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.
Tombstone of Joel ben Ze’ev
This tombstone of Joel ben Ze’ev, who died in 1744, is topped with a carving of an eagle. Winged griffins and eagles symbolize God’s power. Only the wealthy could afford stone markers before the…
Ha-tsofeh le-vet Yisra’el: Tashlikh (The Observer of the House of Israel: Tashlikh)
You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea: You will show faithfulness to Jacob. . . .
—Micah 7:19–20
In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, while I was walking along the…
Psalm 29
A psalm of David.
Ascribe to the Lord, O divine beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name;
bow down to the Lord, majestic in holiness.
The voice of…
Apocalyptic Visions
In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and a vision of his mind in bed; afterward he wrote down the dream. Beginning the account, Daniel related the following…
Ezekiel’s Vision of the Divine Chariot
In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, when I was in the community of exiles by the Chebar Canal, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God. On the fifth day of the month—it…
Ceramic Offering Stand from Taanach
This 21-inch-high (54 cm) stand was made in the ajouré (open-spaced) style and finished to look like bronze. In the bottom register, a nude female with raised arms (a fertility goddess?) touches the…
Beses and Lyre Player
This detail appears on the right side of a pithos (storage jar) from Kuntillet Ajrud. The two Bes figures on the lower left are unrelated to the lyre player in the upper right. Bes was a minor…
Amulet in the Shape of the Demon Pazuzu
The Mesopotamian demon Pazuzu, depicted here in a combination of human and animal features, was invoked to prevent the malicious actions of the demon Lamashtu, who was believed to endanger newborn…
Coin with Helmeted Deity/Deity on a Winged Wheel
This coin from Yehud, the Persian name for the province of Judah, is larger and heavier than others like it. The helmeted and bearded male on the front is a deity who is usually, though not…
Coin with Lily/Falcon
On the front is a lily, commonly found on Yehud coins. On the back is a bird that most ornithologists consider to be a falcon; there is no consensus on its symbolism. With wings spread, this falcon…
Ivory Box with Ritual Scene
This ritual scene was carved twice on a cylindrical ivory box from Hazor, about 2.7 inches high and 2.2 inches in diameter (7 × 6 cm). A kneeling man raises his hands in prayer toward a stylized tree…
Ivory Cloisonné Relief with the Egyptian God Horus
This leaf-shaped ivory relief from Samaria depicts Horus as a child sitting on a lotus flower. The lotus was a symbol of regeneration, and because, in Egyptian belief, each pharaoh was considered an…