1.
Cheshvan
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Marcheshvan, sometimes shortened to Cheshvan, is the second month of the civil year and the eighth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. In a regular year Marcheshvan has 29 days, but because of the Rosh Hashanah postponement rules, Marcheshvan is an autumn month which occurs in October–November in the Gregorian calendar. Given the Akkadian etymology, it likely the מ and the ו were switched at some point in time, since w-r-ḥ is the Semitic root for moon. Also, מ and ו are labials, since then, the first two letters מַר have been reinterpreted as the Hebrew word for bitter, alluding to the fact that the month has no holidays or fasts. The Ethiopian Jewish community celebrates Sigd on the 29th day of Marcheshvan, the Hebrew Bible, before the Babylonian Exile, refers to the month as Bul. Bahab, or in Hebrew בהב stands for 2,5,2, on the Monday, Thursday and second Monday after the Sabbath, the minhag is to fast and/or recite penitential prayers called Selichot. Bahab is also observed at the beginning of Iyar,11 Marcheshvan - Methuselah dies at age 96911 Marcheshvan - Death of Rachel while giving birth to Benjamin 12 Cheshvan - Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, now a national memorial day
2.
Jacob
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Jacob, later given the name Israel, is regarded as a Patriarch of the Israelites. According to the Book of Genesis, Jacob was the third Hebrew progenitor with whom God made a covenant and he is the son of Isaac and Rebecca, the grandson of Abraham, Sarah and Bethuel, the nephew of Ishmael, and the younger twin brother of Esau. Jacob had twelve sons and at least one daughter, by his two wives, Leah and Rachel, and by their handmaidens Bilhah and Zilpah. Jacobs twelve sons, named in Genesis, were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and his only daughter mentioned in Genesis is Dinah. The twelve sons became the progenitors of the Tribes of Israel, as a result of a severe drought in Canaan, Jacob and his sons moved to Egypt at the time when his son Joseph was viceroy. Jacob is mentioned in a number of sacred scriptures, including the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament, the Quran, hadith, Baháí scripture, and the Book of Mormon. According to the folk etymology found in Genesis 25,26, according to Jan Fokkelman, the name is a shortened version of Yaaqob-el, meaning God may protect. The Hebrew Bible says at Genesis 32, 28-29 and 35,10, etymologically, it has been suggested that the name Israel comes from the Hebrew words לִשְׂרות and אֵל. Popular English translations typically reference the face off with God, ranging from wrestles with God to God contends, some commentators say the name comes from the verb śārar, thereby making the name mean God rules or God judges, or the prince of God or El fights/struggles. The biblical account of the life of Jacob is found in the Book of Genesis, Jacob and his twin brother, Esau, were born to Isaac and Rebecca after 20 years of marriage, when Isaac was 60 years of age. Rebekah was uncomfortable during her pregnancy and went to inquire of God why she was suffering and she received the prophecy that twins were fighting in her womb and would continue to fight all their lives, even after they became two separate nations. According to Genesis 25,25, Isaac and Rebecca named the first son Hebrew, עשו, the second son they named יעקב, Jacob. The boys displayed very different natures as they matured. and Esau was a hunter, a man of the field. Moreover, the attitudes of their parents toward them also differed, And Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of his venison, Genesis 25, 29-34 tells the account of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob. This passage tells that Esau, returning famished from the fields, Jacob offered to give Esau a bowl of stew in exchange for his birthright, to which Esau agreed. As Isaac aged, he became blind and was uncertain when he would die and he requested that Esau go out to the fields with his weapons to kill some venison. Isaac then requested that Esau make savory meat for him out of the venison, according to the way he enjoyed it the most, so that he could eat it and bless Esau. It is suggested that she realized prophetically that Isaacs blessings would go to Jacob, Rebecca blessed Jacob and she quickly ordered Jacob to bring her two kid goats from their flock so that he could take Esaus place in serving Isaac and receiving his blessing
3.
Rachel
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Rachel was the favorite of Biblical patriarch Jacobs two wives as well as the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel was the daughter of Laban and the sister of Leah. Rachel was a niece of Rebekah, Laban being Rebekahs brother, Rachel is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in Genesis 29 when Jacob happens upon her as she is about to water her fathers flock. She was the daughter of Laban, Rebekah’s brother. Jacob had traveled a distance to find Laban. Rebekah had sent him there to be safe from his furious twin brother, during Jacobs stay, he fell in love with Rachel and agreed to work seven years for Laban in return for her hand in marriage. On the night of the wedding, the bride was veiled and Jacob did not notice that Leah, whereas Rachel was lovely in form and beautiful, Leah had tender eyes. Later Jacob confronted Laban, who excused his own deception by insisting that the older sister should marry first and he assured Jacob that after his wedding week was finished, he could take Rachel as a wife as well, and work another seven years as payment for her. When God “saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb”, Rachel, like Sarah and Rebecca, remained unable to conceive. Rachel became jealous of Leah and gave Jacob her maidservant, Bilhah, Bilhah gave birth to two sons that Rachel named and raised. Leah responds by offering her handmaid Zilpah to Jacob, and names and raises the two sons that Zilpah bears, according to some commentaries, Bilhah and Zilpah are actually half-sisters of Leah and Rachel. After Leah conceived again, Rachel was finally blessed with a son, Joseph, Rachels son, Joseph, was destined to be the leader of Israels tribes between exile and nationhood. After Josephs birth, Jacob decided to return to the land of Canaan with his family, fearing that Laban would deter him, he fled with his two wives, Leah and Rachel, and twelve children without informing his father-in-law. Laban pursued him and accused him of stealing his idols, indeed, Rachel had taken her fathers idols, hidden them inside her camels seat cushion, and sat upon them. Laban had neglected to give his daughters their inheritance, Rachel becomes a trickster like her father, her aunt, and her husband. Not knowing that the idols were in his wifes possession, Jacob pronounced a curse on whoever had them, With whoever you will find your gods, Laban left her alone, but the curse Jacob had pronounced came true shortly thereafter. Near Ephrath, Rachel went into a difficult labor with her second son, the midwife told her in the middle of the birth that her child was a boy. Before she died, Rachel named her son Ben Oni, Rachel was buried by Jacob on the road to Efrat, just outside Bethlehem, and not in the ancestral tomb at Machpelah
4.
Reuben (son of Jacob)
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According to the Book of Genesis, Reuben or Reuven was the eldest son of Jacob with Leah. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Reuben, in the Torah, Reuben is briefly described as having had sexual activity with Bilhah, his step-mothers maid and fathers concubine. On his deathbed, Jacob declares that Reuben will no longer excel, for you went up onto your fathers bed, onto my couch and defiled it. The classical sources go on to state that in honour of this voluntary penance and confession, God gave the tribe of Reuben Hosea as a member, and Reuben was given a reward in the future world. The rabbinical sources argue that the first cities of refuge were located in the territory of the tribe of Reuben, classical rabbinical sources argue that Reuben was born on 14 Kislev, and died at the age of 125. The midrashic Book of Jasher argues that when he died, Reubens body was placed in a coffin, and was taken back to Israel. According to Genesis 46,9, Reuben had four sons, Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, the name of his wife/wives are not given. According to Joshua 15,6, a stone of Bohan, according to the Book of Jasher, Chapter 45, Reubens wife was Eliuram the daughter of Avi the Canaanite
5.
Simeon (son of Jacob)
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According to the Book of Genesis, Simeon was, the second son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Simeon. However, some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an etiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation, in the Torahs account of the rape of Dinah, wherein Dinah was raped by a Canaanite named Shechem. Simeon and his brother Levi took violent revenge against the inhabitants of the city by tricking them into circumcising themselves, the account dramatizes the theme of tension between marriage within a group and marriage with outsiders. Jacob castigates Simeon for this as their actions have placed the family in danger of a strike by their neighbors. Later, in his blessing, he condemns Simeons descendants to become divided and scattered. The Jahwists account is viewed as a slight against the sanctuary. The midrashic book of Jasher, argues that it was Simeon who deceived Hamor by insisting that the men of Shechem would need to be circumcised. According to the sources, Simeon suffered divine punishment for this inhumanity, with his right hand withered, but this caused Simeon to repent. In the biblical Joseph narrative, when Joseph, having settled in Egypt, asks his brothers to bring Benjamin to him, he takes Simeon hostage to ensure that they return. Another theory was that Joseph singled out Simeon due to his taking a prominent role in Josephs betrayal, the text states that Simeon was eventually subdued by Manasseh, and imprisoned. The Testament of Simeon, on the hand, declares that Simeon acknowledged that it was just for him to be imprisoned, given his earlier mistreatment of Joseph. According to the Book of Jubilees, Simeon was born on 21 Tevet, jemuel Jamin Ohad Jachin Zohar Shaul Tribe of Simeon Simeon in rabbinic literature
6.
Levi
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Levi was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi. Certain religious and political functions were reserved for the Levites and these scholars suspect that it may simply mean priest, either as a loan word from the Minaean lawiu, meaning priest, or by referring to those people who were joined to the ark of the covenant. In the Book of Jubilees 28, 14-15, it says that Levi was born in the new moon of the first month which means that he was born on 1 Nissan, in the narratives found in the Book of Genesis, Levi’s youth is marked by impetuosity. He and his brother, Simeon, exterminate the city of Shechem in revenge for the rape of Dinah, seizing the wealth of the city and killing the men. The brothers had earlier misled the inhabitants of Shechem by consenting to Dinahs rapist marrying her, in the Blessing of Jacob, Jacob is described as imposing a curse on the Levites, by which they would be scattered, in punishment for Levis actions in Shechem. Nevertheless, Isaac, Levis grandfather, give a special blessing about the lineage of priest of God, in the Book of Genesis, Levi is described as having fathered three sons—Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The Masoretic Texts version of Levis genealogy thus implies that Levi also had a daughter, the names of Levis sons, and possible daughter, are interpreted in classical rabbinical literature as being reflections on their future destiny. In some apocryphal texts such as the Testament of Levi, and the Book of Jubilees, Levis wife, his childrens mother, is named as Milkah, a daughter of Aram. Some scholars attribute the genealogy to a hypothetical Book of Generations, some Biblical scholars suspect that the Elohist account offers both matrilinial and patrilinial descent from Levites in order to magnify the religious credentials of Moses. In accordance with his role as founder of the Levites, Levi is referred to as being particularly pious, in the Testament of Levi, Levi is described as having had two visions. The first vision covered eschatological issues, portraying the seven heavens, the Jewish Messiah, and Judgement Day. According to some scholars this is to be expected, since the Testament of Levi is believed to have been written during Maccabean rule. Levite Miscegenation Testament of Levi Tribe of Levi “The Tribe, The Cohen-Levi Family Heritage”
7.
