Sample Sources
The sources below are those contained in our three curated collections—covering themes of Passover, Gender Roles, and Holocaust Resistance. They represent a fraction of the thousands of sources that will be available when the full site launches in 2024.
A Man from Lachish with His Sons
This detail appears in a relief from the palace of Sennacherib, king of Assyria (r. 705–681 BCE), in Nineveh depicting the Assyrian conquest of Lachish in 701 BCE. (For the full relief, see "Conquest…
Goblet-shaped Cosmetic Container
This goblet-shaped cosmetic container of white limestone is from Hazor. The footed base, midsection with festoon pattern, and deep bowl with upper frieze of alternating checkerboard pattern form three…
Wasp Hive in Cow’s Skull
Wasp hive in cow’s skull, Golan Heights. The hive is reminiscent of the swarm of bees and honey that Samson found in a lion’s carcass, which became the subject of his riddle (Judges 14:8).
Sabbatical Years and the Jubilee
The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai: Speak to the Israelite people and say to them:
When you enter the land that I assign to you, the land shall observe a sabbath of the Lord. Six years you may…
Israel’s Choices
When all these things befall you—the blessing and the curse that I have set before you—and you take them to heart amidst the various nations to which the Lord your God has banished you, and you…
Purchase of Woman in Gozan
On the day of the new moon of Kislimu (Kislev), Bil-barakki, son of Nani, will bring Dayana and hand her over to Hoshea. If he does not bring and hand over the woman, Bil-barakki will pay Hoshea 3…
Where Can Wisdom be Found?
There is a mine for silver,
And a place where gold is refined.
Iron is taken out of the earth,
And copper smelted from rock.
He sets bounds for darkness;
To every limit man probes,
To rocks in…
Moses Blesses the Tribes
This is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, bade the Israelites farewell before he died. He said:
The Lord came from Sinai;
He shone upon them from Seir;
He appeared from Mount Paran,
An…
An Order Concerning Supplies and a Reference to the Temple of YHWH
To my lord Elyashib: May YHWH seek your welfare! And now, give to Shemaryahu an x-measure and to the Kerosite give a y-measure. And as for the matter which you commanded me, it is well. He (it?) is…
Dream Report
Now, lo, I saw a dream and since then I am very feverish. May Iahmoliah attend to my welfare.
Now, if you wish, do not sell them. Let the children eat them. Lo, there do not remain any cucumbers.
Tran…
A Shipment of Gold
Gold of Ophir to/of Beth Horon. 30 shekels.
Translated by Anson F. Rainey from Shmuel Aḥituv’s Hebrew edition.
Shalmaneser III, Kurkh Monolith
In the eponymate of Dayan-Ashur, on the 14th of Aiaru (Iyyar), I set out from Nineveh . . .
I set out from the Euphrates and approached Aleppo. They (i.e., the inhabitants of Aleppo) were afraid of…