For questions about the mythology and stories of the Jewish religion; do not use this tag for general questions about Judaism.
For general questions about Judaism that are not about mythology, see Mi Yodeya.
Questions tagged [judaism]
13 questions
31
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4 answers
Why did God prefer Abel's offering to Cain's?
In the Old Testament, God accepts Abel's offering but rejects Cain's:
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an…
user62
9
votes
1 answer
Significance of Enoch's age in the Hebrew Bible and identification with seventh antediluvian king/sage from Mesopotamian mythology
In the Hebrew Bible, Genesis 5:23 records Enoch's age as 365 years. As far as I can tell based on my review of the BHS and Göttingen LXX apparatus, there are no alternate readings of this number as 354 nor as 364 years.1
Several scholars have noted…
Dan
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How did the angels Michael and Gabriel come to be associated with water and fire?
This interesting tidbit comes from the first chapter of Moncure Conway's “Demonology and Devil-lore”:
“These have been associated in rabbinical mythology with the angels Michael (genius of Water) and Gabriel (genius of Fire); but they refer both to…
yannis
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Is there a tradition of rock throwing for Mercury?
The Talmud refers to the Roman god Mercury as Merculus (מרקוליס) and always mentions that god in conjunction with a idolatrous practice of throwing a rock towards a pile of other rocks. Is there any documentation of such a practice as proper worship…
Reb Chaim HaQoton
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7
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Who was the Greek god Iudaios?
I keep getting references to this deity (they cite the work of Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher "Detailed dictionary of Greek and Roman mythology") in some websites regarding it as the origin of the word Judaism so I was wondering whats the story of this…
freethinker36
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7
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What is the connection between Asherah and the custom of Christmas Trees?
Has there been any serious studies into the relationship between the Asherah tree and the Christmas trees, with the possibility of the former being the source of the latter?
Reb Chaim HaQoton
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7
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Is there a myth about the World Egg in Talmud?
As we know, Genesis 1-2 is a remarkable and probably best known creation story.
Decades ago, the Finnish mythologist Martti Haavio referred in his book 'Väinämöinen' (1949, FINNISH) that there would have been a myth in the Jewish Talmud about the…
Eliel
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5
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Why did Christians, who take a huge part of their Bible from Jews, not have to follow the same rules as Jews?
As I'm sure all of you know, the Old Testament is the Hebrew bible. Why then do Christians not follow the same rules as the Jews? When Christianity was attracting attention, Paul said that Jews who converted had to follow the Jewish law, but…
Sam
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Tubal-cain (תּוּבַל קַיִן) and Vulcan
In Hebrew, "B" and "V" are the same letter (ב), so without the "Tu", Tubalcain (תּוּבַל קַיִן) and Vulcan are very similar names.
The French spelling is "Vulcain", which is even closer than the English.
Both are famous for being…
Ray Butterworth
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Are El in Judaism and El in the Canaanite Religion the same god?
El is the name of the supreme deity in the Canaanite Religion, and is also one of names of the God in Judaism and Christianity. I want to know are these 'El's the same god?
I am finding the source of monotheism, and I want to know was Judaism evolve…
George Jonathan Williams
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Are there any stories of Eisheth in Jewish Kabbalah feeding on souls
"Kabbalistic writings mention Eisheth is responsible for the creation of the Shedim (type of demon). Eisheth feeds upon the souls of humans, specifically those that have fallen from the virtuous ways of God. Upon devouring them, she would…
Orionixe
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Was early Judaism polytheistic?
Was early Judaism polytheistic, and were "angels" originaly minor gods? It is supposedly one of the points argued for in the book "Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan". Also, is this view the currently dominant theory on the origins of early…
Xyzk
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If angels cannot reproduce, then why did God castrate the angel Samael?
It's a common belief that angels are incapable of reproduction, if that is so then why is there a story about God castrating the angel Samael, he wouldn't need to if angels cannot procreate.
Orionixe
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