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119-559: The Hebrew ya'el means ibex , a nimble, sure-footed mountain goat native to that region. As of 2018, Yael was one of the most common female first names in contemporary Israel . Jael has often been understood to be the wife of Heber the Kenite . However, the Hebrew phrase translated this way could also mean "a woman of the group of the Kenites". The Kenites were a nomadic tribe—possibly

238-548: A Semitic , nature-oriented goddess whose essence was later integrated into Judaism . The Biblical heroine Jael 's name means "Ibex" in the Hebrew language . The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) contains several references to ibex : "The high mountains belong to the ibex" ( Psalm 104 :18); "A loving female ibex" ( Proverbs 5 :19). "Do you know the season when the mountain goats give birth?" ( Job 39:1). The spring of Ein Gedi , near

357-449: A common behavior in mammals to supplement calcium and phosphorus in their diet. They are preyed upon by Arabian leopards ( Panthera pardus nimr ), Arabian wolves ( Canis lupus arabs ), golden jackals ( Canis aureus ), caracals ( Caracal caracal ), red foxes ( Vulpes vulpes ), golden eagles ( Aquila chrysaetos ), Eurasian eagle owls ( Bubo bubo ), and bearded vultures ( Gypaetus barbatus) . When alarmed, they emit

476-520: A compilation by Zechariah Aghmati called Sefer ha-Ner . The Tosafot are collected commentaries by various medieval Ashkenazic rabbis on the Talmud (known as Tosafists or Ba'alei Tosafot ). One of the main goals of the Tosafot is to explain and interpret contradictory statements in the Talmud. Unlike Rashi, the Tosafot is not a running commentary, but rather comments on selected matters. Often

595-577: A consensus view. The rabbis recorded in the Mishnah are known as the Tannaim (literally, "repeaters", or "teachers"). These tannaim—rabbis of the second century CE--"who produced the Mishnah and other tannaic works, must be distinguished from the rabbis of the third to fifth centuries, known as amoraim (literally, "speakers"), who produced the two Talmudim and other amoraic works". Since it sequences its laws by subject matter instead of by biblical context,

714-410: A friendship with the victor. Biblical commentaries have viewed Jael as either a heroine or someone much less so. Newsom and Ringe consider her a survivor caught up in her husband's politics. Parallels between the details of Jael's actions and Ehud's assassination of Eglon have led van Wijk-Bos to propose Jael as killing Sisera in a manner similar to his conquering army's use of rape. Jael, along with Ehud,

833-463: A hammer. And while he was dying, Sisera said to Jael, "Behold pain has taken hold of me, Jael, and I die like a woman." And Jael said to him, "Go, boast before your father in hell and tell him that you have fallen into the hands of a woman." According to the Talmud , Jael engaged in sexual intercourse with Sisera seven times, but because she was attempting to exhaust him in order to kill him, her sin

952-460: A higher proportion of ibex genes. When researchers compared the growth rate of male goat and Yaez kids, they found that young goats experience a higher growth rate in spring while Yaez kids grow faster in summer. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the Nubian ibex as " vulnerable " on the basis that fewer than 10,000 mature individuals remain and the population

1071-717: A higher quality diet. Nubian ibex and other desert-dwelling ungulates have elevated isotopes of Nitrogen ( δ N ) due to their diet of plants that grow in denitrified soils. Most hematological, serum biochemical, and electrolyte values are consistent between males and females. However, females have significantly higher red blood cell counts, hematocrit , total leucocyte (white blood cell) counts, and total serum bilirubin than males. Genetic analyses identify 22 positively selected genes in Nubian ibex, when compared to domestic goats ( Capra hircus ). The genes affect such functions as immune response , protein ubiquitination , olfactory transduction , and visual development . 3 of

1190-636: A light tan color, with a white underbelly; males also have a dark brown mane down their backs. Their legs have a black and white pattern. They have a lighter rump with a dark brown tail. Males begin growing a beard at age 2 or 3, which continues to grow longer and darker as they age. During the autumn breeding season , mature males grow a " rutting fur" on their breast and sides which is very dark brown. It appears in October in 3–4-year-old males, but it may appear as early as July or August in older males age 6 and up. However, not all males develop rutting fur, even at

1309-604: A lower boundary on the dating of the Babylonian Talmud, it must post-date the early 5th century given its reliance on the Jerusalem Talmud . From the time of its completion, the Talmud became integral to Jewish scholarship. A maxim in Pirkei Avot advocates its study from the age of 15. This section outlines some of the major areas of Talmudic study. One area of Talmudic scholarship developed out of

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1428-492: A mature age. Nubian ibexes have long, thin horns that extend up and then backwards and down. In males, these reach around 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in length, while in females they are much smaller, reaching around 30 cm (12 in). Male horns are thicker than female horns, and grow large bulges which prevent the horns from sliding while the males are locked in combat. Male horn growth plateaus around age 7–8, where as female horn growth plateaus around age 4–6. There

1547-526: A more loosely organized horizontal streak than other hoofed animals. Their tapetum lucidum is morphologically similar to that of goats. It is blue-green, and enhances their night vision and vision of the horizon. The spatial resolving power in their temporal area is 17 cycles/degree, meaning that they can distinguish objects as small as 3 mm (0.12 in) from a distance of up to 30 metres (98 ft), allowing for food identification and predator detection. The Nubian ibex's standard intraocular pressure

1666-430: A second mating season in the spring, in response to hyper-arid climates. Gestation lasts 5 months. Litters of 1-2 kids are born between March and July, although the majority of births are synchronized in a 3-4 week period that peaks in late March and April. Females leave the herd to give birth in a secluded space. Newborns can stand within 15 minutes of birth, and can nurse within two hours. The mother and young rejoin

1785-496: A self-contained, edited passage known as a sugya . Much of the Gemara is legal in nature. Each analysis begins with a Mishnaic legal statement. With each sugya, the statement may be analyzed and compared with other statements. This process can be framed as an exchange between two (often anonymous, possibly metaphorical) disputants, termed the makshan (questioner) and tartzan (answerer). Gemara also commonly tries to find

