1. Hebrew Bible, Esther, 9.10, 9.15-9.16 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
9.15. וַיִּקָּהֲלוּ היהודיים [הַיְּהוּדִים] אֲשֶׁר־בְּשׁוּשָׁן גַּם בְּיוֹם אַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר לְחֹדֶשׁ אֲדָר וַיַּהַרְגוּ בְשׁוּשָׁן שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת אִישׁ וּבַבִּזָּה לֹא שָׁלְחוּ אֶת־יָדָם׃ 9.16. וּשְׁאָר הַיְּהוּדִים אֲשֶׁר בִּמְדִינוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ נִקְהֲלוּ וְעָמֹד עַל־נַפְשָׁם וְנוֹחַ מֵאֹיְבֵיהֶם וְהָרֹג בְּשֹׂנְאֵיהֶם חֲמִשָּׁה וְשִׁבְעִים אָלֶף וּבַבִּזָּה לֹא שָׁלְחוּ אֶת־יָדָם׃ | 9.10. the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews’enemy, slew they; but on the spoil they laid not their hand." 9.15. And the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men in Shushan; but on the spoil they laid not their hand." 9.16. And the other Jews that were in the king’s provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of them that hated them seventy and five thousand—but on the spoil they laid not their hand—. |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 50.10 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 50.10. And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and there they wailed with a very great and sore wailing; and he made a mourning for his father seven days." |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Psalms, 2.7 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
2.7. אֲסַפְּרָה אֶל חֹק יְהוָה אָמַר אֵלַי בְּנִי אַתָּה אֲנִי הַיּוֹם יְלִדְתִּיךָ׃ | 2.7. I will tell of the decree: The LORD said unto me: 'Thou art My son, this day have I begotten thee." |
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4. Hebrew Bible, 2 Kings, 3.27 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
3.27. וַיִּקַּח אֶת־בְּנוֹ הַבְּכוֹר אֲשֶׁר־יִמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו וַיַּעֲלֵהוּ עֹלָה עַל־הַחֹמָה וַיְהִי קֶצֶף־גָּדוֹל עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּסְעוּ מֵעָלָיו וַיָּשֻׁבוּ לָאָרֶץ׃ | 3.27. Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt-offering upon the wall. And there came great wrath upon Israel; and they departed from him, and returned to their own land. |
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5. Hebrew Bible, Amos, 8.10 (8th cent. BCE - 6th cent. BCE)
| 8.10. And I will turn your feasts into mourning, And all your songs into lamentation; And I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, And baldness upon every head; And I will make it as the mourning for an only son, And the end thereof as a bitter day." |
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6. Hebrew Bible, Jeremiah, 6.26 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
6.26. בַּת־עַמִּי חִגְרִי־שָׂק וְהִתְפַּלְּשִׁי בָאֵפֶר אֵבֶל יָחִיד עֲשִׂי לָךְ מִסְפַּד תַּמְרוּרִים כִּי פִתְאֹם יָבֹא הַשֹּׁדֵד עָלֵינוּ׃ | 6.26. O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, And wallow thyself in ashes; Make thee mourning, as for an only son, Most bitter lamentation; For the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us." |
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7. Hebrew Bible, Judges, 11.29-11.32, 11.34-11.40 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
11.29. וַתְּהִי עַל־יִפְתָּח רוּחַ יְהוָה וַיַּעֲבֹר אֶת־הַגִּלְעָד וְאֶת־מְנַשֶּׁה וַיַּעֲבֹר אֶת־מִצְפֵּה גִלְעָד וּמִמִּצְפֵּה גִלְעָד עָבַר בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן׃ 11.31. וְהָיָה הַיּוֹצֵא אֲשֶׁר יֵצֵא מִדַּלְתֵי בֵיתִי לִקְרָאתִי בְּשׁוּבִי בְשָׁלוֹם מִבְּנֵי עַמּוֹן וְהָיָה לַיהוָה וְהַעֲלִיתִהוּ עוֹלָה׃ 11.32. וַיַּעֲבֹר יִפְתָּח אֶל־בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן לְהִלָּחֶם בָּם וַיִתְּנֵם יְהוָה בְּיָדוֹ׃ 11.34. וַיָּבֹא יִפְתָּח הַמִּצְפָּה אֶל־בֵּיתוֹ וְהִנֵּה בִתּוֹ יֹצֵאת לִקְרָאתוֹ בְתֻפִּים וּבִמְחֹלוֹת וְרַק הִיא יְחִידָה אֵין־לוֹ מִמֶּנּוּ בֵּן אוֹ־בַת׃ 11.35. וַיְהִי כִרְאוֹתוֹ אוֹתָהּ וַיִּקְרַע אֶת־בְּגָדָיו וַיֹּאמֶר אֲהָהּ בִּתִּי הַכְרֵעַ הִכְרַעְתִּנִי וְאַתְּ הָיִיתְ בְּעֹכְרָי וְאָנֹכִי פָּצִיתִי־פִי אֶל־יְהוָה וְלֹא אוּכַל לָשׁוּב׃ 11.36. וַתֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אָבִי פָּצִיתָה אֶת־פִּיךָ אֶל־יְהוָה עֲשֵׂה לִי כַּאֲשֶׁר