Dr. Miryam Brand

Albright Institute

Dr. Miryam Brand is an Associate Fellow at the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem. She is the author of Evil Within and Without: The Source of Sin and Its Nature as Portrayed in Second Temple Judaism and a commentary on 1 Enoch. She holds a Ph.D. in Bible and Second Temple Literature from New York University.

Last Updated: April 17, 2026

Books by the Author

Evil Within and Without: The Source of Sin and Its Nature as Portrayed in Second Temple Literature

Amazon paid links

Articles by Author

Rebecca: A Woman of Agency

Rebecca’s confidence and assertiveness are an example of the difference between the dictates of common law, which rendered women entirely subject to the decisions of their fathers and/or husbands, and the multifaceted realities of women’s lived experiences in ancient Israel.

The Benei Elohim, the Watchers, and the Origins of Evil

The story of divine beings procreating with human women (Genesis 6) is expanded upon in the book of Enoch to tell how these angels also bring sin to humanity, causing the ancient flood as well, and this sin is the source of disease in the present day.

The Conclusion of Parashat Miketz: Jacob’s Suspicion and the Brothers’ Choice

Why the rabbis ended Parashat Miketz with a cliffhanger (in both the Babylonian and the Eretz-Yisraeli traditions), and what the Ancient Near Eastern legal context of “evidence law” can clarify for us about the background of the story.

Browse Authors

Dr. Rabbi Yehuda Brandes

Herzog College

Prof. Athalya Brenner-Idan

University of Amsterdam

Dr. Marian Broida

Gustavus Adolphus College

Prof. Marc Zvi Brettler

Duke University

Dr. Erica Brown

Yeshiva University

All Authors