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Metaphor

Do Not Plow an Ox with a Donkey—Reasons, Metaphors, and Sexual Undertones

Is the prohibition about animal compassion, keeping species separate, or does it hold symbolic and metaphorical meanings? Beyond its surface, the law against “plowing” with an ox and a donkey also conveys a double entendre.

Dr.

Elaine Goodfriend

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YHWH is My Shepherd and My Host: Parallel Scenes in Psalm 23

From a shepherd’s guidance to a royal feast, the psalm’s two parallel scenes describe God’s providence and care.

Prof. Rabbi

Stephen A. Geller

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Of Lambs and Lambasting: The Message in Nathan’s Parable to David

Following King David’s appropriation of Bathsheba and his role in the killing of her husband Uriah, YHWH dispatches the prophet Nathan to present a parable (2 Samuel 12:1–4). The parable features a ewe-lamb adopted by a poor man, which highlights David’s attempts to evade responsibility for his actions.

Dr.

Yael Landman

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Hosea’s Abusive Marital Metaphor Ends with Courtship, Not Violence

Hosea’s depiction of the marital relations with a promiscuous woman, as a metaphor for YHWH’s relationship with Israel, is problematic in ancient and modern terms. The structure of Hosea 2, however, suggests that we have been overlooking the prophet’s message: YHWH rejects and repudiates violence in favor of gentle persuasion and courtship.

Prof. Rabbi

Tamara Cohn Eskenazi

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Burning Desire Punished by Fire

Why the promiscuous daughter of a priest and Tamar, the widowed daughter-in-law of Judah, are sentenced to die by fire. The “poetic justice” of immolation.

Prof.

Esther Brownsmith

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Biblical Cookware and Crockery

The Bible contains numerous references to ceramic pots, bowls, jugs, and other types of dishes. What do we know about these vessels?

Dr.

Nava Panitz-Cohen

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YHWH Will Restore Israel’s Borders: Isaiah 27 Responds to Psalm 80

Using the metaphor of Israel as YHWH’s vineyard, three biblical texts—Isaiah 5, Psalm 80 and Isaiah 27—grapple with Judah’s destruction and the hope for its future recovery.

Dr.

David Rothstein

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Are Trees of the Field Human?

Deuteronomy 20:19 forbids the chopping down of fruit trees during war-time, and offers the cryptic explanation כי האדם עץ השדה (ki ha-adam etz hasadeh), but what does this mean?[1]

Prof.

Shai Secunda

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Hosea: Loving God Erotically

A biblical metaphor for God’s relationship with Israel.

Prof.

Carl S. Ehrlich

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The Ten Plagues and Egyptian Ecology

Could the story have its basis in natural phenomena?

Prof.

Ziony Zevit

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Who Was Balaam’s God: YHWH El? Or Bull El?

Prof. Rabbi

Robert Harris

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The Multiple Metaphors for God in Shirat Haazinu

Deuteronomy 32 imagines God as a father, an eyelid, an eagle, a nursing mother, and a protective rock. Why so many metaphors?

Prof. Rabbi

Andrea L. Weiss

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