1904-399: A shrill call to alert other ibex of danger. They share their habitat with numerous other herbivores, including rock hyrax ( Procavia capensis ), Arabian oryx ( Oryx leucoryx ), gazelles (Genus gazella ), and Asiatic wild ass ( Equus hemionus ). Nubian ibex have a mutualistic relationship with Tristram's starling ( Onycognathus tristrumil ), a small bird that eats the parasites on

2023-521: A single leap. Ibex typically traverse cliffs in single file when possible, and keeping relatively horizontal. Their repeated movement over time creates well-worn hillside trails. Ibex migrate throughout the day and throughout the year. During the day, they navigate between food patches as they forage. They may rest throughout the day to chew their cud , especially around midday. Additionally, on cold winter days, ibex in Egypt have been documented following

2142-664: A sole for one's foot. Despite its incomplete state, the Jerusalem Talmud remains an indispensable source of knowledge of the development of the Jewish Law in the Holy Land. It was also an important primary source for the study of the Babylonian Talmud by the Kairouan school of Chananel ben Chushiel and Nissim ben Jacob , with the result that opinions ultimately based on the Jerusalem Talmud found their way into both

2261-709: A subset of the Midianites —some of whom lived in close proximity to the Israelites. The Hebrew Bible records a number of cases of intermarriage between the Kenites and the Israelites. Hever the Kenite ( חבר הקיני ‎) was, according to the Book of Judges , a descendant of Jethro the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moses . He had separated himself and his wife Jael from the other Kenites and pitched their tent in

2380-602: A unique species. The earliest remains of Nubian ibex in Israel date back approximately 150,000 years to the Pleistocene , and they have been continually present in the region since then. In spite of the growing presence of livestock like domesticated goats over the last 10,000 years, Nubian ibex in the region have remained present throughout this time. However, their abundance has fluctuated over time in places like Ein Gedi , where they showed an increase in population in

2499-543: A woman. Jabin's army was led by Sisera ( Judges 4:2 ). The armies met on the Plain of Esdraelon , where Sisera's iron-bound chariots became hampered by the mud caused by a downpour during the night that caused the Wadi Kishon to overflow its banks. The Canaanites were defeated, and Sisera fled the scene. Sisera arrived on foot at the tent of Heber on the plain of Zaanaim . Heber and his household were at peace with Jabin,

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2618-660: Is a significant relationship between the individual's age and the number of horn ridges. Historically, Nubian ibex were distributed across the Middle East and Northeastern Africa. Its range today is within Egypt , Jordan , Oman , Israel , Palestine , Saudi Arabia and Sudan . It was extirpated in Lebanon , though a captive breeding and reintroduction process is underway. It has also been extirpated in Syria . Its presence

2737-470: Is an example in Judges of the contrast between marginal heroes and well-armed enemies conquered by wit and stealth. Albert Barnes conjectures that Jael sympathized with the Israelites because of the twenty-year period of harsh oppression inflicted on them by Jabin. Noting the maternal and erotic undertones of the text and some commentators' qualms about Jael's seductive and violent act, Bachmann points out that

2856-502: Is based on 2022 mitochondrial evidence: Siberian ibex Nubian ibex Markhor Domestic goat Bezoar ibex Alpine ibex Iberian ibex Nubian ibex are the smallest ibex species on Earth, following Bergmann's rule . They stand around 65–75 cm (26–30 in) tall at the shoulder. They are sexually dimorphic : males are significantly larger than females, with males averaging 52–74.7 kg (115–165 lb) and females 25.3–32.7 kg (56–72 lb). They are

2975-474: Is declining. Threats faced by the animal include competition with livestock for water and fodder, hunting pressure, climate change , habitat fragmentation , and habitat destruction . Ecotourism and outdoor recreation may disturb ibex in nature reserves, causing them to change their behavior in order to avoid people. When possible, they seek out water sources with lower human presence, and more readily abandon high quality food patches when human disturbance

3094-459: Is demonstrated by decreased vigilance in areas with greater human presence. These subpopulations seek out towns due to abundant food, shelter, and protection from predators. Their habituation leads to property damage, consumption of harmful substances like garbage, reproductive isolation from other subpopulations, and reduced antipredator behavioral responses. Ibex have been recorded standing on vehicles and entering buildings. As of 2020,

3213-568: Is during this period that rabbinic discourse began to be recorded in writing. In antiquity, the two major centres of Jewish scholarship were located in Galilee and Babylonia . A Talmud was compiled in each of these regional centres. The earlier of the two compilations took place in Galilee, either in the late fourth or early fifth century, and it came to be known as the Jerusalem Talmud (or Talmud Yerushalmi ). Later on, and likely some time in

3332-452: Is estimated to be 17.95 ± 4.78 mmHg. They produce relatively low rates of tears compared to other animal species, leaving them highly susceptible to infection. Nubian ibex can balance their body's nitrogen levels on poor quality diets by reabsorbing large quantities of their bodies' urea . This slows their metabolism when only poor quality food is available, but Nubian ibex can regain lost body mass rapidly upon returning to

3451-477: Is high. Human presence in nature reserves may also contribute to decreased reproductive rates in ibex; when tourists stopped visiting Israel's Ein Avdat National Park during COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, the ratio of young to female ibex more than doubled. Conversely, some ibex have become habituated to human settlements and popular nature reserves, leading to potential conflict. Habituation

3570-799: Is largely in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic , although quotations in the Gemara of the Mishnah, the Baraitas and Tanakh appear in Mishnaic or Biblical Hebrew. Some other dialects of Aramaic occur in quotations of other older works, like the Megillat Taanit . The reason why earlier texts occur in Hebrew, and later texts in Aramaic, is because of the adoption of the latter (which was the spoken vernacular) by rabbinic circles during

