Vol. 38:1

This article examines how the rabbis navigated the tension between biblical models of honest, even challenging prayer and the demands of reverence before God, drawing on texts from Habakkuk, the Psalms, Jeremiah, and Daniel.

A brief syntactic analysis of Judges 13:20-21, clarifying the grammatical structure of the angelic theophany narrative and its implications for interpretation.

An investigation of the hapax legomenon ketovet ka'aka in Leviticus 19:28, exploring whether the prohibition refers to tattooing or branding in light of ancient Near Eastern practices and rabbinic commentary.

An exploration of how biblical angels often conceal their true identity and mission, examining accounts in Genesis and Exodus to understand the theological significance of angelic anonymity and revelation.

A reinterpretation of the Decalogue suggesting that the commandments, including those phrased negatively, can be understood as positive affirmations of ethical and spiritual values.

A lexicographic study of the Hebrew verb in Joshua 6 describing what happened to Jericho's wall, arguing that the text may describe a voluntary surrender rather than a miraculous collapse.

An analysis of the different categories of sacrificial offerings in Leviticus and Numbers, proposing that they correspond to distinct personality types and ethical orientations.

An examination of the numerical patterns in the tribal offerings at the dedication of the Tabernacle altar in Numbers, revealing a rich layer of symbolic meaning in the repeated quantities.

A linguistic argument that the 'one language' (safa ahat) of Genesis 11:1 may refer to a proto-Hebrew, based on etymological evidence linking early Semitic roots to later Hebrew vocabulary.

Reviews Yonatan Kolatch's Masters of the Word: Vol. II, covering traditional Jewish Bible commentary from the 11th-13th centuries and examining the methodology of Rashi, Rashbam, and Ibn Ezra.

Two letters responding to prior JBQ articles: one on Judges 4:18 and a parallel to the Dinah story, and one comparing Koheleth and Goethe's Faust.