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Bible stories,
This illustrated retelling of ninety-six Old Testament stories includes "Jacob in Exile," "The Walls of Jericho," and "The Wisdom of Solomon."
- GenresNonfictionReligion
285 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1902
About the author
David Kossoff
31 books6 followersKossoff was born in London, the youngest of three children, to poor Russian Jewish immigrant parents. In its obituary of David Kossoff, The Scotsman wrote how he was "a man of deep convictions and proud of his Jewish origins".
Kossoff started working in light entertainment on British television in the years following World War II. His best known television roles were the hen-pecked husband Alf Larkin in The Larkins, first broadcast in 1958, and a Jewish furniture maker in A Little Big Business.
He was also well known for his story-telling skills, particularly with regard to reinterpreting the Bible. His best known book, also a television series, is The Book of Witnesses (1971), in which he turned the Gospels into a series of monologues. He also retold dozens of Old Testament and Apocrypha stories in Bible Stories (1968).
Following the death in 1976 of his son Paul, guitarist with the band Free, Kossoff established the Paul Kossoff Foundation which aimed to present the realities of drug addiction to children. Kossoff spent the remainder of his life campaigning against drugs. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he toured with a one-man stage performance about the death of his son and its effect on the family.
He died in 2005 of liver cancer at age 85. He was cremated and interred at the Golders Green Crematorium.
Obituaries:
http://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obi...
http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/kos...
Kossoff started working in light entertainment on British television in the years following World War II. His best known television roles were the hen-pecked husband Alf Larkin in The Larkins, first broadcast in 1958, and a Jewish furniture maker in A Little Big Business.
He was also well known for his story-telling skills, particularly with regard to reinterpreting the Bible. His best known book, also a television series, is The Book of Witnesses (1971), in which he turned the Gospels into a series of monologues. He also retold dozens of Old Testament and Apocrypha stories in Bible Stories (1968).
Following the death in 1976 of his son Paul, guitarist with the band Free, Kossoff established the Paul Kossoff Foundation which aimed to present the realities of drug addiction to children. Kossoff spent the remainder of his life campaigning against drugs. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he toured with a one-man stage performance about the death of his son and its effect on the family.
He died in 2005 of liver cancer at age 85. He was cremated and interred at the Golders Green Crematorium.
Obituaries:
http://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obi...
http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/kos...
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 13, 2017
Bible Stories, retold by David Kossoff, was published in 1968. The introduction states,
“David Kossoff is the incomparable story-teller of our time.”
Indeed, all who remember him, will remember his wit, his verve and his impish sense of humour. Small, bespectacled and prematurely white-haired, this modest man never quite fitted the glamorous image of show business. He was a born raconteur, who could see the funny side of Jewishness, religion - and even of God. Remarkably he entertained people of all faiths without offence, treading a very delicate path, because he could also see the funny side of himself. He could bring any story to life, speaking to both children and adults, and these stories from the Old Testament are no exception. Reading them feels as if the author is sitting beside you, as he so often was - via the radio or television - telling you one of his favourites.
Here is part of a conversation between Jonah and God, as imagined and related by David Kossoff:
“God spoke clearly, ‘Jonah, he said, ‘I have an errand for you. I want you to go to the great city of Ninevah, and tell them that I know how wicked they’ve all become and that in forty days from your arrival the city will be destroyed and the people will perish.’
Jonah thought for a minute and then decided to argue. ‘Look God,’ he said, ‘Ninevah is a long way and it’s not the time of year for long journeys – it’s too hot. But the main point is I don’t want to be made to look foolish. Look,’ he said, ‘you’re not the kind of God that destroys cities and wipes out thousands of people. You’re gracious and kind and slow to anger and merciful, and everyone knows it. I’ll go all that way, make a lot of speeches, and nothing will happen, and I’ll look silly.’
There was a little pause and then God, who was rather used to people like Jonah, said, ‘Leave first thing in the morning.’ And Jonah knew that he’d better shut up.”
Bible Stories is divided into seven sections, each containing several stories. The first one, “In the Beginning” has only three: “Adam and Eve”, “Cain and Abel” and “More Trouble”. The second “The Favoured Family” has the subheading “Abraham, Isaac and Israel”. It has twenty-three chapters, with headings such as “Fire and Brimstone”, “God will Provide”, “Esau’s Birthright” and “Jacob in Exile”, as well as colloquially named ones to spark our interest, such as “Fair Shares”, “Dreams Come True”, and even “Don’t Laugh!”
The third section, called “Birthpangs of A Nation” contains twenty-nine stories, including the well-loved “The Burning Bush”, “The Walls of Jericho” and “Giant Killer”. Children are introduced to the biblical characters of Gideon, Samson, Ruth and Naomi, Samuel, David and Saul.
