Free Republic

I never paid any attention to it before, but when looking in the reference section of an old Bible, I noticed a picture of Moses holding the 10 Commandments and on them was Masoretic Text which was not in existence in Moses' time. Moses smashed the first set that God etched in Exodus 31:8 and chiseled out the second set. The language during Moses' time would not have been Masoretic Text with its diacritic markings, nor its predecessor, Aramaic Hebrew, nor its predecessor, Paleo Hebrew. Paleo Hebrew though would have been in use during the time of the Davidic Kingdom...

Excavators uncovered a seal and a bullae -- a seal impression use to sign documents or containers during ancient times -- in the Givati Parking Lot Excavation of the City of David in Jerusalem. These two artifacts were found next to the rubble of a structure that was destroyed during the 6th century BC by the Babylonians... The researchers said the finding was very rare and reveals just how badly Jerusalem was damaged during the Babylonian destruction. "The finding of the stamp and seal impression in the City of David indicates that despite the city's dire situation after the destruction,...

There’s an understandable impatience and frustration from many with how long it’s taking to see visible action from the Obamagate investigators. We’ve been getting clues and “bombshells” for a long time now, and yet nothing concrete seems to happen. What I’ll briefly lay out here is the case that it’s going to happen soon – it might be any day now – and we know that from the appearance of Grenell with the satchel at the Justice Department, along with a very few, easy-to-miss words of tweet in journalist Adam Housley’s feed in the last 48 hours. The clues are...

Rev. Bill and Dr. Deborah Owens, Founders of CAAP write: “Christians have a responsibility to help those in need, including the undocumented immigrants at our southern border. At the same time, we must also respect the need to secure our borders and ensure the safety of all U.S. citizens. The African-American community has been gravely injured by unfettered illegal immigration, which has resulted in loss of jobs, loss of housing, and other economic hardship.” Collectively, we stand with President Trump in the battle for the soul of America. I'm praying that POTUS builds the wall in the manner that Ezra...

ERRIADH, TUNISIA // In 586BC the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar laid waste to Jerusalem, inadvertently sowing seeds for a Jewish haven across the sea that has outlived his realm by 25 centuries and counting. Legend tells that refugees fled to the Tunisian island of Djerba, carrying a block from the ruined Temple of Solomon. Today it lies beneath the El Ghriba synagogue, the cornerstone of a thriving Jewish community. And after decades of Jewish exodus from Arab countries, that community is growing. For western holidaymakers, Djerba is a strip of lavish resorts along a sandy Mediterranean coast. For Tunisians, it also...

US Secretary of State John Kerry called the bereaved parents of American terror victim Ezra Schwartz, 18, who was killed in a shooting attack in the West Bank last week, to express his condolences. Kerry made the call from Abu Dhabi, the first leg of his current Mideast tour which will bring him to Israel and the West Bank on Tuesday. He told reporters before contacting Schwartz’s parents that there was no justification for Palestinian terror attacks against Israelis. “Look at Ezra Schwartz, who got shot, and another young life cut short,” Kerry told reporters in Abu Dhabi, according to...

Liberal blogger Ezra Klein loves to visit the White House, and the White House appears more than willing to open the door. Since 2009, Klein’s name appears in the White House visitor logs 27 times, according to a search of the records. The latest visit recorded in the records was December 12, 2013 -- while Klein was creating a brand new explanatory news and policy website which would become Vox Media. According to the visitor logs, Klein has traveled to the White House eight times to meet President Obama and has met with a myriad of other White House officials....

Tunisia’s elected assembly accepted a petition Wednesday to question the tourism minister over a decision allowing Israelis to use their passports to enter the country for an annual religious pilgrimage. While Israelis and Jews long have traveled to Tunisia for an annual pilgrimage to the Ghriba synagogue on the island of Djerba, this is the first year that Israelis have been allowed to use their passports rather than a special document issued by Tunisian embassies. Tunisia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. …

In daily Mass for the past number of days we’ve been reading from the books of Nehemiah and Ezra. These books deal with the return of the Jewish people from the Babylonian captivity.Most modern-day Christians have only a passing knowledge of these aspects of ancient Jewish history and these events may seem to have little to say to us. But in fact, they speak quite powerfully of very important human struggles today. Thus, a review of these historical events seems in order, as well as an application of them to our life and struggles today.To begin, the Jewish people, as...

1. So far, the Affordable Care Act's launch has been a failure. Not "troubled." Not "glitchy." A failure. But "so far" only encompasses 14 days. The hard question is whether the launch will still be floundering on day 30, and on day 45. 2. According to Bob Laszlewski, those problems aren't resolved. 3. What didn't the White House know and when didn't they know it? 4. One thing has gone abundantly right for the Affordable Care Act: The Republican Party. Their decision to shut down the government on the exact day the health-care law launched was a miracle for the...

Ezra Klein claims: There’s nothing about Scott Brown’s victory that needs to derail health-care reform in particular, or the rest of Obama’s 2010 agenda in general. You mean that Democrats in Congress won’t see any need to stop the health care overhaul after a Republican wins Ted Kennedy’s former Senate seat in one of the bluest states in the nation by promising to be the 41st vote against Obamacare? Really?

Here on the plains of the Tigris River lies the shrine of Ezra, the Jewish prophet, who returned to Jerusalem at the end of the Babylonian exile. According to biblical scholars, Ezra died years later back in the Mesopotamia at age 120 in what is now called Uzair. Locals believe Ezra passed away while roaming through the area with his donkey. His shrine still exists in this predominantly Shiite district of Amarah province filled with supporters of young cleric Muqtada's Sadr late father, a grand ayatollah assassinated in 1999. Bashir Zaalan is the custodian of Ezra's shrine. Zaalan inherited the...

Two years after the first Purim festival in 3405 (356 BCE), the Persian king Ahasueraus died and was succeeded by his son, Darius. Although a Jew according to Jewish law, Darius considered himself Persian and identified with the country of his birth. Nevertheless, as the son of Esther, he acted toward the Jews with far more benevolence than his predecessors had. In 3408, the second year of his reign, Darius granted the Jews permission to continue the work halted 18 years earlier by King Cyrus and to complete the reconstruction of their Temple in Jerusalem. Moreover, Darius helped finance the...