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.
Beses and Lyre Player
This detail appears on the right side of a pithos (storage jar) from Kuntillet Ajrud. The two Bes figures on the lower left are unrelated to the lyre player in the upper right. Bes was a minor…
Amulet in the Shape of the Demon Pazuzu
The Mesopotamian demon Pazuzu, depicted here in a combination of human and animal features, was invoked to prevent the malicious actions of the demon Lamashtu, who was believed to endanger newborn…
Coin with Helmeted Deity/Deity on a Winged Wheel
This coin from Yehud, the Persian name for the province of Judah, is larger and heavier than others like it. The helmeted and bearded male on the front is a deity who is usually, though not…
Coin with Lily/Falcon
On the front is a lily, commonly found on Yehud coins. On the back is a bird that most ornithologists consider to be a falcon; there is no consensus on its symbolism. With wings spread, this falcon…
Ivory Box with Ritual Scene
This ritual scene was carved twice on a cylindrical ivory box from Hazor, about 2.7 inches high and 2.2 inches in diameter (7 × 6 cm). A kneeling man raises his hands in prayer toward a stylized tree…
Ivory Cloisonné Relief with the Egyptian God Horus
This leaf-shaped ivory relief from Samaria depicts Horus as a child sitting on a lotus flower. The lotus was a symbol of regeneration, and because, in Egyptian belief, each pharaoh was considered an…
Seal with Four-winged Uraeus
This seal, found at the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem, shows a uraeus or upright cobra with four wings. Modeled on the black-necked cobra that applies its venom both by biting and spitting, it was…
Seal with Grazing Griffin
The griffin on this black stone seal found in Jerusalem has a bovine body. Its wings are held out and down.
Samson
The Israelites again did what was offensive to the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.
There was a certain man from Zorah, of the stock…
Gideon
Then the Israelites did what was offensive to the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Midianites for seven years. The hand of the Midianites prevailed over Israel; and…
Amulet for Falling Sickness
An amulet for a person with the falling sickness [epilepsy—Ed.]. He should wear it [the amulet] around his neck, and he should fast and ritually immerse, and it should be written in the first hour at…
Sikhes-khulin (Small Talk, or, The Legend of Prague)
Cover of Sikhes-khulin: Eyne fun di geshikhtn (Small Talk, or, The Legend of Prague) by Moyshe Broderzon, with illustrations by El Lissitzky. The book is an example of a new modernist style that…