Biblical commentary

Why we read the book of Ruth on Shavuot.

May 28 2014 4:11PM

The Song of Songs and the old men, filled with longing, who sing it.

April 11 2014 3:55PM

A new commentary on the Book of Job breaks new ground by combining historical-critical scholarship with reception history, thereby revealing fresh levels of meaning.

Davis Hankins
Jan. 28 2014 12:00AM

The 19th-century commentator known as the Malbim provides a template for how traditional biblical interpretation can adapt to scientific discovery.

Jan. 15 2014 12:00AM

A new “reception history” of the Book of Job is let down by its reluctance to choose among the work’s myriad interpretations.

Joan Acocella
Dec. 10 2013 12:00AM

The rabbinic exegetical method whereby the individual letters of Hebrew words are assigned a numerical value has its roots in the Greek system of geometrical algebra.

Dec. 10 2013 12:00AM

This week’s Torah portion offers two separate justifications for Jacob’s long sojourn with his uncle Laban; they point to a tension in his own. . .

David Frankel
Nov. 1 2013 12:00AM

In his new history, Simon Schama proposes that words themselves form the focus of Jewish self-understanding—a suggestive thesis, but why does he miss so many glaring instances?

Nicholas de Lange
Oct. 31 2013 12:00AM

Is it sacrilegious to interpret the Torah against its ancient historical background? According to medieval scholars, not only can the Torah be understood in context, it must be. 

Sept. 18 2013 12:00AM

On translating Kohelet

Sept. 16 2013 10:05PM

“As permissive as our culture is in almost every other area, when it comes to translating the Bible we’ve become stricter than the Dark Ages.”

Charles Halton
Aug. 1 2013 12:00AM

Orthodox Judaism has bigger things to worry about than biblical criticism, and more dangerous threats to fight against.

Efrem Goldberg
July 30 2013 12:00AM

"It is possible to relate to the Torah as a divine document without being bound to untenable notions regarding the nature of God and His. . .

Tamar Ross
June 13 2013 12:00AM

A search for the origins of a well-known rabbinical expression leads to the New Testament, and specifically to the book of Matthew.

June 12 2013 12:00AM