Judah (son of Jacob)
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Judah was, according to the Book of Genesis, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Judah. By extension, he is indirectly eponymous of the Kingdom of Judah, the land of Judea, according to the narrative in Genesis, Judah with Tamar is the patrilinear ancestor of the Davidic line. The Hebrew name for Judah, Yehudah, literally thanksgiving or praise, is the form of the root Y-D-H. His birth is recorded at Gen.29,35, upon his birth, Leah exclaims, This time I will praise the LORD, with the Hebrew word for I will praise, odeh sharing the same root as Yehudah. Judah is the son of the patriarch Jacob and his first wife, Leah, his full brothers are Reuben, Simeon and Levi. It is Judah who spots a caravan of Ishmaelites coming towards them, on its way to Egypt, Judah marries the daughter of Shua, a Canaanite. Genesis chapter 38 Judah and his wife have three children, Er, Onan, and Shelah, Er marries Tamar, but God kills him because he was wicked in the sight of the Lord. Tamar becomes Onans wife in accordance with custom, but he too is killed after he refuses to father children for his older brothers childless widow, and spills his seed instead. Although Tamar should have married Shelah, the brother, Judah did not consent. When Judah discovers that Tamar is pregnant he prepares to have her killed, meanwhile, Joseph rises to a position of power in Egypt. Twenty years after being betrayed, he meets his brothers again without them recognizing him, the youngest brother, Benjamin, had remained in Canaan with Jacob, so Joseph takes Simeon hostage and insists that the brothers return with Benjamin. Judah offers himself to Jacob as surety for Benjamins safety, when the brothers return, Joseph tests them by demanding the enslavement of Benjamin. Judah pleads for Benjamins life, and Joseph reveals his true identity, literary critics have focused on the relationship between the Judah story in chapter 38, and the Joseph story in chapters 37 and 39. Victor Hamilton notes some “intentional literary parallels” between the chapters, such as the exhortation to “identify”. J. A. Similarly, J. P. Fokkelman notes that the attention for Judah in chapter 38. The eternal legacy of these events are foreshadowed in the blessing of Jacob. When Judah suddenly faced the world on its own, it needed a defining and motivating text. Emerton notes that it is “widely agreed” that the story of Judah and Tamar “reflects a period after the settlement of the Israelites in Canaan. ”He also suggests the possibility that it contains “aetiological motifs concerned with the ancestors of the clans of Judah. ”However
8.
Issachar
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Issachar/Yissachar was, according to the Book of Exodus, a son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Issachar. However, some Biblical scholars view this as an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation. The first derives it from ish sakar, meaning man of hire, the second derives it from yesh sakar, meaning there is a reward, in reference to Leahs opinion that the birth of Issachar was a divine reward for giving her handmaid Zilpah to Jacob as a concubine. The second consonant of Yissachar was originally the shin of ish, the third consonant is the sin of sakar or sakir. The shin has merged into the sin, creating the pronunciation Yissachar, some customs pronounce both the second and third consonants as sin and read the name as Yissas’char, either on all or some occasions. In classical rabbinical literature, it is stated that Issachar was born on the fourth of Av, a minor Jewish character in Voltaires Candide goes by the name Don Issachar. A song by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones album Dont Know How to Party is called Issachar, Tribe of Issachar Sea Peoples Book of Chronicles Judaism 101, A Glossary of Basic Jewish Terms and Concepts, Yissachar Issachar at Chabad. org
9.
Zebulun
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Zebulun was, according to the Books of Genesis and Numbers, the sixth and last son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Zebulun. Some biblical scholars believe this to be an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation. With Leah as a matriarch, biblical scholars believe the tribe to have been regarded by the authors as a part of the original Israelite confederation. The name is derived from the Northwest Semitic root zbl, common in 2nd millennium BC Ugaritic texts as an epithet of the god Baal, as well as in Phoenician and in Biblical Hebrew in personal names. The Torah states that Zebulun had three sons – Sered, Elon, and Jahleel – each the eponymous founder of a clan, beyond this, there is little other reference to Zebulun. The Tomb of Zebulun is located in Sidon, Lebanon, in the past, towards the end of Iyyar, Jews from the most distant parts of Palestine would make a pilgrimage to this tomb. Some believe the village of Sabalan in the District of Safad was named after Zebulun
10.
Dan (son of Jacob)
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According to the Book of Genesis, Dan was the fifth son of Jacob with Bilhah. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Dan, in the biblical account, Dans mother is described as Rachels handmaid, who becomes one of Jacobs wives. According to the Book of Jubilees, Dan was born on 9 of 1915 and he is also Reys stepson, Elul. He was the father of Hushim, according to Gen 46,23, samson was a descendant of Dan. The text of the Torah explains that the name of Dan derives from dananni, meaning he has judged me, john the apostle omits the tribe of Dan when mentioning the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel, in regard to the 144,000 sealed Israelites. Perhaps this is a testimony of the unworthiness of Dan, instead of Dan, the tribe of Joseph appears twice
11.
Naphtali
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According to the Book of Genesis, Naphtali was the sixth son of Jacob and second son with Bilhah. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Naphtali, however, some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation. The biblical account shows Bilhahs status as a change to an actual wife of Jacob. According to the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Naphtali was a runner, though this appears to have been inferred from the Blessing of Jacob. Naphtali is listed in Deuteronomy 34.2 when God takes Moses up to the mountain of Nebo and shows him the extent of the land which he had promised to Abraham, Isaac, see article on Tribe of Simeon for a map of the twelve tribes of Israel. According to Genesis 46,24, Naphtali had four sons, Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, the name of his wife/wives are not given. He and his family migrated to Egypt, with the rest of the clan, according to the apocryphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, he died at 137 and was buried in Egypt. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Easton
12.
Gad (son of Jacob)
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Gad was, according to the Book of Genesis, the first son of Jacob and Zilpah, the seventh of Jacob overall, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Gad. However some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation, the text of the Book of Genesis implies that the name of Gad means luck/fortunate, in Hebrew. Classical rabbinical literature argues that the name was a reference to the manna. The Biblical account shows Zilpahs status as a change to an actual wife of Jacob. Gad by this theory is assumed to have originally been a nomadic tribe. According to classical literature, Gad was born on 10 Cheshvan. The Book of Jasher states that Gad married Uzith, Uzith was the daughter of Amuram, the granddaughter of Uz and the great-grandson of Nahor. Tribe of Gad Gad Testament of Gad
13.
Asher
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Asher, in the Book of Genesis, is the second son of Jacob and Zilpah, and the founder of the Tribe of Asher. Asher played a role in selling his brother Joseph into slavery, Asher and his four sons and daughter settled in Canaan. On his deathbed, Jacob blesses Asher by saying that his bread shall be fat, Asher was the eighth son of the patriarch Jacob and the traditional progenitor of the tribe Asher. However, some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation, Asher is represented as the younger brother of Gad, these two being the sons of Zilpah, the handmaid of Leah. The Biblical account shows Zilpahs status as a change to an actual wife of Jacob. Ashers daughter, Serah, is the granddaughter of Jacob mentioned in the Torah. Ashers sons were, Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, and Beriah and he was the very one whose endeavor it had always been to reconcile the brothers, especially when they disputed as to who among them was destined to be the ancestor of the priests. Asher,5, Asher is regarded as the example of a man who with singlemindedness strives only for the general good. Asher was born on 20 Shevat 2199, according to some accounts 2nd of Shevat is also the date of his death. His first wife was Adon, a great-granddaughter of Ishmael, his second, Hadurah, a granddaughter of Eber and a widow. By her first marriage Hadurah had a daughter Serah, whom Asher treated as affectionately as if she had been of his own flesh and blood, according to the Book of Jubilees, Ashers wife was named Iyon. Ashers descendants in more than one regard deserved their name, the tribe of Asher was the one most blessed with male children, and its women were so beautiful that priests and princes sought them in marriage. The Asherites were also renowned for wisdom
14.
Joseph (Genesis)
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Joseph is an important figure in the Bibles Book of Genesis and also in the Quran as well as the Book of Mormon. In Rabbinic tradition Joseph is considered the ancestor of another Messiah called Mashiach ben Yosef and he will wage war against the evil forces alongside Mashiach ben David and die in combat with the enemies of God and Israel. Joseph, son of Jacob and Rachel, lived in the land of Canaan with ten half-brothers, one full brother and he was Rachels firstborn and Jacobs eleventh son. Of all the sons, Joseph was preferred by his father, when Joseph was seventeen years old he had two dreams that made his brothers plot his demise. In the first dream, Joseph and his brothers gathered bundles of grain, in the second dream, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed to Joseph himself. These dreams, implying his supremacy, angered his brothers, unaware of this secondary intention, the others obeyed his first. Upon imprisoning Joseph, the brothers saw a caravan carrying spices and perfumes to Egypt. Thereafter the guilty brothers painted goats blood on Josephs coat and showed it to Jacob, ultimately, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaohs guard. Later, Joseph became Potiphars personal servant, and subsequently his households superintendent, here, Potiphars wife Zuleika tried to seduce Joseph, which he refused. Angered by his running away from her, she made an accusation of rape. Joseph requested the cup-bearer to mention him to Pharaoh and secure his release from prison, after two more years, the Pharaoh dreamt of seven lean cows which devoured seven fat cows, and of seven withered ears of grain which devoured seven fat ears. When the Pharaohs advisers failed to interpret dreams, the cup-bearer remembered Joseph. He interpreted the dream as seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine, following the prediction, Joseph became Vizier, under the name of Zaphnath-Paaneah, and was given Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, priest of On, to be his wife. During the seven years of abundance, Joseph ensured that the storehouses were full, in the sixth year, Asenath bore two children to Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim. When the famine came, it was so severe that people from surrounding nations came to Egypt to buy bread, the narrative also indicates that they went straight to Joseph or were directed to him, even by the Pharaoh himself. This mandate lasted until the days of Moses, in the second year of famine, Josephs half brothers were sent to Egypt to buy goods. After questioning them, he accused them of being spies, after they mentioned a younger brother at home, the Vizier demanded that he be brought to Egypt as a demonstration of their veracity. This was Josephs full brother, Benjamin, Joseph placed his brothers in prison for three days
15.
