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Parallels between Tanachic Judaism and pagan religions

Another paper recommendation, this time a recent one by Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, who reviewed a volume dealing with the question of why Hashem is described in Tanach as uniquely greater and more powerful (and singular) than other (false) pagan deities, if in extra-biblical sources those other deities are described much in the same way as Hashem. I concur with him that this is a thorny, or at least somewhat thorny issue. I am weary of the whole topic of parallelomania - how far do the parallels between the Tanach (as well as later Jewish sources) actually go? I.e., are Jewish sources entirely unoriginal and are built in their entirety, or largely built on older pagan/non-Jewish sources? A popular modern explanation is that Jewish texts, particularly the Tanach, is built upon previous sources as a polemic technique to move Am Yisrael away from idolatry. However, as I said, I am weary of accepting that pretty much all of Tanach is just a tactic to get Yisrael away from idolatry, and tha...
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Identifying Reuel

Just wanted to mention a cool article  I came across now, which proposes an innovative understanding for the figure of Reuel, which seems to have been either Yitro himself or his father. The article, by Yacov Balsam, suggests that Reuel was the name of the Midianite high priest, and so, it's not problematic that both Yitro and his father were known by this name, or rather, this title.
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Glowing Stones

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Famously, there are two main traditional understandings for the word צהר (Tzohar) used with regards to the description of the Ark: 1. Window. 2. Glowing gemstone used for light. Presumably, the second interpretation is based on a wordplay on זהר (Zohar), which means "glow" or "aura". However, I admit that the logic of the second interpretation was never clear to me. Glowing gemstones are for movies and comics, right (at its base form, you draw the gem and add radial lines around it) ? Wrong! As it turns out, multiple sources from the Roman, Byzantine and early medieval periods, both Jewish and non-Jewish, record the existence of various types of stones that glow in the dark. Rabbi Prof. Daniel Sperber wrote an article on the topic over 40 years ago. And, there is even a Wikipedia article on luminous gemstones . The wiki article dismisses most such sources as unrealistic (as it is often wont to do). I recall, however, seeing sometime in the past, a suggestion by a s...
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Exciting News! + An article on idolatry in Kriat Yam Suf

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So, very exciting news that I got just a last night - I was informed by the editors of the journal Megadim that my article has been accepted for publication. They just recommended a few small corrections. Once I send in the final draft they'll start preparing it for publication, presumably for the next volume (64). Don't remember if I've shared in the past, but I can sure share now that the article suggests a new interpretation for the difficultly-phrased verse in Melachim 2:15:25: " וַיִּקְשֹׁר עָלָיו פֶּקַח בֶּן רְמַלְיָהוּ שָׁלִישׁוֹ וַיַּכֵּהוּ בְשֹׁמְרוֹן בְּאַרְמוֹן בֵּית  מלך  [הַמֶּלֶךְ] אֶת אַרְגֹּב וְאֶת הָאַרְיֵה וְעִמּוֹ חֲמִשִּׁים אִישׁ מִבְּנֵי גִלְעָדִים וַיְמִיתֵהוּ וַיִּמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו." "His aide, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him and struck him down in the royal palace in Samaria; with (?) Argob and the Arieh, and with him were fifty Gileadites; and he killed him and succeeded him as king. The verse describes the assassination ...
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Megadim 63 is finally here!

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Happy to update that Megadim volume 63, dedicated to one of the founders of the journal, Rabbi Yoel Bin Nun, has finally been published and uploaded to the journal's section on the Herzog College website. You can find it here . The journal includes the long-anticipated paper by Gershon Galil and Eli Shukron summarizing some of their new research on inscriptions they associate with King Chizkiyahu. This paper is a reworking of one chapter of their still-anticipated book on the inscriptions, due to come out some time in the near future. Other papers that off the bat look interesting to me (though, knowing myself, boredom and lack of reading material will probably lead me to read most of the rest and discover that others are interesting as well): A paper by Rabbi Prof. Yoel Elitzur on the mentioning of Chiel's building of the wall of Yericho. A paper by Dr. Neriah Klein on Sefer Melachim as a historical reconstruction of biblical history from Beresheet to Shoftim. A paper by Dr. Y...
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Compilation of names of nameless figures in Tanach

Just sharing a cool resource I came across yesterday: A Hebrew Wikipedia entry that lists suggested names of figures who are nameless in Tanach, along with references to many sources (e.g., the classic Avraham's mother was Amtalai bat Karnevo from the Talmud, but also Kayin's wife was Hoyah according to a list brought in Keter Aram Tzova, and so forth). Of course, they don't have everything (I've come across a few that aren't listed and I'll do my best to add them soon, once I figure out how to navigate that template), but it's still a treasure load of information.  
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Mussabot Shem = Surrounded by Towers

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Yesterday in a certain waiting room I came across a book by Dr. Tzvi Betzer z"l, who was apparently a linguist, and who had passed away about 22 years ago, if I remember correctly. The book, dedicated in his memory, collected some (or perhaps all, I didn't check) of his various papers. Several caught my eye because they discussed topics that sounded relevant for some of my research interests. But one in particular seemed unusual. It was a short essay, more of a note, really, in terms of length, on the term "מסבות שם" (Mussabot Shem) which is typically translated something like "changed names". The term is used in Bamidbar 32:38  in reference to the Transjordanian cities captured by the Reuvenites and Gadites and resettled by their families. As mentioned above, the term is usually understood to refer to the literal names of the cities having been changed by the tribes, because the names had idolatrous connotations. However, strangely enough, in most cases we...
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