Biblical History
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The Reconciliation of Brothers
Were Isaac and Ishmael reconciled? What about Jacob and Esau? Answer: The Midrash deduces that Ishmael “reformed” from the fact that he gave precedence to Isaac at the burial of Abraham (Gen.25:9). Jacob and Esau had an apparently friendly meeting…
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The Duration of the Flood
How long did the Flood last? The Flood began on the 17th of Cheshvan (see Gen. 7:11); the earth became dry on the 27th of that month, the following year (Gen. 8:14). Since 12 lunar months are about 354 days,…
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The Weeping of Jacob and Esau
When Jacob and Esau embraced, why did they both weep? The Midrash Rabbah says, in the name of R. Yanai, that when Esau embraced Jacob, he tried to bite Jacob’s neck rather than to kiss him (le-nashcho rather than le-nashko),…
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Twelve or Thirteen Tribes
Were there 12 or 13 tribes? In Gen.48:5-6 Yaakov "adopted" Yoseph’s sons Ephrayim and Menasheh as his own sons. As a result, instead of one tribe of Yoseph’s descendants, there are two tribes, one descended from Ephrayim and the other…
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The Seduction of David
Did Bathsheba try to seduce David? There is a Midrash (in Ginzei Schechter, vol.1, p.166) that says that Bathsheba, who knew she was destined to have a son by David, used to adorn herself and stand in front of David…
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The Sin of David
Was David guilty of adultery (with Bathsheba) and murder (of her husband Uriah)? The Talmud (Shab. 56a) explains that David’s marriage to Bathsheba involved neither adultery nor murder. The soldiers in David’s army gave conditional divorces to their wives before…
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Avshalom and Amnon
Was the murder of David’s son Amnon by his brother Avshalom comparable to the murder of Abel by his brother Cain? There are many differences between the cases of Cain/Abel and Avshalom/Amnon. Avshalom was angry at his half-brother Amnon for…
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Hagar
Who was Hagar? According to the Midrash, Hagar was Pharaoh’s daughter.
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Intermarriage in Egypt
In Egypt, did the Israelites intermarry with the Egyptians? Is that why their numbers grew so rapidly? There were certainly instances of Israelite-Egyptian intermarriage (see Lev.24:10), but it doesn’t seem to have been common. More likely the Israelites married among…