Dinah
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In the Book of Genesis, Dinah was the daughter of Jacob, one of the patriarchs of the Israelites, and Leah, his first wife. Dinah, the daughter of Leah and Jacob, went out to visit the women of Shechem, where her people had made camp, Shechem took her and lay with her and humbled her. And his soul was drawn to Dinah and he loved the maiden and spoke tenderly to her, and Shechem asked his father to obtain Dinah for him, to be his wife. Hamor came to Jacob and asked for Dinah for his son, Make marriages with us, give your daughters to us and you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Shechem offered Jacob and his sons any bride-price they named and they slew Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechems house, and went away. And the sons of Jacob plundered whatever was in the city and in the field, all their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, but they said, Should he treat our sister as a harlot. This portion of the Book of Genesis deals primarily with the family of Abraham and his descendants, including Dinah, her father Jacob and it foreshadows later happenings and prophecies further along in Genesis and the Torah dealing with the two violent brothers. Source-critical scholars speculate that Genesis combines separate literary strands, with different values and concerns, and does not pre-date the 1st millennium BC as a unified account. Within Genesis 34 itself, they suggest two layers of narrative, an older account ascribing the killing of Shechem to Simeon and Levi alone, kirsch argues that the narrative combines a Yahwist narrator describing a rape, and an Elohist speaker describing a seduction. He instead says that such a description reflected a late, post-exilic notion that the idolatrous gentiles are impure the prohibition of intermarriage, in Rofés analysis, the defilement refers to interracial sex rather than rape. Midrashic literature contains a series of proposed explanations of the Bible by rabbis and it provides further hypotheses of the story of Dinah, suggesting answers to questions such as her offspring, Osnat a daughter, from Shechem and links to later incidents and characters. One midrash states that Dinah was conceived as a male in Leahs womb but miraculously changed to a female, lest Leah be associated with more of the Israelite tribes than Rachel. Her brother Simeon promised to find a husband for her, but she did not wish to leave Shechem, fearing that, after her disgrace, however, she was later married to Job. When she died, Simeon buried her in the land of Canaan and she is therefore referred to as the Canaanitish woman. Shaul/Asenath was her son/daughter by Shechem, early Christian commentators such as Jerome likewise assign some of the responsibility to Dinah, in venturing out to visit the women of Shechem. This story was used to demonstrate the danger to women in the sphere as contrasted with the relative security of remaining in private. On his deathbed, their father Jacob curses Simeon and Levis anger and their tribal portions in the land of Israel are dispersed so that they would not be able to regroup and fight arbitrarily. According to the Midrash, Simeon and Levi were only 14 and 13 years old, respectively and they possessed great moral zealousness, but their anger was misdirected here
16.
Hebrew language
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Hebrew is a language native to Israel, spoken by over 9 million people worldwide, of whom over 5 million are in Israel. Historically, it is regarded as the language of the Israelites and their ancestors, the earliest examples of written Paleo-Hebrew date from the 10th century BCE. Hebrew belongs to the West Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family, Hebrew is the only living Canaanite language left, and the only truly successful example of a revived dead language. Hebrew had ceased to be a spoken language somewhere between 200 and 400 CE, declining since the aftermath of the Bar Kokhba revolt. Aramaic and to a lesser extent Greek were already in use as international languages, especially among elites and it survived into the medieval period as the language of Jewish liturgy, rabbinic literature, intra-Jewish commerce, and poetry. Then, in the 19th century, it was revived as a spoken and literary language, and, according to Ethnologue, had become, as of 1998, the language of 5 million people worldwide. After Israel, the United States has the second largest Hebrew-speaking population, with 220,000 fluent speakers, Modern Hebrew is one of the two official languages of the State of Israel, while premodern Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jewish communities around the world today. Ancient Hebrew is also the tongue of the Samaritans, while modern Hebrew or Arabic is their vernacular. For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by Jews as Leshon Hakodesh, the modern word Hebrew is derived from the word Ivri, one of several names for the Israelite people. It is traditionally understood to be a based on the name of Abrahams ancestor, Eber. This name is based upon the root ʕ-b-r meaning to cross over. Interpretations of the term ʕibrim link it to this verb, cross over, in the Bible, the Hebrew language is called Yәhudit because Judah was the surviving kingdom at the time of the quotation. In Isaiah 19,18 it is called the Language of Canaan, Hebrew belongs to the Canaanite group of languages. In turn, the Canaanite languages are a branch of the Northwest Semitic family of languages, according to Avraham ben-Yosef, Hebrew flourished as a spoken language in the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah during about 1200 to 586 BCE. Scholars debate the degree to which Hebrew was a vernacular in ancient times following the Babylonian exile. In July 2008 Israeli archaeologist Yossi Garfinkel discovered a ceramic shard at Khirbet Qeiyafa which he claimed may be the earliest Hebrew writing yet discovered, dating around 3000 years ago. The Gezer calendar also dates back to the 10th century BCE at the beginning of the Monarchic Period, classified as Archaic Biblical Hebrew, the calendar presents a list of seasons and related agricultural activities. The Gezer calendar is written in an old Semitic script, akin to the Phoenician one that through the Greeks, the Gezer calendar is written without any vowels, and it does not use consonants to imply vowels even in the places where later Hebrew spelling requires it
17.
Israelites
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The Israelites were a Semitic-speaking people of the ancient Near East, who inhabited a part of Canaan during the tribal and monarchic periods. The ancient Israelites are considered to be an outgrowth of the indigenous Canaanite populations that inhabited the Southern Levant, Syria, ancient Israel. In the period of the monarchy it was only used to refer to the inhabitants of the northern kingdom. The Israelites were also known as the Hebrews and the Twelve Tribes of Israel, the Jews are named after and also descended from the southern Israelite Kingdom of Judah, particularly the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and partially Levi. The word Jews is found in 2 Kings, Chronicles, and in passages in the Book of Jeremiah, the Book of Zechariah. The Kingdom of Israel, often called the Northern Kingdom of Israel, contained all the tribes except for the tribes of Judah, following its conquest by Assyria, these ten tribes were allegedly dispersed and lost to history, and they are henceforth known as the Ten Lost Tribes. Jewish tradition holds that Samaria was so named because the mountainous terrain was used to keep Guard for incoming enemy attacks. According to Samaritan tradition, however, the Samaritan ethnonym is not derived from the region of Samaria, thus, according to Samaritan tradition, the region was named Samaria after them, not vice versa. In Modern Hebrew, the Samaritans are called Shomronim, while in Samaritan Hebrew they call themselves Shamerim, in Judaism, an Israelite is, broadly speaking, a lay member of the Jewish ethnoreligious group, as opposed to the priestly orders of Kohanim and Levites. In texts of Jewish law such as the Mishnah and Gemara, the term יהודי, meaning Jew, is rarely used, Samaritans commonly refer to themselves and to Jews collectively as Israelites, and they describe themselves as the Israelite Samaritans. The name Israel first appears in the Hebrew Bible in Genesis 32,29, the Hebrew Bible etymologizes the name as from yisra to prevail over or to struggle/wrestle with, and el, God, the divine. The name Israel first appears in non-biblical sources c.1209 BCE, the inscription is very brief and says simply, Israel is laid waste and his seed is not. The inscription refers to a people, not to an individual or a nation-state, in modern Hebrew, bnei yisrael can denote the Jewish people at any time in history, it is typically used to emphasize Jewish religious identity. From the period of the Mishna the term Yisrael acquired a narrower meaning of Jews of legitimate birth other than Levites. In modern Hebrew this contrasts with the term Yisraeli, a citizen of the modern State of Israel, the term Hebrew has Eber as an eponymous ancestor. It is used synonymously with Israelites, or as a term for historical speakers of the Hebrew language in general. Today, Jews and Samaritans both recognize each other as communities with an authentic Israelite origin, the terms Jews and Samaritans largely replaced the title Children of Israel as the commonly used ethnonym for each respective community. The name Yahweh, the god of the later Israelites, may indicate connections with the region of Mount Seir in Edom, the Canaanites were also the first people, as far as is known, to have used an alphabet
18.