3689-464: Is now considered a distinct species. The wild population is estimated at 4,500 mature individuals, and it is classified as vulnerable . The Nubian ibex was first identified in modern science by Frédéric Cuvier in his 1825 Histoire naturelle des mammifères: avec des figures originales, coloriées, dessinées d'aprèsdes animaux vivans , in which he illustrated the animal with the label "Bouc sauvage de la Haute-Égypte" ("Wild goat of Upper Egypt "). It

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3808-461: Is often criticized as being a modern-day version of pilpul . Nevertheless, the influence of the Brisker method is great. Most modern-day Yeshivot study the Talmud using the Brisker method in some form. One feature of this method is the use of Maimonides ' Mishneh Torah as a guide to Talmudic interpretation, as distinct from its use as a source of practical halakha . Rival methods were those of

3927-547: Is present across the region, from Iran and Mesopotamia to Arabia and the Horn of Africa. Assyrian travelers brought bronze artwork bearing the motif as far as Olympia , Greece . This motif is exemplified by the Cult Stand from Ta-anakh from the 10th Century BCE, which also contains two ibex next to a sacred tree, and other nature-themed carvings. It is thought to depict the relationship of Yahweh / El (God) and Asherah ,

4046-627: Is primarily because the prestige of the Jewish community of Israel steadily declined in contrast with the Babylonian community in the years after the redaction of the Talmud and continuing until the Gaonic era. Maimonides claims that all Jewish communities in the Gaonic period formally accepted the Babylonian Talmud as binding, and that in any areas where the two Talmuds conflict, deference is given to

4165-443: Is regarded as more comprehensive. The structure of the Talmud follows that of the Mishnah, in which six orders ( sedarim ; singular: seder ) of general subject matter are divided into 60 or 63 tractates ( masekhtot ; singular: masekhet ) of more focused subject compilations, though not all tractates have Gemara. Each tractate is divided into chapters ( perakim ; singular: perek ), 517 in total, that are both numbered according to

4284-430: Is relatively stable and strongly protected, with over 80% of the population range located within wildlife reserves. Israel's Nature and Parks Authority conducts an annual population count using visual surveys and trail cameras. Israel's Nubian ibex are officially protected by the 1955 Wildlife Protection Law . Nubian ibex have been a common image in petroglyphs (rock art), metal work, pottery, and other artwork across

4403-564: Is the symbol of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and was chosen due to its iconic representation of Israeli wildlife, as well as for the resemblance of its rounded horn to a Roman arch , representing local archaeological history. Bedouin have historically raised young Nubian ibex in integrated herds with domestic goats, with whom the ibex can viably interbreed. The Ma'aza Bedouin of Egypt's Eastern Desert have named several locations based on ibex presence and behavior. In Israel,

4522-570: Is typically in October and November, during which a dominant male will pursue several females. Males produce a strong scented secretion when females are in estrous . As they pursue potential mates, they smell the females' anal region with lip curled up ( Flehmen ). Males can reach breeding maturity as young as 2 years, but may not be allowed to mate until age 5 when they are strong enough to fend off rival males. Females can breed as young as six months old, but often don't breed until age 1-3. Studies suggest that some Nubian ibex subpopulations are developing

4641-524: Is uncertain in Ethiopia , Eritrea and Yemen . Nubian ibex live in rough, dry, mountainous terrain, where they eat mainly grasses and leaves , especially from Acacia trees (Genus Vachellia ). They forage for food on the ground and may also rear up on their hind legs to reach leaves in trees. They can climb into trees while feeding. They reduce feeding on plants with strong defenses , such as tannins and thorns. Preferred plants vary depending on

4760-570: Is written largely in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic , a Western Aramaic language that differs from its Babylonian counterpart . The eye and the heart are two abettors to the crime. The final redaction of the text was in the late fourth or early fifth century, once Christianity had become the state religion of the Roman Empire and Jerusalem. Just as wisdom has made a crown for one's head, so, too, humility has made

4879-692: The Talmuda de-Eretz Yisrael ("Talmud of the Land of Israel"). Prior to being written down, it was transmitted orally for centuries and represents a compilation of scholastic teachings and analyses on the Mishnah (especially those concerning agricultural laws) found across regional centres of the Land of Israel now known as the Academies in Galilee (principally those of Tiberias , Sepphoris , and Caesarea ). It

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4998-458: The Aggadic material from the Talmud. It was intended to familiarize the public with the ethical parts of the Talmud and to dispute many of the accusations surrounding its contents. Geonic -era (6th-11th centuries) commentaries have largely been lost, but are known to exist from partial quotations in later medieval and early modern texts. Because of this, it is known that now-lost commentaries on

5117-656: The Azāzmeh tribal wasm (symbol) on petroglyphs was made by modifying older ibex rock art. Bedouin have traditionally hunted ibex for food and skin, and were often historically hired as hunters and guides by British and Egyptian officials. More recently, some Bedouin in the Sinai region have worked as protectors of ibex and other wildlife. Talmud The Talmud ( / ˈ t ɑː l m ʊ d , - m ə d , ˈ t æ l -/ ; Hebrew : תַּלְמוּד ‎ , romanized :  Talmūḏ , lit.   'teaching') is, after

5236-572: The Gemara ( גמרא , c. 500 CE), a commentary of the Mishnah and related Tannaitic writings whose greater goal is to systematically understand the Hebrew Bible . Sometimes, the term "Talmud" is only used for the Gemara. As a whole, the traditions of the Talmud emerged in a literary tradition that occurred between the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE and the Arab conquest in

5355-401: The Hebrew Bible , the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ( halakha ) and Jewish theology . Until the advent of modernity , in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewish cultural life and was foundational to "all Jewish thought and aspirations", serving also as "the guide for the daily life" of Jews. Above all,

5474-446: The Hebrew alphabet and given names, usually using the first one or two words in the first Mishnah. A perek may continue over several (up to tens of) pages . Each perek will contain several mishnayot . The Mishnah is a compilation of legal opinions and debates. Statements in the Mishnah are typically terse, recording brief opinions of the rabbis debating a subject; or recording only an unattributed ruling, apparently representing

