Sample Sources
The sources below are those contained in our three curated collections—covering themes of Passover, Gender Roles, and Holocaust Resistance. They represent a fraction of the thousands of sources that will be available when the full site launches in 2024.
Fiscal Bulla from Jerusalem
In the seventh (year). Bethlehem. For the King.
Translated by Ronny Reich.
A Shipment of Gold
Gold of Ophir to/of Beth Horon. 30 shekels.
Translated by Anson F. Rainey from Shmuel Aḥituv’s Hebrew edition.
Donors to YHW and Other Deities, from Elephantine
On the 3rd of Phamenoth, year 5. This is (= these are) the names of the Jewish garrison who gave silver to YHW the God, each person silver, [2] shekels—
Meshull[em]eth daughter of Gemar[ia]h son of…
A Description of Tyre
The word of the Lord came to me: Now you, O mortal, intone a dirge over Tyre. Say to Tyre:
O you who dwell at the gateway of the sea,
Who trade with the peoples on many coastlands:
Thus said the…
Three Things . . . Four Things
The earth shudders at three things,
At four which it cannot bear:
A slave who becomes king;
A scoundrel sated with food;
A loathsome woman who gets married;
A slave-girl who supplants her…
How to Praise God
Hallelujah.
Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in the sky, His stronghold.
Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him for His exceeding greatness.
Praise Him with blasts of the horn; praise…
The Qualities of God’s Teachings
The teaching of the Lord is perfect,
renewing life;
the decrees of the Lord are enduring,
making the simple wise;
The precepts of the Lord are just,
rejoicing the heart;
the instruction of the Lord…
Virtues That Merit Being in God’s Presence
A psalm of David.
Lord, who may sojourn in Your tent,
who may dwell on Your holy mountain?
He who lives without blame,
who does what is right,
and in his heart acknowledges the truth;
whose tongue…
Praise of the Man’s Body
My beloved is clear-skinned and ruddy,
Preeminent among ten thousand.
His head is finest gold,
His locks are curled
And black as a raven.
His eyes are like doves
By watercourses,
Bathed in milk…
Praise of the Woman’s Body
Ah, you are fair, my darling,
Ah, you are fair.
Your eyes are like doves
Behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
Streaming down Mount Gilead.
Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
Climbi…
Women’s Finery
In that day, my Lord will strip off the finery of the anklets, the fillets, and the crescents; of the eardrops, the bracelets, and the veils; the turbans, the armlets, and the sashes; of the…
The Plundered Parts of the Temple
The Chaldeans broke up the bronze columns of the House of the Lord, the stands, and the bronze tank that was in the House of the Lord; and they carried the bronze away to Babylon. They also took…