Tribe of Benjamin
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According to the Torah, the Tribe of Benjamin was one of the Tribes of Israel descended from Benjamin, the youngest son of the patriarch Jacob and his wife Rachel. In the Samaritan Pentateuch the name appears as Binyamīm, from after the conquest of the promised land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel, the Tribe of Benjamin was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes. No central government existed, and in times of crisis the people were led by ad hoc leaders known as Judges, almost the entire tribe of Benjamin, women and children included, was wiped out by the other Israelite tribes after the Battle of Gibeah. The text refers several times to the Benjaminite warriors as men of valour despite their defeat, a remnant of the tribe was spared, those few who remained were allowed to marry women of another town, whose husbands had been killed, to enable the tribe to continue. Responding to a threat from Philistine incursions, the Israelite tribes formed a strong. The first king of this new entity was Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin and he reigned from Gibeah for 38 years. On the accession of Rehoboam, Davids grandson, in c.930 BCE the northern tribes split from the House of David to reform a Kingdom of Israel. The tribe of Benjamin remained a part of the Kingdom of Judah until Judah was conquered by Babylon in c.586 BCE, some scholars believe that it instead originates from the tribe having the figure of a wolf in its standard. In Jewish Rabbinic literature, the Tribe of Benjamin is believed to correspond to the Hebrew month of Kislev, however, an abrupt change of character to one of placidity occurs in the text after a traumatic incident for the tribe. Six hundred of the men from the tribe of Benjamin survived by hiding in a cave for four months, the other Israelite tribes were grieved at the near loss of the tribe of Benjamin. They decided to allow these 600 men to carry on the tribe of Benjamin,400 virgin women from the tribe of Machir we found and given in marriage to the Benjaminite men. They then grabbed a wife each and took her back to their land, according to the Hebrew Bible, following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes. Kenneth Kitchen dates this conquest to just after 1200 BCE, however, according to the consensus of modern scholars, the conquest as described in the book of Joshua did not occur. Modern Israeli scholars have identified most of the mentioned in the Book of Joshua. The Babylonian Talmud names three of these cities, all of which were enclosed by a wall, and belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, Lydda, Ono. Presumably, the boundary of the tribe of Benjamin would have stretched as far as the Mediterranean Sea. It is now an abandoned Arab village, the word Lifta is merely a corruption of the Hebrew name Nephtoah, and where a natural spring by that name still abounds. Though Jerusalem was in the allocated to the tribe of Benjamin
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Hebrew Bible
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They are composed mainly in Biblical Hebrew, with some passages in Biblical Aramaic. The term does not comment upon the naming, numbering or ordering of books, the term Hebrew Bible is an attempt to provide specificity with respect to contents but avoid allusion to any particular interpretative tradition or theological school of thought. Hebrew Bible refers to the Jewish biblical canon, in its Latin form, Biblia Hebraica, it traditionally serves as a title for printed editions of the Masoretic Text. Many biblical studies scholars advocate use of the term Hebrew Bible as a substitute to terms with religious connotations. Hebrew Bible Old Testament without prescribing the use of either, however, he accepts that there is no reason why non-Christians should feel obliged to refer to these books as the Old Testament, apart from custom of use. Modern Christian formulations of this tension include Supersessionism, Covenant Theology, New Covenant Theology, Dispensationalism, in terms of canon, Christian usage of Old Testament does not refer to a universally agreed upon set of books but, rather, varies depending on denomination. The Hebrew Bible includes small portions in Aramaic, written and printed in Aramaic square-script, the books that constitute the Hebrew Bible developed over roughly a millennium. The oldest texts seem to come from the 11th or 10th centuries BCE and they are edited works, being collections of various sources intricately and carefully woven together. Since the 19th century, most biblical scholars have agreed that the Pentateuch consists of four sources which have been woven together and these four sources are J, D, E and P sources. They were combined to form the Pentateuch sometime in the 6th century BCE and this theory is now known as the documentary hypothesis, and has been the dominant theory for the past two hundred years. The Deuteronomist credited with the Pentateuchs book of Deuteronomy is also said to be the source of the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, several editions, all titled Biblia Hebraica, have been produced by various German publishers since 1906. Between 1906 and 1955, Rudolf Kittel published nine editions of it,1966, the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft published the renamed Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia in six editions until 1997. Since 2004 the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft has published the Biblia Hebraica Quinta, other projects include, Hebrew University Bible Project Hebrew Bible, A Critical Edition Biblical canon Books of the Bible Non-canonical books referenced in the Bible Torah Brueggemann, Walter. An introduction to the Old Testament, the canon and Christian imagination, the People of Ancient Israel, an introduction to Old Testament Literature, History, and Thought, Harper and Row,1974. Sinai and Zion, An Entry into the Jewish Bible, archived from the original on 14 March 2012. The Ancient Near East, Volume I, Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press. An abridgement of Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament Noth, how the Bible Became a Book. The Old Testament, A Literary History, hebrew-English Tanakh, the Jewish Bible Complete, fully vocalized, contilated, Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible, together with the classic English translation by the Jewish Publication Society
20.
Canaan
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Canaan was a Semitic-speaking region in the Ancient Near East during the late 2nd millennium BC. The name Canaan occurs commonly in the Hebrew Bible, in particular, the references in Genesis 10 and Numbers 34 define the Land of Canaan as extending from Lebanon southward to the Brook of Egypt and eastward to the Jordan River Valley. References to Canaan in the Bible are usually backward-looking, referring to a region that had something else. The term Canaanites serves as an ethnic catch-all term covering various indigenous populations—both settled, the Amarna Letters and other cuneiform documents use Kinaḫḫu, while other sources of the Egyptian New Kingdom mention numerous military campaigns conducted in Ka-na-na. Canaan had significant geopolitical importance in the Late Bronze Age Amarna period as the area where the spheres of interest of the Egyptian, Hittite, Mitanni and Assyrian Empires converged. Much of the knowledge about Canaan stems from archaeological excavation in this area at sites such as Tel Hazor, Tel Megiddo. The English term Canaan comes from the Hebrew כנען, via Greek Χαναάν Khanaan and it appears as KUR ki-na-ah-na in the Amarna letters, and knʿn is found on coins from Phoenicia in the last half of the 1st millennium. It first occurs in Greek in the writings of Hecataeus as Khna, scholars connect the name Canaan with knʿn, Kanaan, the general Northwest Semitic name for this region. An early explanation derives the term from the Semitic root knʿ to be low, humble, purple cloth became a renowned Canaanite export commodity which is mentioned in Exodus. The dyes may have named after their place of origin. The purple cloth of Tyre in Phoenicia was well known far, however, according to Robert Drews, Speisers proposal has generally been abandoned. The Late Bronze Age state of Ugarit is considered quintessentially Canaanite archaeologically, Jonathan Tubb states that the term ga-na-na may provide a third millennium reference to Canaanite while at the same time stating that the first certain reference is in the 18th century BC. See Ebla-Biblical controversy for further details, Mari letters A letter from Mutu-bisir to Shamshi-Adad I of the Old Assyrian Empire has been translated, It is in Rahisum that the brigands and the Canaanites are situated. It was found in 1973 in the ruins of Mari, an Assyrian outpost at that time in Syria, additional unpublished references to Kinahnum in the Mari letters refer to the same episode. Alalakh texts A reference to Ammiya being in the land of Canaan is found on the Statue of Idrimi from Alalakh in modern Syria. After a popular uprising against his rule, Idrimi was forced into exile with his mothers relatives to seek refuge in the land of Canaan, the other references in the Alalakh texts are, AT154 AT181, A list of Apiru people with their origins. All are towns, except for Canaan AT188, A list of Muskenu people with their origins, the letters are written in the official and diplomatic East Semitic Akkadian language of Assyria and Babylonia, though Canaanitish words and idioms are also in evidence. May the king ask Yanhamu about these matters, may the king ask his commissioner, who is familiar with Canaan EA151, Letter from Abimilku to the Pharaoh, The king, my lord wrote to me, write to me what you have heard from Canaan
21.
Samaritan Pentateuch
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The Samaritan Pentateuch, also known as the Samaritan Torah, is a text of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, written in the Samaritan alphabet and used as a scripture by the Samaritans. It constitutes their entire biblical canon, some six thousand differences exist between the Samaritan and the Masoretic Text. Nearly two thousand of these textual variations agree with the Koine Greek Septuagint and some are shared with the Latin Vulgate. Throughout their history, Samaritans have made use of translations of the Samaritan Pentateuch into Aramaic, Greek, some Pentateuchal manuscripts discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls have been identified as bearing a pre-Samaritan text type. Samaritans believe that God authored their Pentateuch and gave Moses the first copy along with the two containing the Ten Commandments. They believe that they preserve this divinely composed text uncorrupted to the present day, Samaritans commonly refer to their Pentateuch as קושטה. Samaritans include only the Pentateuch in their biblical canon and they do not recognize divine authorship or inspiration in any other book in the Jewish Tanakh. A Samaritan Book of Joshua partly based upon the Tanakhs Book of Joshua exists, according to a view based on the biblical Book of Ezra, the Samaritans are the people of Samaria who parted ways with the people of Judah in the Persian period. The Samaritans believe that it was not they, but the Jews, modern scholarship connects the formation of the Samaritan community with events which followed the Babylonian Captivity. One view is that the Samaritans are the people of the Kingdom of Israel who separated from the Judaites, others believe that the real schism between the peoples did not take place until Hasmonean times when the Gerizim temple was destroyed in 128 BCE by John Hyrcanus. The script of the Samaritan Pentateuch, its connections at many points with the Septuagint. Manuscripts of the Samaritan Pentateuch are written in a different Hebrew script than is used in other Hebrew Pentateuchs, Samaritans employ the Samaritan alphabet which is derived from the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet used by the Israelite community prior to the Babylonian captivity. Afterwards, Jews adopted a script based on the Aramaic alphabet that developed into the Hebrew alphabet, originally all manuscripts of the Samaritan Pentateuch consisted of unvocalized text written using only the letters of the Samaritan alphabet. Beginning in the 12th century, some show a partial vocalization resembling the Jewish Tiberian vocalization used in Masoretic manuscripts. More recently a few manuscripts have produced with full vocalization. However, many extant manuscripts show no tendency towards vocalization, the Pentateuchal text is divided into 904 paragraphs. Divisions between sections of text are marked with various combinations of lines, dots or an asterisk, the critical apparatus accompanying the London Polyglots publication of the Samaritan Pentateuch lists six thousand instances where the Samaritan differs from the Masoretic Text. However, as different printed editions of the Samaritan Pentateuch are based upon different sets of manuscripts, only a minority are significant, most can be categorized as one of the following types, More matres lectionis in the Samaritan Pentateuch to indicate vowels compared with the Masoretic
22.
Quran
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The Quran is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be a revelation from God. It is widely regarded as the finest work in classical Arabic literature, the Quran is divided into chapters, which are then divided into verses. The word Quran occurs some 70 times in the text of the Quran, although different names, according to the traditional narrative, several companions of Muhammad served as scribes and were responsible for writing down the revelations. Shortly after Muhammads death, the Quran was compiled by his companions who wrote down and these codices had differences that motivated the Caliph Uthman to establish a standard version now known as Uthmans codex, which is generally considered the archetype of the Quran known today. There are, however, variant readings, with minor differences in meaning. The Quran assumes familiarity with major narratives recounted in the Biblical scriptures and it summarizes some, dwells at length on others and, in some cases, presents alternative accounts and interpretations of events. The Quran describes itself as a book of guidance and it sometimes offers detailed accounts of specific historical events, and it often emphasizes the moral significance of an event over its narrative sequence. The Quran is used along with the hadith to interpret sharia law, during prayers, the Quran is recited only in Arabic. Someone who has memorized the entire Quran is called a hafiz, some Muslims read Quranic ayah with elocution, which is often called tajwid. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims typically complete the recitation of the whole Quran during tarawih prayers, in order to extrapolate the meaning of a particular Quranic verse, most Muslims rely on the tafsir. The word qurʼān appears about 70 times in the Quran itself and it is a verbal noun of the Arabic verb qaraʼa, meaning he read or he recited. The Syriac equivalent is qeryānā, which refers to reading or lesson. While some Western scholars consider the word to be derived from the Syriac, regardless, it had become an Arabic term by Muhammads lifetime. An important meaning of the word is the act of reciting, as reflected in an early Quranic passage, It is for Us to collect it, in other verses, the word refers to an individual passage recited. Its liturgical context is seen in a number of passages, for example, So when al-qurʼān is recited, listen to it, the word may also assume the meaning of a codified scripture when mentioned with other scriptures such as the Torah and Gospel. The term also has closely related synonyms that are employed throughout the Quran, each synonym possesses its own distinct meaning, but its use may converge with that of qurʼān in certain contexts. Such terms include kitāb, āyah, and sūrah, the latter two terms also denote units of revelation. In the large majority of contexts, usually with an article, the word is referred to as the revelation
23.
