Questions tagged [judaism]

For questions about the mythology and stories of the Jewish religion; do not use this tag for general questions about Judaism.

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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 ...
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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.
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How are demons believed to be created in Jewish mythology?

What are some ways Jewish mythology mentions that demons are created? I know in Christianity that demons are created when angels fall from grace.
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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 ...
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1 vote
2 answers
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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". ...
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9 votes
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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 ...
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3 votes
1 answer
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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&...
5 votes
2 answers
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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 ...
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6 votes
4 answers
833 views

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 ...
7 votes
3 answers
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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?
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4 answers
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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) ...
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8 votes
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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 ...
30 votes
4 answers
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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 ...
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