What Is Zohar? The Zohar (זֹהַר, “Splendor” or “Radiance”) is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of The Torah (the five books of Moses) and scriptural interpretations as well as material on...
Book Of Genesis The Book of Genesis (“Origin”, בְּרֵאשִׁית, “Bərēšīṯ“, “In [the] beginning”) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) and the Old Testament. It is divisible into two parts, the Primeval history (chapters 1–11) and the Ancestral history (chapters 12–50). The primeval history sets out the...
What Is Neviim? Neviim (נְבִיאִים Nəḇî’îm, “Prophets”) is the second main division of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh), between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim (writings). The Nevi’im are divided into two groups. The Former Prophets (נביאים ראשונים Nevi’im Rishonim) consists of the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings; while the Latter Prophets (נביאים אחרונים Nevi’im...
Sodom And Gomorrah Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and in the deuterocanonical books, as well as in the Quran and the hadith. According to the Torah, the kingdoms of Sodom and Gomorrah were allied with the cities of Admah, Zeboim, and Bela. These five...
Who Is Eve? Eve (חַוָּה, Chava, Ḥawwāh; حَوَّاء, Ḥawwā’; Εύα, Éva; Eva; ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, she was the first woman. Eve is known also as Adam’s wife. According to the second chapter of Genesis, Eve was created by God...
Solomon In Islam This article covers the prophet of the Israelites, Solomon, in Islam. Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd (سُلَيْمَان ابْن دَاوُوْد, Solomon son of David) was, according to the Quran, a Malik (مَـلِـك, King) and Nabī (Prophet) of the Israelites. Islamic tradition generally holds that he was the third King of the Jewish people and a just and...
Prophet Joseph Joseph (יוֹסֵף meaning “Increase”, Yosef, يوسف, Yūsuf) is an important figure in the Bible’s Book of Genesis. Sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, he rose to become vizier, the second most powerful man in Egypt next to Pharaoh, where his presence and office caused Israel to leave Canaan and settle in Egypt. Pharaoh gave him the...
Prophets In Judaism Here is the list of the prophets in Judaism. The 48 prophets and seven prophetesses of Judaism, according to Rashi. The last Jewish prophet is believed to have been Malachi. In Jewish tradition, it is believed that the period of prophecy, called Nevuah, ended with Haggai, Zechariah,...
Jewish Eschatology Jewish eschatology is the area of theology and philosophy concerned with events that will happen in the end of days and related concepts, according to the Hebrew Bible and Jewish thought. This includes the ingathering of the exiled diaspora, the coming of a Jewish Messiah, afterlife, and the...
The Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (מָשִׁיחַ, مسيح, masîḥ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of moshiach, messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible; a moshiach (messiah) is a king or High Priest traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil. Messiahs were not exclusively Jewish:...
David In Islam This article explains the biblical David in Islam. The biblical David (داؤد, Dā’ūd or داوود, Dāwūd), who was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah, reigning c. 1010–970 BCE, is also venerated in Islam as a prophet and messenger of God, and as a...
Prophet David Prophet David (דָּוִד) is described in the Hebrew Bible as the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah after Saul and Ish-bosheth. In the biblical narrative, David is a young shepherd who gains fame first as a musician and later by killing the enemy champion...
Prophet Elisha Elisha (אֱלִישָׁע, ʼElišaʻ, ʼĔlîšāʻ, “My God is salvation”, Ἐλισ[σ]αῖος, Elis[s]aîos or Ἐλισαιέ, Elisaié) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a prophet and a wonder-worker. Also mentioned in the New Testament and the Quran, Elisha is venerated as a prophet in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Amongst new religious movements, Bahá’í writings refer to...
Dhul-Kifl Dhul-Kifl, or Zul-Kifl (ذُو ٱلْكِفْل) literally means “Possessor of the Fold” (c. 600 BCE) is an Islamic prophet who has been identified with various Hebrew Bible prophets, most commonly Ezekiel. It is believed that he lived for roughly 75 years and that he preached in what is modern day Iraq. Dhul-Kifl is...
Ezekiel Ezekiel (יְחֶזְקֵאל, Y’ḥezqēl) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel is acknowledged as a Hebrew prophet. In Judaism and Christianity, he is also viewed as the 6th-century BCE author of the Book of Ezekiel, which reveals prophecies regarding...
I Am that I Am I am that I am is a common English translation of the Hebrew phrase אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh ’ăšer ’ehyeh – also “I am who I am”, “I am what I am” or “I will be what I will be” or even “I create what (ever) I create“. The traditional...
Tetragrammaton The tetragrammaton (meaning “[consisting of] four letters”), יהוה in Hebrew and YHWH in Latin script, is the four-letter biblical name of the God of Israel. The books of the Torah and the rest of the Hebrew Bible (with the exception of Esther and Song of Songs) contain this Hebrew name. Religiously observant Jews...
Elohim Elohim (אֱלֹהִים) in the Hebrew Bible refers to deities, and is one of the many names or titles for God in the Hebrew Bible. The word is identical to the usual plural of el, meaning gods or magistrates, and is cognate to the ‘l-h-m found in Ugaritic, where it is used for the pantheon of Canaanite gods, the children of El, and...
El Shaddai El Shaddai (אֵל שַׁדַּי) or just Shaddai is one of the names of the God of Israel. El Shaddai is conventionally translated as God Almighty (Deus Omnipotens in Latin) but the construction of the phrase fits the pattern of the divine appellations in the Ancient Near East and as such can convey...
Elyon Elyon (עליון; Elyōn) is an epithet of the God of the Israelites in the Hebrew Bible. ʾĒl ʿElyōn is usually rendered in English as “God Most High”, and similarly in the Septuagint as ὁ Θεός ὁ ὕψιστος (“God the highest“). The term also has mundane uses, such as “upper” (where the ending in both roots is a locative, not superlative or comparative),...