Jesse
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Jesse /ˈdʒɛsi/, Isai or Yishai is a figure described in the Bible as the father of David, who became the king of the Israelites. His son David is sometimes called simply Son of Jesse, the role as both father of King David and ancestor of Christ has been used in various depictions in art, e. g. as the Tree of Jesse or in hymns like Behold, a Branch is growing. Jesse was the son of Obed and the grandson of Ruth and he lived in Bethlehem, in Judah, and was of the Tribe of Judah, he was a farmer, breeder and owner of sheep. He was a prominent resident of the town of Bethlehem, Jesse is important in Judaism because he was the father of the most famous King of Israel. He is important in Christianity, in part because he is in the Old Testament, later rabbinic traditions name him as one of four ancient Israelites who died without sin, the other three being Benjamin, Chileab and Amram. Jesse is stated as having eight sons, including David, the youngest, among his grandchildren were the three sons of Zeruiah, Abishai, Joab and Asahel. One day the prophet Samuel came to Bethlehem sent by God, ostensibly, his visit to Bethlehem was to offer a sacrifice to God. He used that excuse because he was afraid that King Saul might kill him if he suspected the true reason for his arrival in Bethlehem, Samuel offered a sacrifice with Jesse and then went to his house, where he sanctified him and his family. The prophet asked Jesse to present his sons, the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man look at the appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. When Jesse presented his son, Abinadab, God told Samuel The Lord has not chosen this one either. This happened again with his son, Shammah, then his fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh sons. Finally, Samuel enquired of Jesse if he had any other sons, Jesse told him that David the youngest was tending the flock. The prophet then asked for him, waited and when he came, some time later, Saul, suffering from depression and melancholy, asked Jesse for his son David to play the harp for him, since he had heard that David played the harp beautifully. Jesse sent his son along with gifts for the King. The King was so taken with Davids harp playing that he asked Jesse to keep him in his court to play for him whenever he was depressed. Later on Jesse sent his son David with gifts to be given to his brothers who were to fight in the war against the Philistines in Sauls army. Years later David fled to the desert away from Saul, who sought to kill David in order for him to stay in power and not have his throne be taken away from him
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Amram
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In the Book of Exodus, Amram is the husband of Jochebed and father of Aaron, Moses and Miriam. He is praised for his faith in the Epistle to the Hebrews, critical scholars suspect that the Elohist account offers both matrilinial and patrilinial descent from Levites in order to magnify the religious credentials of Moses. In the Quran, the name Imran is used for the father of Moses and Aaron, as well as the father of Mary, through him would come many other priests and prophets, including Anne, Elizabeth, Mary, John the Baptist and Jesus. In the Apocryphal Testament of Levi, it is stated that Amram was born, as a grandson of Levi, when Levi was 64 years old. Despite the legend of his divorce and remarriage, Amram was also held to have been entirely sinless throughout his life, the other three ancient Israelites who died without sin, being Benjamin, Jesse and Chileab. According to the Book of Jubilees, Amram was among the Israelites who took the bones of Jacobs sons to Canaan for burial in the cave of Machpelah. Most of the Israelites then returned to Egypt but some remained in Canaan, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls is written from Amrams point of view, and hence has been dubbed the Visions of Amram. The document is dated to the 2nd century BC and, in the form of a vision, briefly discusses dualism and the Watchers, I saw Watchers in my vision, two men were fighting over me. holding a great contest over me. I asked them, Who are you, that you are thus empowered over me and they answered, We have been empowered and rule over all mankind. They said to me, Which of us do you choose to rule you, I raised my eyes and looked. He answered, This Watcher. his three names are Belial and Prince of Darkness and King of Evil. I said, My lord, what dominion He answered, You saw, and he is empowered over all Darkness, while I. My three names are Michael, Prince of Light and King of Righteousness
25.
Twelve Tribes of Israel
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The Twelve Tribes of Israel or Tribes of Israel were the tribes said by the Hebrew Bible to have descended from the patriarch Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons and at least one daughter by two wives and two concubines, according to the biblical tradition, the twelve sons fathered the twelve tribes of Israel. Before his death, Jacob blessed or foretold the destiny of each of his sons and this is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. The confederation of tribes lived in the midst of the nationalities who continued to occupy Canaan. Modern scholarship has called into question the beginning, middle, the account of the conquest under Joshua has largely been abandoned. The Bibles depiction of the period of the Judges is widely considered doubtful, the extent to which a united Kingdom of Israel ever existed is also a matter of ongoing dispute. Living in exile in the sixth century BC, the prophet Ezekiel has a vision for the restoration of Israel which will include the ideal reallotment of the land to the tribes of Israel. In the Christian New Testament, the tribes of Israel are referred to twice in the gospels. In Matthew, paralled by Luke, Jesus anticipates that in the Kingdom of God, His followers will sit on thrones, israelites Leaders of the tribes of Israel Ten Lost Tribes The Twelve Tribes at the Jewish Encyclopedia The Twelve Tribes of Israel at the Jewish Virtual Library
26.
Rashi
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His commentary on the Talmud, which covers nearly all of the Babylonian Talmud, has been included in every edition of the Talmud since its first printing by Daniel Bomberg in the 1520s. His commentary on Tanakh—especially on the Chumash —is an indispensable aid to students of all levels, the latter commentary alone serves as the basis for more than 300 supercommentaries which analyze Rashis choice of language and citations, penned by some of the greatest names in rabbinic literature. Rashis surname, Yitzhaki, derives from his fathers name, Yitzhak, the acronym is sometimes also fancifully expanded as Rabban Shel YIsrael which means the rabbi of Israel, or as Rabbenu SheYichyeh. He may be cited in Hebrew and Aramaic texts as Shlomo son of Rabbi Yitzhak, Shlomo son of Yitzhak, Shlomo Yitzhaki, in older literature, Rashi is sometimes referred to as Jarchi or Yarhi, his abbreviated name being interpreted as Rabbi Shlomo Yarhi. Simon and Wolf claimed that only Christian scholars referred to Rashi as Jarchi, bernardo de Rossi, however, demonstrated that Hebrew scholars also referred to Rashi as Yarhi. The evolution of this term has been thoroughly traced, Rashi was an only child born at Troyes, Champagne, in northern France. His mothers brother was Simon the Elder, Rabbi of Mainz, Simon was a disciple of Rabbeinu Gershom Meor HaGolah, who died that same year. In his voluminous writings, Rashi himself made no claim at all. The main early rabbinical source about his ancestry, Responsum No.29 by Solomon Luria and his fame later made him the subject of many legends. One tradition contends that his parents were childless for many years, Rashis father, Yitzhak, a poor winemaker, once found a precious jewel and was approached by non-Jews who wished to buy it to adorn their idol. Yitzhak agreed to travel with them to their land, but en route, another legend also states that Rashis parents moved to Worms, Germany while Rashis mother was pregnant. As she walked down one of the streets in the Jewish quarter. She turned and pressed herself against a wall, which opened to receive her and this miraculous niche is still visible in the wall of the Worms Synagogue. According to tradition, Rashi was first brought to learn Torah by his father on Shavuot day at the age of five and his father was his main Torah teacher until his death when Rashi was still a youth. At the age of 17 he married and soon went to learn in the yeshiva of Rabbi Yaakov ben Yakar in Worms. When Rabbi Yaakov died in 1064, Rashi continued learning in Worms for another year in the yeshiva of his relative, Rabbi Isaac ben Eliezer Halevi, Rashis teachers were students of Rabbeinu Gershom and Rabbi Eliezer Hagadol, leading Talmudists of the previous generation. From his teachers, Rashi imbibed the traditions pertaining to the Talmud as they had been passed down for centuries, as well as an understanding of the Talmuds unique logic. Rashi took concise, copious notes from what he learned in yeshiva and he returned to Troyes at the age of 25, after which time his mother died, and he was asked to join the Troyes Beth din
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Midrash
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The Midrash, capitalized, refers to a specific compilation of these writings, primarily from the first ten centuries CE. Gesenius ascribes the etymology of midrash to the Qal of the common Hebrew verb darash to seek, study, inquire. The word midrash occurs twice in the Hebrew Bible,2 Chronicles 13,22 in the midrash of the prophet Iddo, in Second Temple Jewish literature it began to be used in the sense of education and learning generally. According to the PaRDeS approaches to exegesis, interpretation of Biblical texts in Judaism is realized through peshat, remez, derash, the Midrash concentrates somewhat on remez but mostly on derash. Many different exegetical methods are employed in an effort to derive meaning from a text. This is not limited to the traditional thirteen textual tools attributed to the Tanna Rabbi Ishmael, in many cases, a dialogue is expanded manifold, handfuls of lines in the Biblical narrative may become long philosophical discussions. It is unclear whether the midrash assumes these dialogues took place in reality or if this refers only to subtext or religious implication, many midrashim start off with a seemingly unrelated sentence from the Biblical books of Psalms, Proverbs or the Prophets. This sentence later turns out to reflect the content of the rabbinical interpretation offered. This strategy is used particularly in a subgenre of midrash known as the Petikhta, some Midrash discussions are highly metaphorical, and many Jewish authors stress that they are not intended to be taken literally. Rather, other sources may sometimes serve as a key to particularly esoteric discussions. Later authors maintain that this was done to make this material accessible to the casual reader. In general the midrash is focused on either halakha or aggadic subject matter, Midrash halakha is the name given to a group of tannaitic expositions on the first four books of the Hebrew Bible. These Midrashim, which are written in Mishnahic Hebrew set out a distinction between the Biblical texts that they discuss, and the rabbinic interpretation of that text. They often go well beyond simple interpretation and derive or provide support for halakha and this work is based on pre set assumptions about the sacred and divine nature of the text, and the belief in the legitimacy that accords with rabbinic interpretation. By collecting and compiling these thoughts they could be presented in a manner which helped to refute claims that they were only human interpretations, Midrashim which seek to explain the non-legal portions of the Hebrew Bible are sometimes referred to as aggadah or haggadah. Some of these midrashim entail mystical teachings, the presentation is such that the Midrash is a simple lesson to the uninitiated, and a direct allusion, or analogy, to a Mystical teaching for those educated in this area. An example of a Midrashic interpretation, And God saw all that He had made, and there was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day. —Midrash, Rabbi Nahman said in Rabbi Samuels name, Behold, it was very good refers to the Good Desire, AND behold, can then the Evil Desire be very good
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Mem
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Mem is the thirteenth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Mēm, Hebrew Mēm מ, Aramaic Mem, Syriac Mīm ܡܡ, and Arabic Mīm م. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Mu, Etruscan, Latin M, and Cyrillic М. The letter is named mīm, and is written in several ways depending on its position in the word, Some examples on its uses in Modern Standard Arabic, Mīm is used in the creation of ism words. Specifically, mīm is used in the creation of the masdar of Stem III verbs, place-nouns are also created with mīm, the pattern mafal is used to create maktab office from the triliteral k-t-b and maṣna factory from ṣ-n-. Hebrew spelling, מֵם Mem represents a bilabial nasal, in Hebrew, Mem, like Kaph, Nun, Pe, and Tzadi, has a final form, used at the end of words, its shape changes from מ to ם. In gematria, Mem represents the number 40 in both the Standard and Mispar Gadol Methods of Gematria, However, final mems value is 40 in the Standard Method and 600 in the Mispar Gadol method. The Standard Method adds the values of Tav and Resh to denote the value of mem sofit, in the Sefer Yetzirah, the letter Mem is King over Water, Formed Earth in the Universe, Cold in the Year, and the Belly in the Soul. As an abbreviation, it stands for metre, in the Israeli army it can also stand for mefaked, commander. In Hebrew religious texts, it can stand for the name of God Makom, Mem is associated with The Hanged Man, the element of water and the path between Geburah and Hod on the Tree of Life
29.
