Study the Torah with Academic Scholarship

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use

Burning Bush

Ahad Ha’am’s Cultural Zionism: Moses in the Shadow of Jeremiah and Muhammad

In his famous essay on Moses, Asher Ginsberg (Ahad Ha’am 1856–1927), an influential Zionist thinker, recasts the revelation at the burning bush as Moses encountering his internal voice. His heroic Moses is shadowed by other, more melancholic figures, such as Jeremiah, and even Muhammad, as imagined by Thomas Carlyle. Rather than a figure of strength and power, Ahad Ha’am’s Moses comes to express the anxieties and ambivalences of early Zionism.

Dr.

Yosefa Raz

,

,

The Angel of YHWH

Abraham, Hagar, Moses, and Gideon all encounter the angel of YHWH. What is this divine being and how are we to understand its relationship to YHWH?

Dr.

Daniel O. McClellan

,

,

The Burning Bush: Why Must Moses Remove His Shoes?

YHWH’s first revelation to Moses at a sneh סְּנֶה, “bush,” signifies that it is not a future site of worship and foreshadows the revelation at Sinai.

Prof. Rabbi

Rachel Adelman

,

,

Moses and the Fugitive Hero Pattern

The story of Moses follows a pattern that is typical of ancient Near Eastern fugitive hero narratives. However, when Moses goes to Mount Horeb, the plot deviates from the usual “divine encounter” feature. What does this tell us about the composition of the story of Moses and the Burning Bush?

Prof.

Edward L. Greenstein

,

,

God’s Flaming Fiery Anger

Dr.

Deena Grant

,

,

The Death of Pharaoh’s Firstborn: A One Plague Exodus

After commissioning Moses at the burning bush, God commissions Moses again in Midian, and then again on his way to Egypt. In this third commission, God instructs Moses to tell Pharaoh, “Let My son go, that he may worship Me, yet you refuse to let him go. Now I will slay your firstborn son” (Exod 4:22-23). How does this narrative fit into the exodus story?

Prof. Rabbi

David Frankel

,

,

Torah Narratives with Angels Never Actually Happened: Heretical or Sublime?

Maimonides believes that any story in the Bible with angels is a prophetic vision. Nahmanides calls this position “forbidden to believe” and claims they are real occurrences. Must the Torah be historically true or just philosophically?

Prof. Rabbi

David Frankel

,

,

How Does God Answer the Question: What Is Your Name?

God instructs Moses to tell the Israelites two different names, Ehyeh and YHWH.

Dr. Rabbi

Zev Farber

,

,

The Priestly Moses

Is Moses raised by an Egyptian princess? Does he kill an Egyptian man? Does he run away to Midian and marry the daughter of a Midianite priest? Not according to P, which cleanses Moses of these problematic elements.

Prof. Rabbi

David Frankel

,

,

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better – Joshua as Moses

...but who inspired whom?

Prof.

Carl S. Ehrlich

,

,

No items found.