5593-576: The IUCN and other sources estimate wild Nubian ibex populations by country as follows: The historically dense ibex population was decimated in the wake of the First World War when the sudden availability of rifles enabled Bedouin to hunt them to near extinction. After the establishment of the State of Israel, when hunting was outlawed and nature reserves were created in which they were protected,

5712-853: The Middle East for thousands of years, with some artwork dating back to the late Pleistocene . One example is a life-sized image carved in sandstone in Egypt, dated to the Upper Paleolithic . In petroglyphs, ibex are often portrayed as hunted by dogs and human archers. They are also frequently depicted alongside celestial imagery such as a star, sun, cross, or circle. They were commonly hunted using desert kites (long, narrowing walls that form an enclosure), dogs, stone enclosures, and nets. The ibex's role in artwork has been suggested as representing literal acts like ritual hunts , as well as spiritual and metaphorical concepts such as resurrection , seasonal cycles of rain and drought, and

5831-506: The Mir and Telz yeshivas . See Chaim Rabinowitz § Telshe and Yeshiva Ohel Torah-Baranovich § Style of learning . The text of the Talmud has been subject to some level of critical scrutiny throughout its history. Rabbinic tradition holds that the people cited in both Talmuds did not have a hand in its writings; rather, their teachings were edited into a rough form around 450 CE (Talmud Yerushalmi) and 550 CE (Talmud Bavli.) The text of

5950-619: The Mishnah and the Babylonian Gemara, the latter representing the culmination of more than 300 years of analysis of the Mishnah in the Talmudic Academies in Babylonia. The foundations of this process of analysis were laid by Abba Arika (175–247), a disciple of Judah ha-Nasi . Tradition ascribes the compilation of the Babylonian Talmud in its present form to two Babylonian sages, Rav Ashi and Ravina II . Rav Ashi

6069-465: The Tosafot and the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides . Ethical maxims contained in the Jerusalem Talmud are scattered and interspersed in the legal discussions throughout the several treatises, many of which differ from those in the Babylonian Talmud. The Babylonian Talmud ( Talmud Bavli ) consists of documents compiled over the period of late antiquity (3rd to 6th centuries). During this time,

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6188-519: The Wife of Bath's Prologue , and whilst discussing her fifth husband's "book of wikked wives", Chaucer mentions some wives who "han drive nailes in hir brain, / Whil that they slepte, and thus they had hem slain." Judges 4:17 states that there was peace between the Canaanites and Heber's clan. They were familiar to the Israelites through the connection of Jethro to Moses, and their skill as metalworkers

6307-472: The 15th and 16th centuries, a new intensive form of Talmud study arose. Complicated logical arguments were used to explain minor points of contradiction within the Talmud. The term pilpul was applied to this type of study. Usage of pilpul in this sense (that of "sharp analysis") harks back to the Talmudic era and refers to the intellectual sharpness this method demanded. Pilpul practitioners posited that

6426-498: The 15th century on, some authorities sought to apply the methods of Aristotelian logic , as reformulated by Averroes . This method was first recorded, though without explicit reference to Aristotle, by Isaac Campanton (d. Spain, 1463) in his Darkhei ha-Talmud ("The Ways of the Talmud"), and is also found in the works of Moses Chaim Luzzatto . According to the present-day Sephardi scholar José Faur , traditional Sephardic Talmud study could take place on any of three levels. In

6545-473: The 18th century, pilpul study waned. Other styles of learning such as that of the school of Elijah b. Solomon, the Vilna Gaon , became popular. The term "pilpul" was increasingly applied derogatorily to novellae deemed casuistic and hairsplitting. Authors referred to their own commentaries as "al derekh ha-peshat" (by the simple method) to contrast them with pilpul. Among Sephardi and Italian Jews from

6664-709: The 1970s, researchers in Lahav, Israel , began breeding and studying hybrids of Nubian ibex and domestic goats, called " Yaez " (" יעז "). In one study of these hybrids, plasma testosterone peaked in August and testes size peaked in September–October. In a study on reproduction, researchers found that females were more likely to abort their young if they were first-time pregnancies and triplets (as opposed to smaller litters). Mortality rates of young were highest in spring and lowest in winter. Kid mortality rates increased with

6783-436: The 3rd century BC (i.e., the Second Temple period ). Based on its language and content, the current consensus is that the song was written no earlier than the 7th century BC. Pseudo-Philo refers to Jael in the book, Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum : Now Jael took a stake in her left hand and approached him, saying, "If God will work this sign with me, I know that Sisera will fall into my hands. Behold I will throw him down on

6902-462: The 5th century by Rav Ashi and Ravina II . There is also an earlier collection known as the Jerusalem Talmud ( Talmud Yerushalmi ). It may also traditionally be called Shas ( ש״ס ), a Hebrew abbreviation of shisha sedarim , or the "six orders" of the Mishnah . The Talmud has two components: the Mishnah ( משנה , c. 200 CE), a written compendium of the Oral Torah ; and

7021-534: The Ancient"). Ibex feature as imagery in Jewish love poems, such as Isaac Uziel 's “Where will you camp, O my ibex?”, written in the early 17th century. In the early 20th Century, Russian Jewish performer Ida Rubinstein was characterized as "the great ibex of the Jewish Ghetto ." Yael (יָעֵל) remains a common name for Jews , and is one of the most popular female baby names in Israel. The Nubian ibex

7140-596: The Babylonian Talmud may draw upon the Mishnah, the Jerusalem Talmud, midrash, and other sources. The traditions that the Gemara comments on are not limited to what is found in the Mishnah, but the Baraita as well (a term that broadly designates Oral Torah traditions that did not end up in the Mishnah). The baraitot cited in the Gemara are often quotations from the Tosefta (a tannaitic compendium of halakha parallel to

