The Legends of the Jews: From Joshua to Esther

by Louis Ginzberg

Volume Four collects the legends of kings―Saul, David, and Solomon―and the legends of prophets―Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, and Daniel. Their lives encompassed the rise of Israel to the heights of glory and its journey into exile.

Genres: Religion, Judaism, Judaica, Mythology, Fiction, Spirituality

456 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Talmudist and leading figure in the Conservative Movement of Judaism of the twentieth century, professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS).

Reviews

[Robert Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the in depth look at the Old Testament. I didn't like the version that I read because of the typos and poorly written syntax.

[Melvin Marsh · Rating 2 out of 5]

This seemed to be less interesting than the other books and I am not really sure why to be honest.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of Jewish oral traditions that is loaded with interesting tidbits like detailed descriptions of mannah and unbelievable (literally) stories about the creation of the world. A number of the traditions are essentially jokes that take Torah stories as jumping off points; some of my favorites are based on the wisdom of Solomon. It's not the kind of book I'd read cover to cover, but it'd be a great resource to keep a class on the Old Testament lively and interesting.