Jewish History

Is Menasheh called a “half-tribe” because his mother was Egyptian? There was nothing inferior about Joseph’s children; they were adopted by Jacob as full-fledged tribes of Israel (Gen.48:5). But after the Exodus, when the Israelites approached the promised land, some…

Has the wall of Jericho (Joshua 6:20) been found by archeologists? Archeologists haven’t uncovered traces of the fallen wall, perhaps because it was a mud-brick wall and was washed away by rain and erosion after it fell. (The wall was…

Why did Naomi tell Ruth to lie down at Boaz’s feet? Naomi knew that Boaz was in line to marry Ruth; some relative was supposed to do this because her husband had died childless. Advising Ruth to lie down at…

What ten men are called “Men of G-d”? The Midrash (Seder Olam Ch.2; Sifrei, end of Deut.) says that ten men were called “ish ha-Elokim” (“man of G-d”): Moses, Elkanah, Shemuel, David, Shemaiah, Edo, Elijah, Elisha, Micah, and Amotz.

Who were the leaders of the Jewish people in Biblical times? The descendants of Judah became temporal leaders, and were sometimes also spiritual leaders. The priesthood stayed in Aaron’s famiy, but prophecy and the teaching of Torah spread from Moses…

Why were so many of the prophets unpopular? The people didn’t want to hear the painful truths that the prophets were telling them.

If David was born in Bethlehem (see 1 Sam. Ch. 16), why is Jerusalem called the City of David? When David conquered Jerusalem, he called it the City of David; see 2 Sam. 5:6-10.

Did David found Jerusalem? The city definitely existed before David; it was occupied by the Jebusites, who were not conquered in the time of Joshua (Joshua 15:63) until they were defeated by David. It existed even in Abraham’s time, when…

Who was Itai? He was a Gittite (from Gath — now called Gaza) who was loyal to David at the time of Absalom’s rebellion; see 2 Samuel 15:19ff.