7259-592: The Babylonian opinion. Neither covers the entire Mishnah. For example, the Babylonian commentary only covers 37 of 63 Mishnaic tractates. In particular: The Babylonian Talmud records the opinions of the rabbis of the Ma'arava (the West, meaning Israel) as well as of those of Babylonia, while the Jerusalem Talmud seldom cites the Babylonian rabbis. The Babylonian version also contains the opinions of more generations because of its later date of completion. For both these reasons, it

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7378-691: The Bible itself has nothing but praise for Jael, called most blessed of women in the Song of Deborah. Christian moral theorists during the Renaissance extensively referred to Jael as an example of tyrannicide . Medieval images of Jael, mostly in illuminated manuscripts , depicted her as both a defender of Israel and a prefiguration of the Virgin Mary . This can be seen in the Stavelot Bible ,

7497-590: The Dead Sea, translates to "Spring of the goat-kid;" the location features in King David 's story, where he is sought "in the direction of the rocks of the wild goats" ( 1 Samuel 24 :3). Ibex are one of the species whose horns can be used to construct a Shofar ( Jewish religious musical horn ): "The shofar that was used on Rosh HaShana in the Temple was made from the straight horn of an ibex, and its mouth,

7616-550: The Idolatry of Solomon . More positively, Jael was included in sets of the female Nine Worthies , such as the prints by Hans Burgkmair . Ladies sometimes chose to have their portraits painted as Jael, a transformation achieved by holding a hammer and spike. In the Baroque period, Jael continued to be a sexual figure in art. Works by Gregorio Lazzarini and Artemisia Gentileschi are two examples of an attractive Jael, shown in

7735-403: The Judaean Desert and Negev Highlands. This allows for gene flow . An additional small population was established in the Golan Heights through reintroduction in 1970, and now numbers at least 100 individuals. The Judaean Desert population is home to approximately 800 individuals, the Negev Highlands are inhabited by around 400, and the Eilat Mountains to at least 150. Israel's population

7854-524: The Late Holocene between 949 and 5,164 years ago. Radiocarbon dated bones from archaeological excavations indicate that the Nubian ibex has been in a predator-prey relationship with the Arabian leopard throughout the Holocene. The Nubian ibex shares a genus, Capra , with all other ibex and goats. Phylogenetic reconstructions of the ibex/goat family tree have mixed results, with different studies reaching different conclusions. One Y-chromosomal DNA analysis suggests two clades (subgroups) within

7973-432: The Mishnah discusses individual subjects more thoroughly than the Midrash , and it includes a much broader selection of halakhic subjects than the Midrash. The Mishnah's topical organization thus became the framework of the Talmud as a whole. But not every tractate in the Mishnah has a corresponding Gemara. Also, the order of the tractates in the Talmud differs in some cases from that in the Mishnah . The Gemara constitutes

8092-409: The Mishnah) and the Midrash halakha (specifically Mekhilta, Sifra and Sifre ). Some baraitot , however, are known only through traditions cited in the Gemara, and are not part of any other collection. In addition to the six Orders, the Talmud contains a series of short treatises of a later date, usually printed at the end of Seder Nezikin. These are not divided into Mishnah and Gemara. The work

8211-456: The Roman destruction of the Jewish commonwealth and the Second Temple in the year 70 and the consequent upheaval of Jewish social and legal norms. As the rabbis were required to face a new reality—mainly Judaism without a Temple (to serve as the center of teaching and study) and total Roman control over Judaea , without at least partial autonomy—there was a flurry of legal discourse and the old system of oral scholarship could not be maintained. It

8330-777: The Siberian ibex. The study's authors provide potential explanations for this discrepancy, including a possible ancient hybridization of the ancestors of the two Y-chromosome clades. A separate mitochondrial study suggests that the Nubian ibex forms a separate, more ancient offshoot from most other ibex and may be monophyletic with the Siberian ibex. An additional Y-chromosomal DNA and mitochondrial DNA study concludes that Nubian ibex are most closely related to Ethiopia's Walia ibex ( C. walie ), and they may have separated about 800,000 years ago. Another study used multidimensional scaling (MDS) to suggest that Nubian ibex are more closely related to Alpine ibex and European ibex than to all others. Genetic analysis suggests that their population

8449-666: The Speculus Darmstadt, as well as several other texts. When not shown in the act of killing Sisera, she carries her hammer and sometimes the spike, making her easy to identify. In Renaissance works the subject is one of the most commonly shown in the Power of Women topos , with other biblical women who triumphed over men, such as Judith or Delilah . Here she was used to show the risk for men in following women, in groupings including positive figures and scenes such as Judith beheading Holofernes , but mostly ones with females depicted as over-powerful, such as Phyllis riding Aristotle , Samson and Delilah, Salome and her mother Herodias and

8568-770: The Talmud after the end of the Amoraic period, known as the Savoraim or Rabbanan Savora'e (meaning "reasoners" or "considerers"). Unlike the Western Aramaic dialect of the Jerusalm Talmud, the Babylonian Talmud has a Babylonian Aramaic dialect. The Jerusalem is also more fragmentary (and difficult to read) due to a less complete redactional process . Legally, the two differ minimally. The Babylonian Talmud has received significantly more interest and coverage from commentators. This significantly greater influence

8687-507: The Talmud could contain no redundancy or contradiction whatsoever. New categories and distinctions ( hillukim ) were therefore created, resolving seeming contradictions within the Talmud by novel logical means. In the Ashkenazi world the founders of pilpul are generally considered to be Jacob Pollak (1460–1541) and Shalom Shachna . This kind of study reached its height in the 16th and 17th centuries when expertise in pilpulistic analysis

8806-506: The Talmud is a commentary on the Mishnah , primarily written in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic . It contains the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis on a variety of subjects, including halakha , Jewish ethics , philosophy , customs , history , and folklore , and many other topics. The term Talmud normally refers to the collection of writings named specifically the Babylonian Talmud ( Talmud Bavli ), compiled in

