was divinely inspired to compose the biblical book of Psalms, the charismatic ideal leader whose offspring would never cease to lead Israel because he was so good, whose descendant would be the [...]
