The Harlot by the Side of the Road: Forbidden Tales of the Bible"The stories you are about to read are some of the most violent and sexually explicit in all of Western literature. They are tales of human passion in all of its infinite variety: adultery, seduction, incest, rape, mutilation, assassination, torture, sacrifice, and murder. . . ." Sex. Violence. Scandal. These are words we rarely associate with the sacred text of the Bible. Yet in this brilliant book, Jonathan Kirsch recounts shocking tales that have been suppressed by religious authorities throughout history. Kirsch places each story within the political and social context of its time, delves into the latest biblical scholarship to explain why each one was originally censored, and shows how these ancient narratives hold valuable lessons for all of us. |
Contents
The Traveler and His Concubine | 230 |
God and Gynosadism Heroines and Martyrs in the Book of Judges | 243 |
Tamar and Amnon | 262 |
Copyright | |
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Other editions - View all
The Harlot by the Side of the Road: Forbidden Tales of the Bible Jonathan Kirsch Limited preview - 1998 |
The Harlot by the Side of the Road: Forbidden Tales of the Bible Jonathan Kirsch Limited preview - 2009 |
Common terms and phrases
Abraham Absalom Almighty Ammonites Amnon ancient Israel angels Bathsheba Bible critic Bible scholar biblical author biblical text Book of Judges Book of Samuel Bridegroom of Blood brother Canaan Canaanites child children of Ammon circumcision concubine deity Deut Deuteronomy Dinah divine Egypt encounter Exod Exodus father firstborn Genesis Gibeah Gilead God's goddess gods Hamor hand harlot Hebrew Bible Hebrew word Hirah Holy human husband Isaac Israelites Jacob Jephthah Jephthah's daughter Jerusalem Jewish Judah King David land Levite Lord marriage marry Masoretic Masoretic Text Midianite Mizpah Moses night Onan pagan priests prophet prostitute Pseudo-Philo rabbis rape ritual sacred sacrifice Samuel Sarah seduction Seila sexual Shechem Simeon and Levi Sisera sister Sodom sons story stranger suggest tale Tamar tell tent Testament thee thou throne Timnah told tradition translation tribe unto virgin wife women worship Yahweh young woman Zipporah