#pentateuch

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So Moses wrote the line about how Moses was the most humble man to ever walk the Earth? Sounds humble, alright.

HEAVEN — In a shocking revelation that falls in line with a common suspicion online over the last year, several of the men who authored books of the Bible finally admitted that they were all paid $7,000 for every reference they made to Israel.

The admission comes after heated speculation that, much like is done today, anyone who mentioned "Israel" in their writings in ancient times was also paid a tidy sum of $7,000 for each instance.

"It was a pretty sweet gig, to be honest," confirmed the prophet Ezekiel, who reportedly racked up the most mentions in a single book. "Hey, if the money is available, just take it. I was writing a ton about Israel anyway, for free, so why not make a little extra coin on the side? And people pretend like I'm the one who benefited from the arrangement the most, but I only had one book. You should have seen how much cash Moses came away with from the Pentateuch. ‘Israel this' and ‘Israel that.' He was the O.G. moneymaker with that deal."

Other biblical authors confirmed their participation in the arrangement as well. "It was easy money," said the prophet Isaiah. "Times were tough in those days, so it was nice to be able to generate a little bit of extra income on the side. It also helped that the Holy Spirit was literally wanting me to mention Israel, like, all the time. Almost as if Israel was a really important topic or something. Anyway. The money was a bonus."

CAJS Rar Ms 166 is an 18th century copy of the Pentateuch and Historical Books (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings and Chronicles) in Arabic translation. Every book has a gorgeous painted heading. Written in Egypt.

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Unicorns and goats and elephants, oh my! This elephant, in the center of a star of David, appears at the beginning of the Book of Deuteronomy (Devarim) in a highly illuminated copy of the Pentateuch made somewhere in the Holy Roman Empire between about 1300 and 1325.

Some scholars have argued that the artists of this manuscript derived the elephant symbol largely from the influence of Christian artists and writers (who in turn derived much of the symbolism from Late Antique and ancient writers). There are dragons higher up on the page, and the (satanic) dragon fighting the (steadfast and loving) elephant was a major theme in Christian bestiaries, patristics, and other works. However, in "The Elephant and the Law", Marc Michael Epstein argues that there were subtler meanings and that elephants had long-standing symbolism in Jewish art, too. (He points out that elephants do appear in a mosaic on a floor of a synagogue from about 530 AD).

Today, this manuscript is known as the "Duke of Sussex Pentateuch" because it was once owned by Augustus, Duke of Sussex, one of the sons of King George III and Queen Charlotte (of Bridgerton fame).

Date: 1300-1325 Origin: Holy Roman Empire Now British Library, Add MS 15282, f. 238r