Fasting
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Fasting is a willing abstinence or reduction from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a period, usually a period of 24 hours. Water fasting allows drinking water but nothing else, other fasts may be partially restrictive, limiting only particular foods or substances. A fast may also be intermittent in nature, Fasting practices may preclude intercourse and other activities as well as food. In a physiological context, fasting may refer to the status of a person who has not eaten overnight. Several metabolic adjustments occur during fasting, and some tests are used to determine a fasting state. For example, a person is assumed to be fasting after 8–12 hours from their last meal, metabolic changes toward the fasting state begin after absorption of a meal, post-absorptive state is synonymous with this usage, in contrast to the postprandial state of ongoing digestion. A diagnostic fast refers to prolonged fasting conducted under observation for investigation of a problem, many people may also fast as part of a medical procedure or check-up such as a colonoscopy. Fasting is also a part of religious observances. Fasting is often practiced prior to surgery or other procedures that require general anesthetics because of the risk of aspiration of gastric contents after induction of anesthesia. Additionally, certain tests, such as cholesterol testing or certain blood glucose measurements require fasting for several hours so that a baseline can be established. In the case of a panel, failure to fast for a full 12 hours will guarantee an elevated triglyceride measurement. Fasting is of no help in preventing or treating cancer. Fasting can help alleviate symptoms of depression. However the psychological effects may include anxiety and depression. Fasting will lead to weight loss, using fasting for weight loss is considered dangerous. It has been argued that fasting makes one better appreciate food, Fasting is often used as a tool to make a political statement, to protest, or to bring awareness to a cause. A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt, a spiritual fast incorporates personal spiritual beliefs with the desire to express personal principles, sometimes in the context of a social injustice
30.
Slavery
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A slave is unable to withdraw unilaterally from such an arrangement and works without remuneration. Many scholars now use the chattel slavery to refer to this specific sense of legalised. In a broader sense, however, the word slavery may also refer to any situation in which an individual is de facto forced to work against his or her will. Scholars also use the generic terms such as unfree labour or forced labour. However – and especially under slavery in broader senses of the word – slaves may have some rights and/or protections, Slavery began to exist before written history, in many cultures. A person could become a slave from the time of their birth, capture, while slavery was institutionally recognized by most societies, it has now been outlawed in all recognized countries, the last being Mauritania in 2007. Nevertheless, there are still more slaves today than at any point in history. The most common form of the trade is now commonly referred to as human trafficking. Chattel slavery is still practiced by the Islamic State of Iraq. An older interpretation connected it to the Greek verb skyleúo to strip a slain enemy, there is a dispute among historians about whether terms such as unfree labourer or enslaved person, rather than slave, should be used when describing the victims of slavery. Chattel slavery, also called traditional slavery, is so named because people are treated as the chattel of the owner and are bought, although it dominated many societies in the past, this form of slavery has been formally abolished and is very rare today. Even when it can be said to survive, it is not upheld by the system of any internationally recognized government. Indenture, otherwise known as bonded labour or debt bondage is a form of labour under which a person pledges himself or herself against a loan. The services required to repay the debt, and their duration, debt bondage can be passed on from generation to generation, with children required to pay off their parents debt. It is the most widespread form of slavery today, debt bondage is most prevalent in South Asia. This may also include institutions not commonly classified as slavery, such as serfdom, conscription, Human trafficking primarily involves women and children forced into prostitution. And is the fastest growing form of forced labour, with Thailand, Cambodia, India, Brazil, in 2007, Human Rights Watch estimated that 200,000 to 300,000 children served as soldiers in current conflicts. A forced marriage may be regarded as a form of slavery by one or more of the involved in the marriage
31.
Sefer haYashar (midrash)
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The Sefer haYashar is a Hebrew midrash also known as the Toledot Adam and Dibre ha-Yamim be-Aruk. The Hebrew title may be translated Sefer haYashar - Book of the Correct Record -, the book is named after the Book of Jasher mentioned in Joshua and 2 Samuel. It should not be confused with the very different Book of Jasher printed by Jacob Ilive in 1751, the printer Yosèf ben Samuel claimed the work was copied by a scribe named Jacob the son of Atyah, from an ancient manuscript whose letters could hardly be made out. This work is not to be confused with an ethical text by the same name. Scholars have proposed various dates between the 9th century and 16th century, the Venice 1625 text was heavily criticised as a forgery by Leon Modena, as part of his criticisms of the Zohar as a forgery, and of Kabbalah in general. Modena was a member of the Venetian rabbinate that supervised the Hebrew press in Venice, the officer Sidrus reportedly took the scholar and all the books safely back to his estates in Seville, Spain. The 1625 edition then claims that at some point in the history of Islamic Spain. The 1625 edition further claims that scholars preserved the book until its printings in Naples in 1552, apart from the preface to the 1625 work, there is no evidence to support any of this story. The work was used extensively, but not especially more than other sources. The Arabic connections suggest that if the preface to the 1625 version is an exaggeration, the book covers biblical history from the creation of Adam and Eve until a summary of the initial Israelite conquest of Canaan in the beginning of the book of Judges. The text of this chapter follows the beginning of Josippon. Most of its accounts are found in nearly the same form in other medieval compilations, or in the Talmud. For example, it includes the tale that Lamech and his son Jabal accidentally killed Cain. There are 5 discrepancies, when comparing it with chapter 5 of Genesis, in chapter 5 alone. The first is in verse 1, And it was in the year of the life of Noah that Enoch the son of Seth died, Enoch was Jareds son, it was Enosh. Other than the confusion between Enosh and Enoch, the date is correct and it was the 595th year of Noahs life that Lamech died. The fourth is in verse 20, And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy years, lamechs age at death was 777. The fifth is in verse 36, And it was at that time Methuselah the son of Enoch died, nine hundred and sixty years old was he, Methuselah was 969 at his death
32.