The fourth section is called “The Kingdom of David”, with just eight stories covering David and Solomon.
The fifth, “Prophets, Priests and Kings” retells the stories of Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel over seventeen chapters.
Section six, “In Foreign Lands”, contains thirteen stories, with intriguing names such as “Jonah the Prophet”, “The Beauty Queen – Esther”, “The Tables Turned” and “The Lion’s Den”. It additionally covers the stories about Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar, and “Belshazzar’s Feast”.
The final, seventh section is entitled “The New Jerusalem”, and contains just three chapters.
The book has illustrations by Gino D’Achille. They are interspersed with the text, as well as whole page illustrations. The style is 1960s, probably in gouache, using a natural palette. The style is free-flowing with lots of movement. The overall impression is attractive and loosely naturalistic.
David Kossoff was the son of a poor Russian East End garment worker, and he determined to better himself. He went to school and then the Northern Polytechnic, London, spent a year as a draughtsman, took up furniture design - and then horrified his parents by announcing that he wanted to be an actor. They too wanted him to have the security they had lacked, and were worried. Later on, David Kossoff joked that he had gone to acting classes because that was the sort of place where you met attractive women – and he thought he’d get better money on the stage too. And indeed, he never looked back, forging a successful acting career.
David Kossoff began acting professionally in 1943, and two years later joined the BBC radio repertory company, combining his acting with illustrating and designing. He first came to the public’s attention in 1952 when he played the Russian Colonel Alexander Ikonenko, in Peter Ustinov’s West End play “The Love Of Four Colonels”, a part which was a huge success.
He went on to make over two dozen films, and, in 1956, was awarded a BAFTA (the British equivalent of an Oscar), for his performance as the elderly confidant of a boy who believes his one-horned goat is a unicorn, in Wolf Mankowitz’s wonderful film “A Kid For Two Farthings”. Other memorable performances include an eccentric scientist, Professor Alfred Kokintz, who invents a “Q” atom bomb in “The Mouse That Roared” in 1959. He acted with Peter Sellers and Bernard Cribbins. By this time he was a household name playing a bit of a country bumpkin, the hen-pecked husband Alf Larkin, in the television series “The Larkins”. He even, in the persona of Alf, recorded cockney songs on several LPs.
However, I and thousands of others will remember David Kossoff’s famous - and much loved - simple and humorous paraphrasing of the Bible into his own stories in the 1960s, both on the radio and on television. His delivery was droll, and more on the lines of a comedian. Essentially he was an entertainer. Nothing he did after this reached quite the same heights, or has even been achieved in such a quirky way. He was a unique personality.
One of his radio stories, of which there were dozens, ended with:
“And Samson, giving the performance of his career, brought the house down.”
Although his forte was really these broadcasts, or his live one-man shows (sometimes biblical, sometimes not), he somehow found time to also become a writer. He wrote many books, and his unique way of expressing biblical and other religious themes, often emphasised his own moral views. David Kossoff suggested that he might have been destined to write, because he had never received a rejection slip. Once when appearing in Pantomime as Cinderella’s father, Baron Hardup, at the London Palladium, he missed his cue twice because he was working on his latest book! (This happened on more than one occasion, when he was absorbed in correcting proofs.)
David Kossoff’s life was not without heartache. One of his three children, Paul, achieved fame as a guitarist with the rock group “Free”, but died at just 25 of a heart attack brought on by drug addiction. David Kossoff himself had promised to devote a year fundraising, for drug and other charity performances, to celebrate his son’s withdrawal from drugs. When Paul tragically died anyway, his father fulfilled his promise as a tribute to Paul’s memory, and spent the rest of his life actively campaigning against drugs.
David Kossoff, actor and writer, was born in November 24 1919, two months after my Mum. He died in March 2005, and is much missed by those who remember his quirkiness. Sadly though, many nowadays have not heard of him, as he never seems to have attained an international reputation. I was overjoyed to discover this large book in my local charity shop. It will in time, I’m sure, be treasured by the person I am giving it to.
For although she is only two, she is the great granddaughter of David Kossoff. I’m sure her own Mum will tell her all about him, and ensure that his memory lives on.
Here is a link to a youtube clip of David Kossoff:
The Story of Moses
I hope, if you listen to it, you enjoy it!
“David Kossoff is the incomparable story-teller of our time.”
Indeed, all who remember him, will remember his wit, his verve and his impish sense of humour. Small, bespectacled and prematurely white-haired, this modest man never quite fitted the glamorous image of show business. He was a born raconteur, who could see the funny side of Jewishness, religion - and even of God. Remarkably he entertained people of all faiths without offence, treading a very delicate path, because he could also see the funny side of himself. He could bring any story to life, speaking to both children and adults, and these stories from the Old Testament are no exception. Reading them feels as if the author is sitting beside you, as he so often was - via the radio or television - telling you one of his favourites.
