The Legends Of The Jews Bible Times And Characters From The Creation To Jacob

Author : Louis Ginzberg
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781535568777
Total Pages : 416 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (687 download)

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Download or read book The Legends of the Jews written by Louis Ginzberg and published by . This book was released on 2016-07-28 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "It is a a book to which both scholars will turn and the layman will read with quite as much interest; and we can even imagine children of fair capacity delighting in the fairy tales, so to speak, which have come out of this, to English readers, new treasure house of Jewish fancy. One thing is impressed in all the fantastic overlay: that Jewish legends differentiate themselves from others in that they find their inspiration in the Bible and in reflection about God and the relation of man to Him. Professor Ginzberg has done an original and far-reaching service in collating and revivifying for us the more imaginative side of Jewish thought." -American Jewish Year Book "This is the first of four volumes of 'Legends of the Jews,' which will form an important contribution to the legend literature of the nation. The first three volumes are to reproduce all the legends in Jewish literature connected with Bible times and characters. Volume I covers the period from the Creation to Jacob; Volume II will treat of all incidents in the lives of Joseph and Moses; Volume III will cover the period form Joshua to Esther; Volume IV will be devoted to an exhaustive treatment of the subject of Jewish legends in the form of a general introduction and of excursuses connected with the notes on each chapter." -The Bookman "The work is translated from the German manuscript and is done with unusual care; rarely, indeed, does a translation carry the author's precise meaning into such good form. Ginzberg's book is a notable one. The mass of Jewish legends is enormous. They are often trivial and worthless, but they also often contain matter as significant and valuable as that occurring in the recognized canonical books. There are two ways in which these legends may be presented to the student. The one, more common and far easier, is to present the legends themselves as they have come down to us from their many sources; this has been done repeatedly by both Jewish and Christian writers. Far more difficult is the method pursued by Ginzberg; he does not present the legends themselves, but works through them to secure their essence, carefully arranges and correlates the results, and then presents them in a continuous narrative, in which literary form, interesting style and accuracy are all sought. Such a work calls for a scholarship of exceptional depth and a broad grasp of a clearly marked field....Ginzberg's work should find a hearty reception among English readers. Christian clergymen will find it as useful as Jewish workers, and students of comparative mythology and folk-lore cannot dispense with it." -The American Antiquarian and Oriental Journal CONTENTS PREFACE I. THE CREATION OF THE WORLD II. ADAM III. THE TEN GENERATIONS IV. NOAH V. ABRAHAM VI. JACOB