Astrology
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Astrology is the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial objects as a means for divining information about human affairs and terrestrial events. Throughout most of its history astrology was considered a tradition and was common in academic circles, often in close relation with astronomy, alchemy, meteorology. It was present in political circles, and is mentioned in works of literature, from Dante Alighieri and Geoffrey Chaucer to William Shakespeare, Lope de Vega. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in it has largely declined, Astrology is now recognized to be pseudoscience. The word astrology comes from the early Latin word astrologia, which derives from the Greek ἀστρολογία—from ἄστρον astron, astrologia later passed into meaning star-divination with astronomia used for the scientific term. Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical events, and the Indians, Chinese, the majority of professional astrologers rely on such systems. Astrology has been dated to at least the 2nd millennium BCE, with roots in systems used to predict seasonal shifts. A form of astrology was practised in the first dynasty of Mesopotamia, Chinese astrology was elaborated in the Zhou dynasty. Hellenistic astrology after 332 BCE mixed Babylonian astrology with Egyptian Decanic astrology in Alexandria, Alexander the Greats conquest of Asia allowed astrology to spread to Ancient Greece and Rome. In Rome, astrology was associated with Chaldean wisdom, after the conquest of Alexandria in the 7th century, astrology was taken up by Islamic scholars, and Hellenistic texts were translated into Arabic and Persian. In the 12th century, Arabic texts were imported to Europe, major astronomers including Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler and Galileo practised as court astrologers. Astrological references appear in literature in the works of such as Dante Alighieri and Geoffrey Chaucer. Throughout most of its history, astrology was considered a scholarly tradition and it was accepted in political and academic contexts, and was connected with other studies, such as astronomy, alchemy, meteorology, and medicine. At the end of the 17th century, new concepts in astronomy. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in astrology has largely declined, Astrology, in its broadest sense, is the search for meaning in the sky. This was a first step towards recording the Moons influence upon tides and rivers, by the 3rd millennium BCE, civilisations had sophisticated awareness of celestial cycles, and may have oriented temples in alignment with heliacal risings of the stars. Scattered evidence suggests that the oldest known references are copies of texts made in the ancient world. The Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa thought to be compiled in Babylon around 1700 BCE, a scroll documenting an early use of electional astrology is doubtfully ascribed to the reign of the Sumerian ruler Gudea of Lagash
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Astrolabe
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An astrolabe is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers and navigators, to measure the inclined position in the sky of a celestial body, day or night. It can thus be used to identify stars or planets, to determine local latitude given local time and vice versa, to survey and it was used in classical antiquity, the Islamic Golden Age, the European Middle Ages and the Renaissance for all these purposes. While the astrolabe is effective for determining latitude on land or calm seas, the mariners astrolabe was developed to solve that problem. OED gives the translation star-taker for the English word astrolabe and traces it, through medieval Latin, to the Greek word astrolabos from astron star, in the medieval Islamic world the word asturlab was given various etymologies. In Arabic texts, the word is translated as akhdh al-kawakib which corresponds to an interpretation of the Greek word, al-Biruni quotes and criticizes the medieval scientist Hamzah al-Isfahani who had stated, asturlab is an arabization of this Persian phrase. In medieval Islamic sources, there is also a fictional and popular etymology of the words as lines of lab, in this popular etymology, Lab is a certain son of Idris. This etymology is mentioned by a 10th-century scientist named al-Qummi but rejected by al-Khwarizmi, Lab in Arabic also means sun and black stony places. An early astrolabe was invented in the Hellenistic world by Apollonius of Perga, a marriage of the planisphere and dioptra, the astrolabe was effectively an analog calculator capable of working out several different kinds of problems in spherical astronomy. Theon of Alexandria wrote a treatise on the astrolabe. Some historians attribute the invention to Hypatia, the daughter of Theon of Alexandria, noting that Synesius. Astrolabes continued in use in the Greek-speaking world throughout the Byzantine period, about 550 AD the Christian philosopher John Philoponus wrote a treatise on the astrolabe in Greek, which is the earliest extant Greek treatise on the instrument. In addition, Severus Sebokht, a bishop who lived in Mesopotamia, Astrolabes were further developed in the medieval Islamic world, where Muslim astronomers introduced angular scales to the astrolabe, adding circles indicating azimuths on the horizon. It was widely used throughout the Muslim world, chiefly as an aid to navigation and as a way of finding the Qibla, the first person credited with building the astrolabe in the Islamic world is reportedly the 8th-century mathematician Muhammad al-Fazari. The mathematical background was established by the Muslim astronomer Albatenius in his treatise Kitab az-Zij, the earliest surviving dated astrolabe is dated AH315. In the Islamic world, astrolabes were used to find the times of sunrise and the rising of fixed stars, to help schedule morning prayers. In the 10th century, al-Sufi first described over 1,000 different uses of an astrolabe, in areas as diverse as astronomy, astrology, navigation, surveying, timekeeping, prayer, Salat, Qibla, etc. The spherical astrolabe, a variation of both the astrolabe and the sphere, was invented during the Middle Ages by astronomers and inventors in the Islamic world. The earliest description of the spherical astrolabe dates back to Al-Nayrizi, in the 12th century, Sharaf al-Dīn al-Tūsī invented the linear astrolabe, sometimes called the staff of al-Tusi, which was a simple wooden rod with graduated markings but without sights
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Divination
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Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Divination can be seen as a method with which to organize what appear to be disjointed. Fortune-telling, on the hand, is a more everyday practice for personal purposes. Particular divination methods vary by culture and religion, divination is dismissed by the scientific community and skeptics as being superstition. Psychologist Julian Jaynes categorized divination into the four types, Omens. Chinese history offers scrupulously documented occurrences of births, the tracking of natural phenomena. Chinese governmental planning relied on this method of forecasting for long-range strategies and it is not unreasonable to assume that modern scientific inquiry began with this kind of divination, Joseph Needhams work considered this very idea. This consists of the casting of lots, or sortes, whether with sticks, stones, bones, beans, coins, modern playing cards and board games developed from this type of divination. This ranks a set of given possibilities and it can be qualitative, for example, dowsing developed from this type of divination. The Romans, in times, used Etruscan methods of augury such as hepatoscopy. Augury is normally considered to refer to divination by studying the flight patterns of birds. An unconstrained form of divination, free from any particular medium, the answer comes from whatever object the diviner happens to see or hear. Some religions use a form of bibliomancy, they ask a question, riffle the pages of their holy book, other forms of spontaneous divination include reading auras and New Age methods of feng shui such as intuitive and fuzion. In this practice, the examines the hands of a person for whom they are divining for indications of their future. The Oracle of Amun at the Siwa Oasis was made famous when Alexander the Great visited it after delivering Egypt from Persian rule in 332 BC, deuteronomy 18, 10-12 or Leviticus 19,26 can be interpreted as categorically forbidding divination. However, some would claim that divination is indeed practiced in the Bible, such as in Exodus 28, communicating with God through prayer is not the same as divination, though both are open, typically two-way conversations with God. Both oracles and seers in ancient Greece practiced divination, oracles were the conduits for the gods on earth, their prophecies were understood to be the will of the gods verbatim. Because of the demand for oracle consultations and the oracles’ limited work schedule
35.
Morgan Bible
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The Morgan Bible, also called the Crusader Bible or Maciejowski Bible, is a medieval picture Bible of 46 folios. The book consists of paintings of events from Hebrew scripture, set in the scenery and customs of thirteenth-century France, scenes are surrounded by text in three scripts and five languages, Latin, Persian, Arabic, Judeo-Persian, and Hebrew. Forty three folios are kept in the Pierpont Morgan Library, two folios are kept in the Bibliothèque nationale de France. A single folio is kept in the J. Paul Getty Museum, the work known as the Morgan Bible, Crusader Bible, or Maciejowski Bible is part ofthe Pierpont Morgan Library in, New York. It is a medieval picture Bible of 46 folios, originally, the bible probably contained only paintings, organized in a consistent visual rhythm from page to page. Within 100 years, the book acquired marginal inscriptions in Latin describing the scenes illustrated, cardinal Bernard Maciejowski, Bishop of Kraków, had the book given as a gift to Abbas I in 1608. Abbas ordered inscriptions in Persian to be added, mostly translating the Latin ones already there, later, perhaps in the eighteenth century, inscriptions were added in Judeo-Persian. Forty-three folios are kept in the Pierpont Morgan Library, two folios are kept in the Bibliothèque nationale de France. A single folio is kept in the J. Paul Getty Museum, www. keesn. nl A Masterpiece of Sensuous Communication, The Morgan Bible of Louis IX Medieval Tymes, The Maciejowski Bible Morgan Library & Museum Online Exhibition
36.
Mamluk
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Mamluk is an Arabic designation for slaves. The term is most commonly used to refer to Muslim slave soldiers and these were mostly enslaved Turkic peoples, Egyptian Copts, Circassians, Abkhazians, and Georgians. Many Mamluks were also of Balkan origin, over time, the mamluks became a powerful military knightly caste in various societies that were controlled by Muslim rulers. Particularly in Egypt, but also in the Levant, Mesopotamia, in some cases, they attained the rank of sultan, while in others they held regional power as emirs or beys. Most notably, mamluk factions seized the sultanate centered on Egypt and Syria, the Mamluk Sultanate famously defeated the Ilkhanate at the Battle of Ain Jalut. They had earlier fought the western European Christian Crusaders in 1154-1169 and 1213-1221, effectively driving them out of Egypt, in 1302 the mamluks formally expelled the last Crusaders from the Levant, ending the era of the Crusades. While mamluks were purchased as property, their status was above ordinary slaves, in a sense they were like enslaved mercenaries. In the Middle Ages, the Mamlukes took up the practice of furusiyya chivalry although Mamluk knights were slaves until their service ended, the Arabic term for a knight was fāris, The faris and the notion of furusiyya originated in pre-Muslim Persian brotherhoods. Within the Muslim world, the fursān became prized as ideal warriors and they were also trained in wrestling, and their martial skills were honed first on foot as piéton and then perfected when as mounted warriors. They were popularly used as heavy knightly cavalry by a number of different Islamic kingdoms and empires, including the Ayyubid dynasty, the origins of the mamluk system are disputed. Historians agree that a military caste such as the mamluks appeared to develop in Islamic societies beginning with the ninth-century Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad. When in the century has not been determined. Up until the 1990s, it was believed that the earliest mamluks were known as ghilman and were bought by the Abbasid caliphs. By the end of the 9th century, such warrior slaves had become the dominant element in the military, conflict between these ghilman and the population of Baghdad prompted the caliph al-Mutasim to move his capital to the city of Samarra, but this did not succeed in calming tensions. The caliph al-Mutawakkil was assassinated by some of these slave-soldiers in 861, adult slaves and freemen both served as warriros. The mamluk system developed later, after the return of the caliphate to Baghdad in the 870s and it included the systematic training of young slaves in military and martial skills. The Mamluk system is considered to have been an experiment of al-Muwaffaq. This recent interpretation seems to have been accepted, after the fragmentation of the Abbasid Empire, military slaves, known as either mamluks or ghilman, were used throughout the Islamic world as the basis of military power
37.
Caravanserai
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A caravanserai (/kærəˈvænsəri/, was a roadside inn where travelers could rest and recover from the days journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information, and people across the network of routes covering Asia, North Africa. Major urban caravanserais were built along the Grand Trunk Road in the Indian subcontinent. The word is rendered as caravansary, caravansaray, caravanseray. The Persian word کاروانسرای kārvānsarāy is a word combining kārvān caravan with sarāy palace, building with enclosed courts. Here caravan means a group of traders, pilgrims, or other travelers, the word serai is sometimes used with the implication of caravanserai. The Persian caravanserai was built as a road station, outside of towns. An inn built inside a town would be smaller and was known in Persian as a khan, in the Middle-East the term khan covers both meanings, of roadside inn as well as of inner-town inn. In Turkish the word is rendered as han, the same word was used in Bosnian, having arrived through Ottoman conquest. Welcoming all, thus meaning inn, led to funduq in Arabic, pundak in Hebrew, fundaco in Venice, fondaco in Genoa and alhóndiga in Spanish. Guards were stationed at every gate to ensure that taxes for these goods be paid in full, most typically a caravanserai was a building with a square or rectangular walled exterior, with a single portal wide enough to permit large or heavily laden beasts such as camels to enter. Caravanserais provided water for human and animal consumption, washing, and ritual purification such as wudu and they also kept fodder for animals and had shops for travelers where they could acquire new supplies. In addition, some shops bought goods from the traveling merchants, turkishhan. org, The Seljuk Han in Anatolia. Encyclopædia Iranica, p. 798-802 Erdmann, Kurt, Erdmann, berlin, Mann,1976, ISBN 3-7861-2241-5 Hillenbrand, Robert. Islamic Architecture, Form, function and meaning, reprinted from, Traditions Architecturales en Iran, Tehran, No.2 &3,1976. Caravanserai, Traces, Places, Dialogue in the Middle East, milan,5 Continents Editions, ISBN 978-88-7439-604-7 Yavuz, Aysil Tükel. The Concepts that Shape Anatolian Seljuq Caravansara, muqarnas XIV, An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic World. Shah Abbasi Caravanserai, Tishineh Caravansara Pictures Consideratcaravanserai. net, Texts and photos on research on caravanserais and travel journeys in Middle East, caravanserais in Turkey The Seljuk Han in Anatolia
38.
