A study of the biblical Song of Songs. A discussion of the cultural context of the Song and its structure and unity is followed by an analysis of the relationship of the lovers, proceeding from the lovers as whole persons to the archetypes they embody, and finally to the interplay of Eros and Thanatos, creative and destructive forces, at the climax of the Song. Finally, a comparative analysis of the Garden of Eden story places the Song in a wider imaginative context.

The first reference to the Song of Songs is also the most radical:
Said Rabbi Akiba: Heaven forbid that any man in Israel ever disputed that the Song of Songs renders the hands unclean, for the whole world is not worth the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel, for all the Writings are holy, and the Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies. (Mishna Yadaim 3.5)

The book A Conceptual Approach to the Mekilta allows the reader to obtain a deeper insight into rabbinic literature. It shows, for example, how rabbinic concepts differ from the ideas of the Bible, and yet that tabbinic concepts always possess biblical antecedents. The conceptual approach also solves a major problem of rabbinic literature - How are the midrashic statements related to each other?

215 pages, paperback, 12.5cmX18.5cm, good condition: pages are unmarked and tight, some rubbing to covers.

The Mekilta is a tannaitic Midrash, and it consists of interpretations of extensive portions of the book of Exodus. Lauterbach has pointed out that the Mekilta, unlike other tannaitic Midrashim, contains more haggadic, non-juristic, than halakic, juristic interpretations. This preponderance of Haggadah is to be accounted for, as he says, by the fact that the Book of Exodus ``contains by far more narrative than law.``
(Max Kadushin: A Conceptual Approach to the Mekilta, page 1)

Contents: Le Conflict de 2 motofs dans le livre de Jonas: la limite de la prophetie et le defi de la sagesse / Toshiaki Nishimura. Hosea IV in the Septuagint Version / Takamitsu Muraoka. Deut 6:4-5. Perspectives as a Statemaent of Nationalism and of Identity of Confession / Yoshihide Suzuki. Individual - und Gemeindeethik bei Lukas / Sasagu Arai. Viele glaubten an ihn - Auseinandersetzung mit dem Glauben im Johannesevangelium / Yu Ibuki. A Neglected Literary Feature of the Christ-Hymn in Phil 2:6-11 / Takeshi Nagata. Neue Vordchlage zur Lesung und Ubersetzung Thomasevangelium Log 21, 103 und 68b / Katsumi Toyoshima.

241 pages, paperback, good condition: top of front cover and spine are a bit chipped, stamps indicating that the book is from the library of Prof. Binjamin Mazar - an impoertant Biblical archeologist and former president of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Rare book.

 In Battles of the Bible, detailed maps and specially commissioned ground and aerial photography, together with illustrations of all relevant aspects of biblical life, combine with a lively account by two experts in military affairs to provide a fascinating reconstruction of the chain of military clashes that formed biblical history.

 247 pages, hardcover with dust jacket, good condition. ISBN 394501314.

 Eretz Israel - the land which according to biblical tradition had been promised by God to Abraham as the permanent and particular home of the Jewish people - has been one of the main military thoroughfares as far back as written annal record. 
(Chaim Herzog, Mordechai Gichon: Battles of the Bible, page 12)

The book incorporates the latest biblical archaeological findings and interpretations. The material is presented by subject matter: cities; architectural elements; cultic structures; tombs; waterworks; agriculture; system of weights and measures; tools and utensils, and more.

290 pages, hardcover with dust jacket, good condition.

Knowledge of architecture in the biblical period has been limited both by the lack of information on architectural details in the ancient records and by the infrequent survival of the buildings themselves as the passage of the centuries the activities of succeeding generations of builders contributed to their eventual destruction. Of those buildings which have been found among the ruined cities of Canaan and early Israel, we are fortunate if one or two layers of masonry remain above the foundation level.

The first printed critical edition of the Latin text of a Biblical commentary by Stephen Langton (c. 1190). The English introduction, written by Avrom Saltman, discusses the sources of the commentary, its methodology, its relation to Jewish exegesis and its place in the history of medieval Biblical exegesis. Please note that the commentary is written in Latin.

272 pages, hardcover with dust jacket, good condition: some age spots on endpapers and jacket's flaps. Inscribed in Hebrew by Avrom Saltman - the editor and writer of the introduction.

Dr. Freund tells the story of the famous Jerusalem windows which were designed by Marc Chagall, the renowned artist. His birth in the Russian town of Vitabsk, his devotion to the Bible, and his travels through Egypt, Syria, and the land of Israel and countries of the Bible are recalled; the five steps preparatory to making the design and the selection of colors are discussed; and the process involved in making the glass and achieving the desired shades is explained. Thus are given the art, science, and interpretation of the windows, which are based on the Biblical account of the twelve sons of Jacob. The book is particularly dedicated to young people. Illustrated with 13 plates.

64 pages, hardcover with dust jacket, good condition.

Der grosse franzosische Maler Marc Chagall liess seine Staffelei plozlich stehen, kniete auf dem Boden nieder und began, seltsam geformte, bunte Stoffstucke, Papierfetzen und andered Material auf ein grosses weisses Blatt Papier zu werfen.

This book records the results of the excavations carried out between 1961 and 1967 and relates them to the results of earlier excavations. Some chapters describe the layout of Biblical Jerusalem and the problems that the excavations attempted to solve: the boundaries of David's City, for instance, and the authenticity of the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Key topics such as the Spring Gihon, the Pool of Siloam, and the rebuilding of the city walls are given special attention.

Digging up Jerusalem began just a hundred years before the recent excavations of the British School of Archaeology and its associates completed the recent campaign in 1967. The Palestine Exploration Fund was founded in 1865. The middle years of the nineteenth century constituted a period in which the great civilizations of western Asia were being revealed by the spade of the archaeologists, and the interest aroused was very great.