8925-614: The Talmud was compiled appears to have been forgotten at least by the second half of the Middle Ages, when estimates between the 3rd century BCE to the 9th century CE are suggested in the Wikkuah , a text that records the debates that took place in the Disputation of Paris (also known as the "Trial of the Talmud") which took place in 1240. A wide range of dates have been proposed for the Babylonian Talmud by historians. The text

9044-402: The Talmud were written by Paltoi Gaon, Sherira , Hai Gaon , and Saadya (though in this case, Saadiya is not likely to be the true author). Of these, the commentary of Paltoi ben Abaye ( c. 840) is the earliest. His son, Zemah ben Paltoi paraphrased and explained the passages which he quoted; and he composed, as an aid to the study of the Talmud, a lexicon which Abraham Zacuto consulted in

9163-460: The Talmud, has become a classic. Sections in the commentary covering a few tractates (Pes, BB and Mak) were completed by his students, especially Judah ben Nathan , and a sections dealing with specific tractates (Ned, Naz, Hor and MQ) of the commentary that appear in some print editions of Rashi's commentary today were not composed by him. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, a genre of rabbinic literature emerged surrounding Rashi's commentary, with

9282-532: The act of killing her foe. Jael is portrayed in the French silent film Jael and Sisera (1911), directed by Henri Andréani. Nubian ibex The Nubian ibex ( Capra nubiana ) is a desert-dwelling goat species (Genus Capra ) found in mountainous areas of northern and northeast Africa, and the Middle East . It was historically considered to be a subspecies of the Alpine ibex ( C. ibex ), but

9401-421: The age of about three years. Herds are typically up to 20 individuals, but may reach as high as 50. Groups can also be smaller (less than 10) in habitats with fewer resources. Female herds are often composed of related individuals that follow a dominance hierarchy . The males are solitary or form more transitory bands of up to eight individuals. During the breeding season, males join the female-based herds for

9520-578: The amount of rain; rainy winters result in higher feeding preference for annual plants over perennials . Ibex preferentially feed in spaces that are close to cliffs where they can easily escape predators , demonstrating a Landscape of Fear : the farther from cliffs, the more vigilant ibex become. Ibex will also spend more time feeding in green patches with high nutritional quality and that are closer to water sources. Female Nubian ibex in Oman have been recorded consuming small bone fragments ( osteophagy ),

9639-513: The commentary portion of the Talmud. The Mishnah, and its commentary (the Gemara), together constitute the Talmud. This commentary arises from a longstanding tradition of rabbis analyzing, debating, and discussing the Mishnah ever since it had been published. The rabbis who participated in the process that produced this commentarial tradition are known as the Amoraim . Each discussion is presented in

9758-409: The correct biblical basis for a given law in the Mishnah as well as the logical process that connects the biblical to the Mishnaic tradition. This process was known as talmud , long before the "Talmud" itself became a text. In addition, the Gemara contains a wide range of narratives, homiletical or exegetical passages, sayings, and other non-legal content, termed aggadah . A story told in a sugya of

9877-520: The early seventh century. In all, the Talmud is divided into 63 tractates , with each tractate systematically discussing one general subject or theme. In the standard print of the Talmud (the Vilna Shas ), the Talmud runs to a length of 2,711 double-sided folios . Talmud translates as "instruction, learning", from the Semitic root lmd , meaning "teach, study". Originally, Jewish scholarship

9996-466: The explanations of Tosafot differ from those of Rashi. Among the founders of the Tosafist school were Rabbeinu Tam , who was a grandson of Rashi, and, Rabbenu Tam's nephew, Isaac ben Samuel . The Tosafot commentaries were collected in different editions in the various schools. The benchmark collection of Tosafot for Northern France was that of Eliezer of Touques . The standard collection for Spain

10115-426: The fifteenth century. Saadia Gaon is said to have composed commentaries on the Talmud, aside from his Arabic commentaries on the Mishnah. The first surviving commentary on the entire Talmud is that of Chananel ben Chushiel . Many medieval authors also composed commentaries focusing on the content of specific tractates, including Nissim ben Jacob and Gershom ben Judah . The commentary of Rashi , covering most of

10234-566: The genes have evolved to develop skin barriers that mitigate solar radiation in the hot desert. They also have copy number variations (CNVs) of genes associated with xenobiotic metabolism and energy metabolism , due to processing desert plants with many secondary metabolites . Additional solar radiation mitigation adaptations include genes associated with hair follicle development and increased DNA repair mechanisms. Nubian ibex also have CNVs for expanded toxic compound removal, to deal with more toxic foods than other goat species eat. In

10353-510: The genus: The first clade contains domestic goats ( C. hircus ), wild goats ( C. aegagrus ), and markhors ( C. falconeri ). The second clade contains all other ibex, including the Nubian ibex. In this analysis, the Nubian ibex is monophyletic (most closely related) to the Siberian ibex ( C. sibirica ). However, when the same study analyzed Mitochondrial DNA , it was suggested that all species in genus Capra are in one clade except for

10472-412: The ground from the bed on which he sleeps; and if he does not feel it, I know that he has been handed over." And Jael took Sisera and pushed him onto the ground from the bed. But he did not feel it, because he was very groggy. And Jael said, "Strengthen in me today, Lord, my arm on account of you and your people and those who hope in you." And Jael took the stake and put it on his temple and struck it with

10591-437: The ground while he was sleeping, killing him instantly. Jael was then the woman with the honor of defeating Jabin's army, as prophesied by Deborah, and she showed Barak Sisera's dead body in her tent. The "Song of Deborah" ( Judges 5:24–26 ) recounts: Extolled above women be Jael, Extolled above women in the tent. He asked for water, she gave him milk; She brought him cream in a lordly dish. She stretched forth her hand to

10710-440: The herd in a few days, joining other mothers and young to form a crèche for several weeks. Leaving kids in a sheltered crèche allows mothers to seek out richer food patches and spaces that are farther from cliffs, compared to mothers that keep their kids with them at all times. Kids are weaned around 4 months old. Females reach mature size at age 3-4, while males reach it around 6 years old. Nubian ibex can live up to 12 years in