Kfar Saba
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Kfar Saba, officially Kefar Sava, is a city in the Sharon region, of the Central District of Israel. In 2015 it had a population of 96,922, the origins of the name are not known - in Hebrew it means grandfathers village. Kfar Saba also appears in the Talmud in connection to corn tithing, excavations on the site have revealed the remains of a large Roman bathhouse. In the Byzantine periods the ruins of the bathhouse were first converted into fish pools, in 1596, the Arab village of Kafr Saba was inhabited by 42 Muslim families. In the 1870s it was described as a mud village of moderate size with mud-ponds around it and good water in the wells of Neby Yemin, the Jewish town of Kfar Saba was established in 1898 on 7,500 dunams of land purchased from the Arab village. The Ottoman pasha of Nablus, to whose governorate the land belonged, refused to give building permits, therefore the first settlers lived in huts made of clay and they earned their living by growing almonds, grapes and olives. Most of the manual laborers on the land were peasants from Qalqilya, only in 1912 were permits given and the settlers moved to permanent housing. In the Palestine campaign of World War I, Kfar Saba was on the front line between General Allenbys British Army and the Ottoman army, and was destroyed, at the same time about a thousand residents of Tel Aviv and Jaffa came to live in the town. They had been deported from their homes by the Ottomans. Due to the Jaffa riots of 1921 these deportees returned to their original cities, in 1922 the original residents returned and in 1924 additional settlers joined them. In this period the cultivation of citrus fruit developed, the first elections for the local council were held. In August 1947, a Jewish man was shot to death outside the village. In December 1947, Arab and Jewish leaders in the area pledged to keep the peace between the local communities, in the months leading up to the 1948 war, Kfar Saba was attacked by local militia from Arab Kafr Saba. The Arab Liberation Army, an army consisting of volunteers from several neighboring Arab countries, in 1962 Kfar Saba was awarded city status, with head of the local council, Mordechai Surkis, becoming its first mayor. Located just across the Green Line from Kalkilya, Kfar Saba has been a frequent target of terrorist attacks, in May 2001, a Palestinian Arab suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt killed a doctor and wounded 50 at a bus stop in Kfar Saba. In March 2002, a Palestinian terrorist opened fire on passersby at an intersection, killing an Israeli girl. In April 2003, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up at the Kfar Saba train station during the rush hour, killing a security guard. The census of 1922 listed the population of Kfar Saba as 14 Jews, by the census of 1931 it had grown to 1405 inhabitants, in 395 houses
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Egypt
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Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and it is the worlds only contiguous Afrasian nation. Egypt has among the longest histories of any country, emerging as one of the worlds first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the century and remains a predominantly Muslim country. With over 92 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa, and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres, the large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypts territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypts residents live in areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria. Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Egypts economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, Egypt is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Miṣr is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern name of Egypt. The name is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם, the oldest attestation of this name for Egypt is the Akkadian
40.
The Exodus
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The Exodus is the founding, or etiological, myth of Israel, its message is that the Israelites were delivered from slavery by Yahweh and therefore belong to him through the Mosaic covenant. The historicity of the story continues to attract attention. The Exodus has been central to Judaism, many of modern biblical scholars hold the opinion that the Torah, or Pentateuch was shaped in the post-exilic period. In either case, the Book of Exodus is a myth for Israel, Israel was delivered from slavery by Yahweh. The final form of the Pentateuch was based on earlier written and these have left traces in over 150 references throughout the Bible. The earliest traces of earlier traditions are in the books of prophets Amos and Hosea. In contrast, Proto-Isaiah and Micah, both of whom were active in Judah at much the same time, show no similar traces and it thus seems reasonable to conclude the Exodus tradition was important in the northern kingdom in the 8th century BCE, but not in Judah. The exodus is remembered daily in Jewish prayers and celebrated each year at the feast of Passover, despite the Exodus story, a majority of scholars do not believe that the Passover festival originated as described in the biblical story. Jewish tradition has preserved national and personal reminders of this narrative in daily life. Such elements as could be fitted into the 2nd millennium could equally belong to the 1st, so while a few scholars, notably Kenneth Kitchen and James K. According to Exodus 12, 37–38, the Israelites numbered about six hundred men on foot, besides women and children, plus many non-Israelites. Numbers 1,46 gives a more precise total of 603,550 men aged 20 and it is difficult to reconcile the idea of 600,000 Israelite fighting men with the information that the Israelites were afraid of the Philistines and Egyptians. The 600,000, plus wives, children, the elderly, marching ten abreast, and without accounting for livestock, they would have formed a line 150 miles long. The entire Egyptian population in 1250 BCE is estimated to have been around 3 to 3, some have rationalised the numbers into smaller figures, for example reading the Hebrew as 600 families rather than 600,000 men, but all such solutions have their own set of problems. The chronology of the Exodus story likewise underlines its essentially religious rather than historical nature, the Torah lists the places where the Israelites rested. Attempts to date the Exodus to a century have been inconclusive. Jericho was small and poor, almost insignificant, and unfortified here was no sign of a destruction. William F. Albright, the leading biblical archaeologist of the century, proposed a date of around 1250–1200 BCE
41.
Laban (Bible)
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Laban is the son of Bethuel and the brother of Rebecca as described in the Book of Genesis. As such he is brother-in-law to Isaac and both father-in-law and uncle to Jacob, Laban and his family were described as dwelling in Paddan Aram, in Mesopotamia. Twenty years later, Labans nephew Jacob was born to Isaac, when grown, Jacob comes to work for Laban. Subtracting yields an age of 77, Laban was more than 30 years older than Jacob, and employed him for 20 years. Laban promised his younger daughter Rachel to Jacob in return for seven years service, Jacob then served another seven years in exchange for the right to marry his choice, Rachel, as well. Labans flocks and fortunes increased under Jacobs skilled care, but there was further trickery between them. Six years after his service has ended, Jacob, having prospered largely by proving more cunning than his father-in-law. Laban pursued him, but they parted on good terms. Laban can be seen as symbolizing those whose concern for the welfare of their family, nominally a virtue, is taken to the point where it has lasting negative ramifications. Laban is referenced significantly in the Passover Haggadah, in the context of the answer to the traditional childs question, Why is this night different from all other nights. There may also be a play on words here, using arami in two senses – as both arami, an Aramean, and rama′i, a deceiver, since Laban cheated Jacob, in this interpretation, arami personifies the Israelite peoplesꞌs bitter enemy. The question of what the connection is between the apparently disjoint tales of Laban and Pharaoh is interpreted in several ways by rabbinical authorities, rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer explains in his Hukkat HaPesach that Laban was, in fact, the primum mobile of the entire Exile and Exodus saga. Rachel was Jacobs divinely intended wife and could hypothetically have given birth to Joseph as Jacobs firstborn with rights of primogeniture. In this counterfactual, Jacobs favoring Josephs succession as the leader of the nation of Israel would have been seen as perfectly normal and fitting. No older brothers would have cheated and jealous, and Joseph would not have been sold into slavery. Thus, there would have no need for Jacobs family to be sent to Egypt to unite with Joseph. Afterward they shall come out with great wealth, Jacob lived in the strange land of Aram, served Laban, and was afflicted by him, then he left with great wealth and returned to the Promised Land
42.
Metaphor
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A metaphor is a figure of speech that refers, for rhetorical effect, to one thing by mentioning another thing. It may provide clarity or identify hidden similarities between two ideas, antithesis, hyperbole, metonymy and simile are all types of metaphor. The Philosophy of Rhetoric by rhetorician I. A. Richards describes a metaphor as having two parts, the tenor and the vehicle, the tenor is the subject to which attributes are ascribed. The vehicle is the object whose attributes are borrowed, other writers employ the general terms ground and figure to denote the tenor and the vehicle. Cognitive linguistics uses the target and source, respectively. Metaphors are most frequently compared with similes, a simile is a specific type of metaphor that uses the words like or as in comparing two objects, whereas what is commonly referred to as a metaphor states that A is B or substitutes B for A. What is usually referred to as a metaphor asserts the two objects in the comparison are identical on the point of comparison, a simile merely asserts a similarity, for this reason a common-type metaphor is generally considered more forceful than a simile. The metaphor category also contains these types, Allegory, An extended metaphor wherein a story illustrates an important attribute of the subject. Antithesis, A rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences Catachresis, A mixed metaphor used by design and accident. Hyperbole, Excessive exaggeration to illustrate a point Metonymy, A figure of speech using the name of one thing in reference to a different thing of which the first is associated, example, in lands belonging to the crown the word crown is metonymy for ruler or monarch. Parable, An extended metaphor narrated as an anecdote illustrating and teaching such as in Aesops fables, pun, Similar to a metaphor, a pun alludes to another term. However, the difference is that a pun is a frivolous allusion between two different things whereas a metaphor is a purposeful allusion between two different things. Metaphor, like other types of analogy, can usefully be distinguished from metonymy as one of two modes of thought. Thus, a metaphor creates new links between otherwise distinct conceptual domains, whereas a metonymy relies on the links within them. A dead metaphor is one in which the sense of an image has become absent. Examples, to grasp a concept and to gather what youve understood use physical action as a metaphor for understanding, the audience does not need to visualize the action, dead metaphors normally go unnoticed. Some people distinguish between a dead metaphor and a cliché, others use dead metaphor to denote both. A mixed metaphor is one that leaps from one identification to a second identification inconsistent with the first, e. g. Checkmate
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Easton, Matthew George (1897). "Benjamin". Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the