At the end of David’s life, he is old and cold, and his advisors find him a beautiful young virgin to keep him warm. They appoint her as sōkhenet, an administrator of the royal household, allowing her to play a key role as an official witness to the court cabal ensuring Solomon’s succession.

Rebecca’s confidence and assertiveness are an example of the difference between the dictates of common law, which rendered women entirely subject to the decisions of their fathers and/or husbands, and the multifaceted realities of women’s lived experiences in ancient Israel.

To enhance the sounds of the text for their audience, biblical authors plumbed the depths of the Hebrew lexis for alliterative rare words, some of which appear only once in the Bible.

Abraham tells his servant to go to his hometown to find a wife for Isaac. When the servant returns, he never reports back to him or introduces Rebecca to him. Why does Abraham disappear from the narrative? And, as Rebecca is his great-niece, why not send the servant to her father’s home directly?

Is the Machpelah a cave or a field? Why does Ephron say no to the sale at first? What does Abraham mean by “burying my dead from before my face”? Why does Abraham need to purchase a burial plot?

Bathsheba first appears as the object of David’s lust, then as the mother of Solomon, who pleads with the king to make her son his heir. And yet, a close look at her actions shows her to be someone with agency, able to manipulate her husband and even her son to ensure Solomon’s safety and rule.

Abraham banishes Ishmael as a lad, and the break between them seems final. To reconcile father and son, Jewish and Islamic traditions tell a story about Abraham going to visit Ishmael and meet his wives. Despite being similar, the two stories are used for different purposes.

Abraham’s servant says that his master told him to take a wife for Isaac from his family, but Abraham said no such thing. Why does the servant say this and why did medieval pashtanim ignore this blatant discrepancy?

After Sarah dies, Abraham marries Keturah. Who is she?

The term לשוח is a hapax legomenon, a term that appears only once in the Bible. What does it mean?

Abraham purchases the cave of Machpelah for 400 silver shekels. Biblical phrases, archaeological finds, and chemical analysis come together to paint a portrait of how early trade using silver functioned before the invention of coins.

Hebron plays a central role in many biblical stories. It was the prominent city in the Judean highlands, with large fortifications in the Early Bronze, Middle Bronze, and Iron Ages. During the Second Temple period, Hebron was occupied by the Idumeans. Recent archaeological excavations have uncovered large mikvaot (ritual baths), indicating that the inhabitants embraced Judaism.

At the well, the servant asks Rebecca who her father is, and she answers, “I am the daughter of Betuel the son of Milkah, whom she bore to Nahor” (Genesis 24:24). Why the unusual genealogical description?

Betuel, Rebecca’s father, mysteriously appears and disappears in the negotiations over Rebecca’s marriage.