Another book you may enjoy:
Historical Sites in Israel

Color photographs, most of them taken in Israel, accompanied by verses - in both Hebrew and English - from Ecclesiastes.

`Go Forth to the Land That I Will Show You`
The beginning of the history of the children of Israel as told in the Bible dates back to Abraham, the first Patriarch, who lived in Mesopotamia around the 17th century B.C.E. Heeding the words of the Lord, he took his wife, Sarah, and his nephew, Lot, and departed for a new Land. `When they arrived in the land of Canan, Abraham passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh.` (Genesis 12:5-6). Why specify that Abraham camped `at the oak of Moreh`? The sentence which follows is the key: `The Canananites were then in the land.`
Abraham came into Canaan with `cattle, silver and gold.` (Genesis 13:2) Had he camped near the existing Caanite settlements, his flocks would have caused great damage to the local crops.

The book Ever Since Sinai deals with Revelation and Torah and is meant to be a "phenomenology of Torah". Table of Conents: Looking at a Marriage Contract; Love Letters; "Lord, Our God, Sovereign of the Universe"; Who Hast Chosen Us; Giver of the Torah; A Tree of Life; To Study and to Do.

132 pages, paperback, good condition: age shows but still clean and tight.

The visitor at a Jewish museum can spend hours in the contemplation of illuminated Hebrew marriage contracts, - the most beautiful among them coming from 17th and 18th century Italy. The artist can study the colors, the drawings, and the illuminations. The historian may muse on the dates, the names, and the places. The student of Jewish Law will check on the accuracy of the terminology.
(Jakob J. Petuchowski: Ever Since Sinai, page 1)

Another book you may enjoy:
Sacred Fragments: Recovering Theology for the Modern Jew
 

A translation of the biblical books: Amos, Hosea, First Isaiah and Micha into the English of today.

161 pages, hardcover, no dust jacket, good condition.

The texts of Genesis and Exodus (the Jerusalem version) accompanied by explanatory historical notes, religious paintings and full-colour photographs of the Holy Land.

The book brings the findings of the research expeditions in Sinai. With 90 photogravure plates and 16 maps and plans. Translated from Hebrew.

196 pages, hardcover with dust jacket, 25.5X31.5cm, good condition: pages are clean, unmarked and tight, binding is clean and strong, jacket is good with a few tears.

Early on the morning of 9th November 1956 five of us set out southwards from Beersheba in a Land-Rover on a hastily-improvised expedition into what was, for us, unknown territory. With only one vehicle we could not risk going too far south, so we decided to make first for Ain el Qudeirat, and then to cross the vast plateau of central Sinai, the `Wilderness of the Wanderings` reaching the Gulf of Suez at the modern oil city of Ras el Sudr.

A chassidic discourse on the verse "I am asleep yet my heart is awake..." (Song of Songs 5:2).

I am asleep
The exile of the Jewish soul - the apparent loss of Jewish identity - is compared to a state of sleep. In sleep the eyes are closed to outer reality. The power of sight, together with the other conscious powers of mind and heart, disappear into their subconscious source.  Though this source may reflect itself in dreams and other involuntary phenomena of sleep, these phenomena occur at the most external levels of the soul and, not being based upon objective sight, are unreal. This is indicated by their lack of intrinsic order and consistency.

The book In the Beggining deals with the book of Genesis. chapter 1 is devoted to a resume of its contents. Chapter 2 consists of selections from Genesis in an English translation. Both the resume and the selections are annotated. The following chapters deal with its historical background, authorship, style and philosophy.

892 pages, hardcover, no dust jacket, good condition: clean and tight copy.

Genesis contains accounts of Beginnings: the beginnings of the world, man, society, and the Jewish people.

[1-2:3] At the word of God, chaos, void and darkness yielded to order and light, the firmament unfolded, the waters under it assembled into one place, and the crust of dry land appeared.

(Solomon Goldman: In the Beginning, page 1)

A related book that may interest you:
Genesis and Exodus

This book tells the story of Moses' life and the epic chronicle of his people. The information is faithful to the Biblical record and the archaeological findings. Full color and B&W pictures illustrate the setting for this saga.

230 pages, hardcover with dust jacket, 9.5''X11'', good condition: some wear and tears to jacket, foxing on endpapers.

He was born under sentence of death, yet he lived a full span, and more. He grew up amid the luxury of a royal court, yet he threw in his lot with slaves. Coddled and pampered by an absolute monarch, he joined the monarch's most persecuted victims. Trained in the strict tenets of a ritual conservatism, he became a revolutionary. Halting of speech, he uttered words of sublime wisdom. In a world and a time of corruption, with little value placed on human life, he put forth a timeless and enexcelled code of ethics for the human race. Taken at birth from his people and their faith, he established their distinctive religion and moulded them into a nation.
This was Moses. He was to learn much and suffer much in his formative years, and undergo strange experiences, encounters and adventures before he emerged as a giant of his times, and of all times - Law-Giver, first and greatest of the Hebrew prophets, resistance leader and statesman, field commander and teacher.
The date of Moses' birth in Egypt is now placed by current historians and archaeologists at the beginning of the 13th century BC, a period when Egypt was already losing strength.

The story of Joseph and his brothers according to Genesis, chapter 37 and 39, retold for children, and illustrated in collage by Sarah Barkai.

No pagination, hardcover with dust jacket, good condition: general wear to jacket.

An encyclopedia for Jewish youth. The entries are relatively short and organized alphabetically. Entries for example: Aaron Aaronsohn, Abraham, Acre, Samuel Joseph Agnon, American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Arch of Titus, and numerous more. The encyclopedia includes many
pictures and illustrations.

350 pages, hardcover, no dust jacket, 8.5''X11'', good condition.