יָצָא מִפִּיךָ אַחֲרֵי אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לְךָ יְהוָה נְקָמוֹת מֵאֹיְבֶיךָ מִבְּנֵי עַמּוֹן׃ 11.37. וַתֹּאמֶר אֶל־אָבִיהָ יֵעָשֶׂה לִּי הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה הַרְפֵּה מִמֶּנִּי שְׁנַיִם חֳדָשִׁים וְאֵלְכָה וְיָרַדְתִּי עַל־הֶהָרִים וְאֶבְכֶּה עַל־בְּתוּלַי אָנֹכִי ורעיתי [וְרֵעוֹתָי׃] 11.38. וַיֹּאמֶר לֵכִי וַיִּשְׁלַח אוֹתָהּ שְׁנֵי חֳדָשִׁים וַתֵּלֶךְ הִיא וְרֵעוֹתֶיהָ וַתֵּבְךְּ עַל־בְּתוּלֶיהָ עַל־הֶהָרִים׃ 11.39. וַיְהִי מִקֵּץ שְׁנַיִם חֳדָשִׁים וַתָּשָׁב אֶל־אָבִיהָ וַיַּעַשׂ לָהּ אֶת־נִדְרוֹ אֲשֶׁר נָדָר וְהִיא לֹא־יָדְעָה אִישׁ וַתְּהִי־חֹק בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל׃ | 11.29. Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Yiftaĥ and he passed over Gil῾ad, and Menashshe, and passed over Miżpe of Gil῾ad, and from Miżpe of Gil῾ad he passed over to the children of ῾Ammon." 11.30. And Yiftaĥ vowed a vow to the Lord, and said, If Thou shalt deliver the children of ῾Ammon into my hands," 11.31. then whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of ῾Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering." 11.32. So Yiftaĥ passed over to the children of ῾Ammon to fight against them: and the Lord delivered them into his hands." 11.34. And Yiftaĥ came to Miżpe to his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter." 11.35. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou hast become the cause of trouble to me: for I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot go back." 11.36. And she said to him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth to the Lord, do to me according to that which has proceeded out of thy mouth; seeing that the Lord has taken vengeance for thee of thy enemies, of the children of ῾Ammon." 11.37. And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go and wander down the mountain sides, and bewail my virginity, I and my friends." 11.38. And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and wept for her virginity upon the mountains." 11.39. And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Yisra᾽el," 11.40. that the daughters of Yisra᾽el went yearly to lament the daughter of Yiftaĥ, the Gil῾adite four days in the year." |
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8. Hebrew Bible, Zechariah, 12.10 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 12.10. And I will pour upon the house of David, And upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, The spirit of grace and of supplication; And they shall look unto Me because athey have thrust him through; And they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, And shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born." |
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9. Septuagint, 1 Maccabees, 7.46, 10.30 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 7.46. And men came out of all the villages of Judea round about, and they out-flanked the enemy and drove them back to their pursuers, so that they all fell by the sword; not even one of them was left. 10.30. and instead of collecting the third of the grain and the half of the fruit of the trees that I should receive, I release them from this day and henceforth. I will not collect them from the land of Judah or from the three districts added to it from Samaria and Galilee, from this day and for all time. |
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10. Septuagint, 2 Maccabees, 2.14, 6.7, 8.27-8.31, 15.39 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 2.14. In the same way Judas also collected all the books that had been lost on account of the war which had come upon us, and they are in our possession.' 6.7. On the monthly celebration of the king's birthday, the Jews were taken, under bitter constraint, to partake of the sacrifices; and when the feast of Dionysus came, they were compelled to walk in the procession in honor of Dionysus, wearing wreaths of ivy.' 8.27. And when they had collected the arms of the enemy and stripped them of their spoils, they kept the sabbath, giving great praise and thanks to the Lord, who had preserved them for that day and allotted it to them as the beginning of mercy.' 