The Harlot by the Side of the Road The Harlot by the Side of the Road

The Harlot by the Side of the Road

Forbidden Tales of the Bible

    • 5.0 • 3 Ratings
    • $14.99
    • $14.99

Publisher Description

Sex. Violence. Scandal. These are words we rarely associate with the sacred text of the Bible. Yet in this brilliant new book, Jonathan Kirsch shows that the Old Testament is filled with some of the most startling and explicit stories in all of Western literature. These tales of seduction and rape, voyeurism and exhibitionism, intermarriage and illegitimacy, assassination and murder have been suppressed by religious authorities throughout history precisely because they are so shocking. "You mean that's in the Bible?" is the common reaction of the contemporary reader to the stories that Kirsch retells and explores.

In The Harlot by the Side of the Road, Kirsch recounts these suppressed and mistranslated tales in the grand storytelling tradition. Here is the tale of Dinah, the young Israelite daughter raped by a princely suitor. The price for her hand in marriage? The circumcision of every man in his kingdom. Here, too, is the story of Lot's daughters, who, when faced with the possibility that they are the last survivors on earth, must copulate with their drunken father to continue their race. And the story of Tamar, the harlot by the side of the road, who must disguise herself as a prostitute and seduce her father-in-law in order to bear the child who has been promised her.

Kirsch places each story within the political and social context of its time, and delves into the latest biblical scholarship to explain why each story was originally censored. He also brings to light when and where each story was first written down, and how it found its way into the Bible. And he shows how these stories have something important to say to contemporary readers who might never pick up a Bible.

Kirsch reveals that the Bible's real power lies in its unflinching lessons in human nature. And he illuminates the surprising modernity of the Bible's characters: these were, like us, people delicately balanced between their destructive and generous natures. Certain to excite controversy and ignite intellectual debate, The Harlot by the Side of the Road will undoubtedly be one of the year's most talked-about books.

GENRE
Religion & Spirituality
RELEASED
1997
April 15
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
416
Pages
PUBLISHER
Random House Publishing Group
SELLER
Penguin Random House LLC
SIZE
7.5
MB

Customer Reviews

MoonSylph ,

The most enlightening and troubling tales

"The stories you are about to read are some of the most violent and sexually explicit tales in all of western literature... and yet every one of these stories is drawn directly from the pages of the holy Bible"; and Kirsch does not disappoint. These are all the stories you will NOT hear by your bluenose preacher or priest. Kirsch tells the story alongside the bible verses, and then dissects every word and argument of it in the next chapter(he is an excellent storyteller). I have learned shocking information about translations, and even more shocking arguments that people make in an attempt to explain these stories. THE MAIN POINT OF THIS BOOK IS NOT TO CHALLENGE THE BIBLE, BUT TO INFORM ABOUT REPRESSED STORIES AND CHALLENGE PURITANICAL THINKING. With a dash of humor and irony, the dialogue is easy and understandable.

More Books by Jonathan Kirsch

King David King David
2000
Moses Moses
1998
The Grand Inquisitor's Manual The Grand Inquisitor's Manual
2009
The Short, Strange Life of Herschel Grynszpan: A Boy Avenger, a Nazi Diplomat, and a Murder in Paris The Short, Strange Life of Herschel Grynszpan: A Boy Avenger, a Nazi Diplomat, and a Murder in Paris
2013
God Against the Gods God Against the Gods
2004
The Woman Who Laughed at God The Woman Who Laughed at God
2001