The Tanakh Podcast
Study Tanakh with Rav Alex Israel.
10 mins a day.
One chapter a day.
929 schedule.
- Update frequency
- every day
- Average duration
- 11 minutes
- Episodes
- 766
- Years Active
- 2022 - 2025
Chronicles I ch.20 - The Sorting Hat (or Crown!)
Chapter 20 re-narrates various military escapades of David and his warriors.
We shall address two particular details:
1. The royal crown of Ammon; why the Tanakh wants to tell us about it., and the leg…
Chronicles ch.19 - How to Fight a War
Diplomatic insults, proxies, war cameraderie, war strategy. This chapter looks like current events!
David sends an official delegation to console Hanun, King of Ammon, after the death of his father.
Ha…
Chronicles I ch.18 - King David's Spiritual Priorities
Today while the subject of the chapter is David's wars, we focus upon David's spiritual values:
1. Not taking the masses of horses for war purposes - as instructed by the Torah
2. Not amassing wealth b…
Chronicles I ch.17 - House of God - House of David
In our chapter, David requests to build the Temple, a "house" for God.
God defers the request. No David cannot build the House, says God, but "I will build YOU a house" - your son will succeed you and…
Chronicles I ch.16 - Song and Praise
David installs the Aron in Jerusalem. What type of worship will take place there? If we take our cue from Divrei Hayamim it is music, song! This is the first time that a fixed liturgy has been instit…
Chronicles I ch.15 - The Procession of the Aron
Chapter 15 depicts the (successful) procession of the Aron to Jerusalem. The account in Sefer Shmuel (Book of Samuel ch.6) is so passionate. Our chapter is so technical, filled as it is with names an…
Chronicles 1 ch.14 - International Recognition and Military Victory
In this chapter, David discerns that God is with him, by means of foreign recognition of his rule, and by his victory over the Philistines.
Chronicles I ch.13 - The Ark Slips. Uzza Falls.
David tries to bring the Ark to Jerusalem. But there is a tragedy which brings the celebratory national procession to an abrupt end.
What is the place of this episode in the broader storyline of Sefer…
Chronicles I ch.12 - Tribal Specialities
Reading the details of this chapter we encounter some unique features of the tribes of Binyamin, Gad and Yissachar.
Chronicles I ch.11 - King David's Coronation!
Divrei Hayamim is a master of rewriting history, and ch.11-12 is a masterpiece. On the backdrop of David's coronation in Hevron, Divrei Hayamim gives us the perfect unity of Israel, all rallied aroun…
Chronicles I ch.10 - The Death of King Saul
The narrative segment of Divrei Hayamim opens with Shaul's tragic death. This is the only story of Saul's life. why does Div Hayamim choose to begin at this exact point? Since the author of Div. Haya…
Chronicles I ch.9 - Secrets of the Levites
Our chapter is concerned with:
1. The inhabitants of Jerusalem... especially the Levitic role
2. The genealogy of King Saul.
We will focus on the particular responsibilities of the Levitic guilds, holdi…
Chronicles I ch.8 - The Tribe of Benjamin
Does Divrei Hayamim venerate the tribe of Benjamin or see them somehow as defective? The answer is complex as we shall see.
Chronicles I ch.7 - Lost Records, and a Premature Exodus
Why is there so little information on the settlements of the tribes Yissachar, Naftali and Asher? The key information is a military roster from David's army, not a register of villages and towns.
And …
Chronicles I ch.6 - The Choir of the Leviim
Chapter 5-6 depict the tribe of Levi. Divrei Hayamim introduces the musical flair of the Levites and the introduction of music into the arena of the Temple, it would seem by King David.
Chronicles I ch.5 - The Tribe of Reuven
The genealogy of Reuven contains many classic theological features of Divrei Hayamim. We bring these into focus.
Chronicles I ch.4 - The Midrashic Meaning of Names
Divrei Hayamim I ch.4 is filled yet again with names. Whereas much of teh detail here seem incosequential to us, Midrash uses these texts as a commentary about some of the familiar heroes of Tanakh.
Chronicles 1 ch.3 - The House of David
This genealogical list gives us the family tree of the House of David.
It is amazing what one can learn from a simple list of names.
Chronicles 1 Ch.2 - The Tribe of Yehuda
From the universal we turn to the family tree of Yehuda and we meed personalities like Achan, Hur, Betzalel, Calev and ... David, later to be king.
Today we describe how several of the chapter's featu…
Chronicles 1 Ch.1 - Introduction to the Sefer
In this podcast we offer an introduction to the structure and themes of Divrei Hayamim.