Biblical History

Was Abraham the first monotheist? Abraham was the first Jew (or more precisely: the first Hebrew), but he wasn't the first monotheist. Some of the leaders of the generations between Adam and Terach were undoubtedly pagans, but some of them,…

How old was Abraham's brother Haran when his children were born? According to the Talmud (Sanhedrin 69b), Abraham was two years older than Haran (Abraham, Nachor, and Haran were born in three successive years: Gen.11:26), and Abraham's wife Sarai is…

Who was Joshua? Joshua was Moses’ disciple. He was one of the two spies (Num.13-14) whom Moses sent to Canaan and who didn’t try to discourage the people from invading. He succeeded Moses, led the invasion, conquered Canaan and divided…

When Gideon “tested” G-d (Judges Ch. 6), wasn’t he violating Deut. 6:16? Deut.6:16 means that we shouldn’t DOUBT G-d. The second half of the verse refers to the specific event described in Ex.17:7.

Why was man created before woman? Man was created both male and female; see Gen.1:27 and 5:2. The details given in Gen.2:18-24 explain that the male and female parts, which were originally in one body, were afterwards separated into two…

What does it mean that in Peleg's time "the earth was divided (Gen.10:25)? The verse could mean one of two things: 1. That when Peleg died, the Tower of Babel was built, and the languages of the world were divided.…

Why was Jacob called "Israel"? After Jacob struggled with the angel (Gen.32:25-31), the angel told him that he would be renamed "Israel" (literally: he will overcome G-d") because he had overcome a heavenly opponent (Esau's guardian angel). Jacob accepted that…

What is the meaning of Aaron's name? There's no standard explanation of the name "Aharon". "On" may be a suffix (as in "Gershon", "Nachshon", etc). The Midrash (Shemos Rabbah sec.26) relates the name to the word "herayon" (conception), suggesting that…