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Passover Sacrifice

Hebrew: קרבן פסח Korban Pesakh

After the Golden Calf, Is the Covenant Renewed with a Ritual Decalogue?

YHWH instructs Moses to carve a second set of tablets and come up the mountain (Exodus 34). YHWH then presents a set of laws, including: Don’t intermarry with the Canaanites; don’t make idols; and do observe Matzot, Shabbat, Shavuot, Ingathering, and Passover. What is the nature of this collection of laws?

Dr.

Tina M. Sherman

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The Paradox of Pesach Sheni

As a historical commemoration, Passover is tied to a specific date. Nevertheless, the Torah gives a make-up date for bringing the offering a month later. Gerim, non-Israelites living among Israelites as equals, are also allowed to bring this offering, even though it wasn’t their ancestors who were freed. How do we make sense of these anomalies?  

Prof.

Steven Fraade

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How Pesach Became Passover

In the Torah’s description of the paschal sacrifice, God pasachs the Israelites. Though the simple meaning of this verb is “to spare or protect,” the standard translation of the verb here is “pass over.” A look at the Greek-Jewish translations of the verb pasach and the festival name, Pesach, and a consideration of the theological problems with Exodus 12:23, sheds light on how this translation came about. 

Dr.

Alan Flashman

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Why “Passover”? On the True Meaning of Pesaḥ-פסח

Dr.

Barry Dov Walfish

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Searching for the Meaning of the Passover Sacrifice

To counter Christian exegetes who saw the paschal lamb as symbolizing Jesus, medieval rabbinic commentators offered new rationales for the details of this ritual.

Prof. Rabbi

Marty Lockshin

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Korban Chagigah from the Torah to the Seder Plate

The Cow That Laid an Egg (!)

Prof. Rabbi

Robert Harris

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The Evolution and Innovation of Pesach Sheni

Dr. Rabbi

Stephen Garfinkel

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Passover Becomes about Matzah when the Paschal Lamb Becomes Associated with Jesus

As late as the Second Temple period, Passover and Chag HaMatzot were viewed as two separate holidays. What was the final impetus to concretize the synthesis of these holidays into one?

Dr.

Malka Z. Simkovich

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Sacrificing a Lamb in Egypt

When a Temple of Yahu Stood Near a Temple of Khnum

Prof.

Jan Assmann

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Dr. Rabbi

Zev Farber

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How Eating Matzot Became Part of the Exodus Story

Originally the Festival of Matzot was an agricultural holiday but through its association with the Pesach sacrifice, it became historicized and connected to the exodus story. This shift prompted the redaction of several biblical passages and the question “how indeed does eating matzah commemorate the exodus?”

Dr. Rabbi

Zev Farber

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The Origins of the Biblical Pesach

Dr.

Kristine Henriksen Garroway

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Passover and the Festival of Matzot: Synthesizing Two Holidays

Prof.

Michael L. Satlow

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Coronavirus: What We Can Learn from the Bible and the ANE

An expert in ancient Near Eastern contagious diseases reflects on living through a modern one.

Dr.

Yitzhaq Feder