Metaphor

Owls are predators and are forbidden to eat, but as early as the 4th millennium B.C.E., they emerged as potent symbols in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Levant. What do these nocturnal creatures, with their large, expressive eyes and haunting vocalizations, signify—and why does the Bible place them among ruins and demons?

YHWH also reveals to Moses His goodness, glory, and name, but are knowing these the same as knowing YHWH?

Is the prohibition about animal compassion, keeping species separate, or does it hold symbolic and metaphorical meanings? Beyond its surface, the law against “plowing” with an ox and a donkey also conveys a double entendre.

From a shepherd’s guidance to a royal feast, the psalm’s two parallel scenes describe God’s providence and care.

Following King David’s appropriation of Bathsheba and his role in the killing of her husband Uriah, YHWH dispatches the prophet Nathan to present a parable (2 Samuel 12:1–4). The parable features a ewe-lamb adopted by a poor man, which highlights David’s attempts to evade responsibility for his actions.

Hosea’s depiction of the marital relations with a promiscuous woman, as a metaphor for YHWH’s relationship with Israel, is problematic in ancient and modern terms. The structure of Hosea 2, however, suggests that we have been overlooking the prophet’s message: YHWH rejects and repudiates violence in favor of gentle persuasion and courtship.

Why the promiscuous daughter of a priest and Tamar, the widowed daughter-in-law of Judah, are sentenced to die by fire. The “poetic justice” of immolation.

The Bible contains numerous references to ceramic pots, bowls, jugs, and other types of dishes. What do we know about these vessels?

Using the metaphor of Israel as YHWH’s vineyard, three biblical texts—Isaiah 5, Psalm 80 and Isaiah 27—grapple with Judah’s destruction and the hope for its future recovery.

Deuteronomy 20:19 forbids the chopping down of fruit trees during war-time, and offers the cryptic explanation כי האדם עץ השדה (ki ha-adam etz hasadeh), but what does this mean?^[1]

A biblical metaphor for God’s relationship with Israel.

Could the story have its basis in natural phenomena?

Deuteronomy 32 imagines God as a father, an eyelid, an eagle, a nursing mother, and a protective rock. Why so many metaphors?