When the Israelites left Egypt, they were accompanied by an ʿerev rav (Exodus 12:38). This obscure term has been interpreted in different ways throughout two millennia of Bible interpretation, both positively and negatively, and modern scholars still debate its exact meaning. The term survives in modern Jewish discourse as a slur against other Jews.

Traditional commentators offer various interpretations of the cryptic phrase בַּעֲבוּר זֶה in Exodus 13:8, generally translated “because of this” or “this is because.” But a well-known midrash from the Passover Haggadah holds the key to an entirely different translation which may indeed be the simple meaning of the text.

The Torah prescribes the observance of festivals on very specific dates, but does not explain how the calendar must be reckoned: Is it lunar? Is it solar? Does it follow some other scheme? And why is the Torah silent on this?

The Elephantine Stele and the Great Harris Papyrus both describe Pharaoh Setnakhte’s war against the Levantine usurper Irsu in 1186 B.C.E. Reading these accounts together with Manetho’s story of the war against Osarseph offers us a possible historical context for what eventually became the Bible’s story of the exodus of Israel from Egypt.

Celebrating the “Time of our Freedom” with a look at the of problem of non-Israelite slavery in the Torah.

Is there a genetic marker for cohanim (priests)? Are Ashkenazi Jews descended from Khazars? Why is there such a close genetic connection between Samaritans and Jews, especially cohanim?  A look at what genetic testing can tell us about Jews.

Could the Story Have Its Basis in Natural Phenomena?^[1]

God uses a qādîm “forward” wind to bring the locusts and blow back the sea – but what direction is qādîm? Did Israel and its neighbors answer this question the same way? Can ancient maps clarify this question?

Celebrating Multiple News Year’s Days to Express Multiple Values: Nature and History, Universal and Particular

A Cornerstone of the Jewish Luni-Solar Calendar or a Commandment about the Order of Months?

The need for medieval exegetes to suggest a plausible alternative to the Christian exegesis of this ritual.

What kind of clothes would the Israelites have borrowed?

A supplementary approach to the theological conundrum of Pharaoh’s heavy heart

Reading the Plagues of Locust, Darkness, and Firstborn in their Ancient Egyptian Context

19th century Anglo-Jewish translators defended the Israelites’ behavior against the King James translation’s perceived accusation that the Jews “borrowed” the Egyptians belongings and never returned them.

The Bible already expresses ambivalence about Hebrew slavery, the rabbis expand upon it and Maimonides takes the next step, applying the negative evaluation of slavery even to non-Israelites.

How a biblical metaphor was reinterpreted in light of a practice of wearing amulets for bodily protection.

Exodus narrates three distinct conceptions of God’s relationship to Pharaoh’s stubbornness: God was surprised, God knew beforehand, and God was the direct cause.  The final conception reflects the Priestly redaction of the Torah, whose authors were unwilling to leave the destiny of the plagues up to Pharaoh’s own heart.

Divergent Biblical Perspectives: Exodus 12:40 declares that the Israelites were in Egypt for 430 years. Other biblical contexts suggest a much shorter sojourn in Egypt.