Beginnings: Reflections on the Bible's Intriguing Firsts
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.62 (635 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0307717186 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-08-06 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Literary, inquisitive, and honest, Shalev makes these stories come alive in all their complicated beauty, and though these stories are ancient, their resonance remains intensely contemporary.. The first love in the Bible is not the love of a man and a woman. The bestselling and prize-winning Israeli author Meir Shalev describes the many "firsts" of the Bible – the first love and the first death, to the first laugh and the first dream – providing a fresh, secular and surprising look at the stories we think we know. The first kiss in the Bible is not a kiss of love. The first hatred in the Bible is the hatred of a man toward his wife. In Beginnings, Meir Shalev reintroduces us to the heroes and heroines of the Old Testament, exploring these and many more of the Bible’s unexpected "firsts." Combining penetrating wit, deep empathy, and impressive knowledge of the Bible, he probes each episode to uncover nuances and implications that a lesser writer would overlook, and his nontraditional, nonreligious interpretations of the famous stories of the Bible take them beyond platitudes and assumptions to the love, fear, tragedy, and inspiration at their heart. The first laugh in the Bible is also the last
"Shalev as a master literary commentator" according to Amazon Customer. A great literary commentary and musings on persons and events in the Hebrew Bible. I gained great insight into the literary aspects of the biblical stories which helped me in preparing readings for classes. Shalev is a master writer both for adults and children. He is definitely one of our most prolific authors in Israel. If you are a Hebrew speaker I suggest using both the Hebrew and English versions.. "Read and see" according to anne t geffner. Shalev is one of my favorite authors, but somehow this book missed the mark for me.. Michael Lewyn said a secularist's words of Torah. This book presents an unusual combination: a set of essays about the Torah by an Israeli novelist who believes the Bible was written by and for men.Often Shalev's insights are quite interesting: for example, his discussion of David points out that many people loved him, but that he loved hardly anyone. Perhaps as a result, David becomes less moral and less competent over time.Shalev also sheds new light on the David/Goliath story, discussing his father's use of a slingshot to create precise dents in a faraway iron barrel- the sort of dents that perhaps could have felled Goliath.On the other hand, Shale
. From Publishers Weekly In this innovative and skillfully woven analysis of biblical firsts, Shalev (A Pigeon and a Boy), an Israeli columnist, probes the significance and underlying stories associated with 11 of the Bible's "firsts." He investigates the meaning of the first laugh, explains how the first Jewish monarchy arose, and explores the tragic story of the first loving woman, all from a firmly secular perspective. Readers, either familiar or unacquainted with the biblical text, will enjoy this accessible and authentic excursion into the ancient world of Jewish life. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. His scrutiny of all aspects relating to a particular theme, his colorful descriptions of hallowed biblical figures, and his smooth pen enhance this biblical narrative, but some may find his frequent derision of traditional analy