10829-657: The ibex population rebounded. In 1966, the recovering population was estimated at 800 individuals nationwide. Three primary ibex populations exist in Israel: in the Negev Highlands , Eilat Mountains , and the Judaean Desert , which traverses into the Palestinian West Bank . There is habitat connectivity between these population centers, with an especially strong wildlife corridor between

10948-409: The ibex's skin. They may host parasites including: the ibex fly ( Lipoptena chalcomelanea ), blood sucking lice ( Linognathus africanus and Damalinia sp .), ticks ( Hyalomma rhipicephaloides , Boophilus annulatus , and others), mites ( Psoroptes cuniculi and Sarcoptes scabiei ), biting flies ( Oestrus sp .) and fleas . They have also been found with brain cysts caused by

11067-531: The interplay of life and death. Ibex may have represented ancient Middle Eastern deities such as Dumuzi (Tamuz) , Almaqah and Dushara . They are often identified with the constellation Capricorn in Mesopotamian-Iranian artwork from the 4th Millennium BCE. A common motif in ancient Middle Eastern art contains a sacred tree, often the Tree of Life , flanked on each side by an ibex. This motif

11186-461: The king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor ( Judges 4:17 ). Jael (whose tent would have been separate from Heber's) welcomed Sisera into her tent and covered him with a blanket. Sisera asked Jael for a drink of water; she gave him milk instead. He commanded Jael to watch over the tent and tell any inquirers that no one was there. Quietly, Jael took a mallet and drove a tent peg through Sisera's temple into

11305-460: The late 19th century another trend in Talmud study arose. Hayyim Soloveitchik (1853–1918) of Brisk (Brest-Litovsk) developed and refined this style of study. Brisker method involves a reductionistic analysis of rabbinic arguments within the Talmud or among the Rishonim , explaining the differing opinions by placing them within a categorical structure. The Brisker method is highly analytical and

11424-584: The most important of the Jewish centres in Mesopotamia , a region called " Babylonia " in Jewish sources (see Talmudic academies in Babylonia ) and later known as Iraq , were Nehardea , Nisibis (modern Nusaybin ), Mahoza ( al-Mada'in , just to the south of what is now Baghdad ), Pumbedita (near present-day al Anbar Governorate ), and the Sura Academy , probably located about 60 km (37 mi) south of Baghdad. The Babylonian Talmud comprises

11543-658: The mouthpiece into which one blows, was plated with gold" ( Mishnah Rosh Hashana 3:3). They are a Kosher species, meaning that, when prepared properly, the ibex can be eaten under religious law . Ibex skin was sometimes used to make parchments in ancient Israel . Ibex imagery is present in ancient Jewish artwork such as the Huqoq Synagogue mosaic from the 5th century. The ibex was one of many animals invoked in parables written by Medieval Jewish scholars, such as in Isaac ibn Sahula's Meshal ha-kadmoni ("Proverb of

11662-494: The nail, Her right hand to the workman's hammer, And she smote Sisera; she crushed his head, She crashed through and transfixed his temples. Composed in archaic biblical Hebrew , the Song of Deborah has been traditionally identified as among the oldest texts of the Bible, and perhaps even the earliest example of Hebrew poetry . Although some scholars claim a date as early as the 12th century BC, others claim it to be as late as

11781-483: The need to ascertain the Halakha (Jewish rabbinical law). Early commentators such as Isaac Alfasi (North Africa, 1013–1103) attempted to extract and determine the binding legal opinions from the vast corpus of the Talmud. Alfasi's work was highly influential, attracted several commentaries in its own right and later served as a basis for the creation of halakhic codes. Another influential medieval Halakhic work following

11900-607: The order of the Babylonian Talmud, and to some extent modelled on Alfasi, was "the Mordechai ", a compilation by Mordechai ben Hillel ( c. 1250–1298). A third such work was that of Asher ben Yechiel (d. 1327). All these works and their commentaries are printed in the Vilna and many subsequent editions of the Talmud. A 15th-century Spanish rabbi, Jacob ibn Habib (d. 1516), compiled the Ein Yaakov , which extracts nearly all

12019-591: The parasite Taenia multiceps . Nubian ibex have been detected with a strain of the malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) virus group of ruminant rhadinoviruses , closely related to caprine herpesvirus 2 (CpHV-2) found in domestic goats. Nubian ibex in Qatar's Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation have been infected by caprine pleuropneumonia . In Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo , the Nubian ibex herd suffered an outbreak of peste des petits ruminants . Ibex are social , and herds tend to consist of females, young, and males up to

12138-489: The path of the sun each day to stay warm. At night, they sleep on cliff sides in small depressions that they dig. These shallow diggings create microhabitats where a diverse range of seedlings can germinate, adding to the habitat 's diversity. In winter and early spring, the Middle East's rainy season, ibex often disperse to open plateaus where they can feed on new plant life. In the hot, dry summer, they congregate around shaded oases with water and greenery. Mating season

12257-603: The period of the Amoraim (rabbis cited in the Gemara) beginning around the year 200. A second Aramaic dialect is used in Nedarim , Nazir , Temurah , Keritot , and Me'ilah ; the second is closer in style to the Targum . The oldest full manuscript of the Talmud, known as the Munich Talmud (Codex Hebraicus 95), dates from 1342 and is available online. Manuscripts of the Talmud are as follows: The exact date at which

12376-462: The plain of Zaanaim , which is near Kedesh in the territory of the Tribe of Naphtali . Deborah , a prophetess and judge , advised Barak to mobilize the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulon on Mount Tabor to do battle against King Jabin of Canaan . Barak demurred, saying he would go, provided she would also. Deborah agreed, but prophesied that the honor of defeating Jabin's army would then go to