8.28. After the sabbath they gave some of the spoils to those who had been tortured and to the widows and orphans, and distributed the rest among themselves and their children.' 8.29. When they had done this, they made common supplication and besought the merciful Lord to be wholly reconciled with his servants.' 8.30. In encounters with the forces of Timothy and Bacchides they killed more than twenty thousand of them and got possession of some exceedingly high strongholds, and they divided very much plunder, giving to those who had been tortured and to the orphans and widows, and also to the aged, shares equal to their own.' 8.31. Collecting the arms of the enemy, they stored them all carefully in strategic places, and carried the rest of the spoils to Jerusalem.' 15.39. For just as it is harmful to drink wine alone, or, again, to drink water alone, while wine mixed with water is sweet and delicious and enhances one's enjoyment, so also the style of the story delights the ears of those who read the work. And here will be the end.' |
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11. Septuagint, Judith, 4.1, 4.4, 9.4 (2nd cent. BCE - 0th cent. CE)
| 4.1. By this time the people of Israel living in Judea heard of everything that Holofernes, the general of Nebuchadnezzar the king of the Assyrians, had done to the nations, and how he had plundered and destroyed all their temples; 4.4. So they sent to every district of Samaria, and to Kona and Beth-horon and Belmain and Jericho and to Choba and Aesora and the valley of Salem 9.4. and thou gavest their wives for a prey and their daughters to captivity, and all their booty to be divided among thy beloved sons, who were zealous for thee, and abhorred the pollution of their blood, and called on thee for help -- O God, my God, hear me also, a widow. |
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12. Septuagint, 3 Maccabees, 6.33 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 6.33. Likewise also the king, after convening a great banquet to celebrate these events, gave thanks to heaven unceasingly and lavishly for the unexpected rescue which he had experienced. |
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13. Philo of Alexandria, On The Life of Abraham, 88, 178 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 178. But to those who are fond of reviling and disparaging everything, and who are by their invariable habits accustomed to prefer blaming to praising the action which Abraham was enjoined to perform, it will not appear a great and admirable deed, as we imagine it to have been. |
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14. Philo of Alexandria, That God Is Unchangeable, 4 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 4. For the appropriate progeny of God are the perfect virtues, but that offspring which is akin to the wicked, is unregulated wickedness. But learn thou, if thou wilt, O my mind, not to bear children to thyself, after the example of that perfect man Abraham, who offered up to God "The beloved and only legitimate offspring of his soul,"2 the most conspicuous image of self-taught wisdom, by name Isaac; and who gave him up with all cheerfulness to be a necessary and fitting offering to God. "Having bound,"3 as the scripture says, this new kind of victim, either because he, having once tasted of the divine inspiration, did not condescend any longer to tread on any mortal truth, or because he saw that the creature was unstable and moveable, while he recognised the unhesitating firmness existing in the living God, on whom he is said to have believed.4 II. |
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15. Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, 13.50 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
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16. New Testament, Mark, 1.11 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.11. A voice came out of the sky, "You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. |
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17. Ps.-Philo, Biblical Antiquities, 40.2 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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