Dr. Zachary I. Levine is a scholar of ancient Jewish history, literature, and culture, with a special focus on the history of biblical interpretation and the Dead Sea Scrolls. He holds a Ph.D. in Hebrew and Judaic Studies from New York University (2018) and an M.A. in Teaching Adolescent Social Studies from Hunter College (2025). He has taught Jewish Studies in independent schools and served as an adjunct professor of Jewish texts at Hunter College and New York University. He currently teaches Social Studies in Bronx public schools.
Last Updated
May 20, 2025
Books by the Author
Articles by the Author
Jubilees, and later the Mekhilta, suggest that the covenant ceremony described after the revelation at Sinai (Exodus 24) actually took place earlier — at the moment when the Israelites declared נַעֲשֶׂה, “we will do” (Exodus 19). According to Rabbi Ishmael, it was then that Moses read Leviticus 25–26 to the people — a section explicitly framed as spoken at Sinai, and which sets out the terms of the covenant.
Jubilees, and later the Mekhilta, suggest that the covenant ceremony described after the revelation at Sinai (Exodus 24) actually took place earlier — at the moment when the Israelites declared נַעֲשֶׂה, “we will do” (Exodus 19). According to Rabbi Ishmael, it was then that Moses read Leviticus 25–26 to the people — a section explicitly framed as spoken at Sinai, and which sets out the terms of the covenant.