12495-691: The purpose of supplementing it and addressing internal contradictions via the technique of pilpul . This genre of commentary is known as the Tosafot and focuses on specific passages instead of a running continuous commentary across the entire Talmud. Many Talmudic passages are difficult to understand, sometimes owing to the use of Greek or Persian loanwords whose meaning had become obscure. A major area of Talmudic scholarship developed to explain these passages and words. Some early commentators such as Rabbenu Gershom of Mainz (10th century) and Rabbenu Ḥananel (early 11th century) produced running commentaries to various tractates. These commentaries could be read with

12614-472: The six- to eight-week rut . Large males then do battle with much clashing of horns. Nubian ibexes are diurnal , meaning they are active during the day, and rest at night. Like other ibex and goats, Nubian ibex spend much of their time on and around cliffs, which offer safety from potential predators. Ibex perceive a greater predation risk as they move farther away from cliffs. They climb and leap with ease, spanning several meters horizontally and vertically in

12733-536: The sixth century, the Babylonian Talmud was compiled. This later Talmud is usually what is being referred to when the word "Talmud" is used without qualification. The two Talmuds were likely written independently of one another. The Jerusalem Talmud ( Talmud Yerushalmi ) is known by several other names, including the Palestinian Talmud (which is more accurate, as it was not compiled in Jerusalem ), or

12852-480: The text likely trace to this time regardless of the date of the final redaction/compilation. Additional external evidence for a latest possible date for the composition of the Babylonian Talmud are the uses of it by external sources, including the Letter of Baboi (mid-8th century), Seder Tannaim veAmoraim (9th century) and a 10th-century letter by Sherira Gaon addressing the formation of the Babylonian Talmud. As for

12971-618: The text of the Talmud and would help explain the meaning of the text. Another important work is the Sefer ha-Mafteaḥ (Book of the Key) by Nissim Gaon , which contains a preface explaining the different forms of Talmudic argumentation and then explains abbreviated passages in the Talmud by cross-referring to parallel passages where the same thought is expressed in full. Commentaries ( ḥiddushim ) by Joseph ibn Migash on two tractates, Bava Batra and Shevuot, based on Ḥananel and Alfasi, also survive, as does

13090-485: The wild and 18 years in captivity. Nubian ibex vision is adapted to navigating visually on mountainous terrain. A study of their retinal ganglion cell density shows that they share many traits with other artiodactyls : a temporal area, horizontal streak, and dorsotemporal extension. They have a potentially unique dorsotemporal area of high ganglion cell density that benefits vision in the lower visual field , helpful for navigating varied terrain. Additionally, they have

13209-430: Was Rabbenu Asher 's Tosefot haRosh. The Tosafot that are printed in the standard Vilna edition of the Talmud are an edited version compiled from the various medieval collections, predominantly that of Touques. A recent project, Halacha Brura , founded by Abraham Isaac Kook , presents the Talmud and a summary of the halachic codes side by side, so as to enable the "collation" of Talmud with resultant Halacha. During

13328-620: Was oral and transferred from one generation to the next. Rabbis expounded and debated the Torah (the written Torah expressed in the Hebrew Bible) and discussed the Tanakh without the benefit of written works (other than the Biblical books themselves), though some may have made private notes ( megillot setarim ), for example, of court decisions. This situation changed drastically due to

13447-679: Was considered an art form and became a goal in and of itself within the yeshivot of Poland and Lithuania. But the popular new method of Talmud study was not without critics; already in the 15th century, the ethical tract Orhot Zaddikim ("Paths of the Righteous" in Hebrew) criticized pilpul for an overemphasis on intellectual acuity. Many 16th- and 17th-century rabbis were also critical of pilpul. Among them are Judah Loew ben Bezalel (the Maharal of Prague), Isaiah Horowitz , and Yair Bacharach . By

13566-513: Was for Heaven's sake and therefore praiseworthy. The significance of that exact number of coituses and the meaning of the multicoital nature of Jael and Sisera's encounter has been discussed in the scholarship, along with an alternate view in rabbinic literature that assert quite to the contrary that Jael never engaged in sex with Sisera. There is also a reference to the story of Jael in Geoffrey Chaucer 's The Canterbury Tales . During

13685-585: Was initially classified as Capra ibex nubiana , a subspecies of the Alpine ibex ( C. ibex ), which had been previously identified by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The first researcher to classify the Nubian ibex as a unique species, C. nubiana , was Hans-Peter Uerpmann in his 1987 book, The ancient distribution of ungulate mammals in the Middle East: fauna and archaeological sites in Southwest Asia and Northeast Africa . They are now broadly accepted as

13804-435: Was most likely completed, however, in the 6th century, or prior to the early Muslim conquests in 643–636 CE at the latest, on the basis that the Talmud lacks loanwords or syntax deriving from Arabic . Recently, it has been extensively argued that Talmud is an expression and product of Sasanian culture, as well as other Greek - Roman , Middle Persian , and Syriac sources up to the same period of time. The contents of

13923-486: Was president of the Sura Academy from 375 to 427. The work begun by Rav Ashi was completed by Ravina, who is traditionally regarded as the final Amoraic expounder. Accordingly, traditionalists argue that Ravina's death in 475 is the latest possible date for the completion of the redaction of the Talmud. However, even on the most traditional view, a few passages are regarded as the work of a group of rabbis who edited

14042-421: Was relatively high during the last interglacial period , and decreased during the last ice age . The genetic makeup of Nubian ibex as a species has remained unchanged for at least 2,000 years. There is genetic evidence of ancient gene introgression between Nubian ibex and bezoar ibex, which, in turn, interbred with domestic goats and left genetic signatures. The following cladogram of seven Capra species

14161-534: Was welcomed wherever they camped. Both sides in the conflict would have considered the Kenites a neutral party. C. E. Schenk notes that Sisera was Jael's guest, "was in the sanctuary of her home, and protected by the laws of hospitality ." According to Herbert Lockyer she may have acted out of practical necessity. Sisera was in flight and Barak in pursuit. It would not have been wise to allow Barak to find Sisera in her tent. She also knew that Sisera would be killed if captured; therefore, she would kill him and thus cement

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