Here is part of a conversation between Jonah and God, as imagined and related by David Kossoff:
“God spoke clearly, ‘Jonah, he said, ‘I have an errand for you. I want you to go to the great city of Ninevah, and tell them that I know how wicked they’ve all become and that in forty days from your arrival the city will be destroyed and the people will perish.’
Jonah thought for a minute and then decided to argue. ‘Look God,’ he said, ‘Ninevah is a long way and it’s not the time of year for long journeys – it’s too hot. But the main point is I don’t want to be made to look foolish. Look,’ he said, ‘you’re not the kind of God that destroys cities and wipes out thousands of people. You’re gracious and kind and slow to anger and merciful, and everyone knows it. I’ll go all that way, make a lot of speeches, and nothing will happen, and I’ll look silly.’
There was a little pause and then God, who was rather used to people like Jonah, said, ‘Leave first thing in the morning.’ And Jonah knew that he’d better shut up.”
Bible Stories is divided into seven sections, each containing several stories. The first one, “In the Beginning” has only three: “Adam and Eve”, “Cain and Abel” and “More Trouble”. The second “The Favoured Family” has the subheading “Abraham, Isaac and Israel”. It has twenty-three chapters, with headings such as “Fire and Brimstone”, “God will Provide”, “Esau’s Birthright” and “Jacob in Exile”, as well as colloquially named ones to spark our interest, such as “Fair Shares”, “Dreams Come True”, and even “Don’t Laugh!”
The third section, called “Birthpangs of A Nation” contains twenty-nine stories, including the well-loved “The Burning Bush”, “The Walls of Jericho” and “Giant Killer”. Children are introduced to the biblical characters of Gideon, Samson, Ruth and Naomi, Samuel, David and Saul.
The fourth section is called “The Kingdom of David”, with just eight stories covering David and Solomon.
The fifth, “Prophets, Priests and Kings” retells the stories of Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel over seventeen chapters.
Section six, “In Foreign Lands”, contains thirteen stories, with intriguing names such as “Jonah the Prophet”, “The Beauty Queen – Esther”, “The Tables Turned” and “The Lion’s Den”. It additionally covers the stories about Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar, and “Belshazzar’s Feast”.
The final, seventh section is entitled “The New Jerusalem”, and contains just three chapters.
The book has illustrations by Gino D’Achille. They are interspersed with the text, as well as whole page illustrations. The style is 1960s, probably in gouache, using a natural palette. The style is free-flowing with lots of movement. The overall impression is attractive and loosely naturalistic.
David Kossoff was the son of a poor Russian East End garment worker, and he determined to better himself. He went to school and then the Northern Polytechnic, London, spent a year as a draughtsman, took up furniture design - and then horrified his parents by announcing that he wanted to be an actor. They too wanted him to have the security they had lacked, and were worried. Later on, David Kossoff joked that he had gone to acting classes because that was the sort of place where you met attractive women – and he thought he’d get better money on the stage too. And indeed, he never looked back, forging a successful acting career.
David Kossoff began acting professionally in 1943, and two years later joined the BBC radio repertory company, combining his acting with illustrating and designing. He first came to the public’s attention in 1952 when he played the Russian Colonel Alexander Ikonenko, in Peter Ustinov’s West End play “The Love Of Four Colonels”, a part which was a huge success.
He went on to make over two dozen films, and, in 1956, was awarded a BAFTA (the British equivalent of an Oscar), for his performance as the elderly confidant of a boy who believes his one-horned goat is a unicorn, in Wolf Mankowitz’s wonderful film “A Kid For Two Farthings”. Other memorable performances include an eccentric scientist, Professor Alfred Kokintz, who invents a “Q” atom bomb in “The Mouse That Roared” in 1959. He acted with Peter Sellers and Bernard Cribbins. By this time he was a household name playing a bit of a country bumpkin, the hen-pecked husband Alf Larkin, in the television series “The Larkins”. He even, in the persona of Alf, recorded cockney songs on several LPs.
However, I and thousands of others will remember David Kossoff’s famous - and much loved - simple and humorous paraphrasing of the Bible into his own stories in the 1960s, both on the radio and on television. His delivery was droll, and more on the lines of a comedian. Essentially he was an entertainer. Nothing he did after this reached quite the same heights, or has even been achieved in such a quirky way. He was a unique personality.
One of his radio stories, of which there were dozens, ended with:
“And Samson, giving the performance of his career, brought the house down.”
Although his forte was really these broadcasts, or his live one-man shows (sometimes biblical, sometimes not), he somehow found time to also become a writer. He wrote many books, and his unique way of expressing biblical and other religious themes, often emphasised his own moral views. David Kossoff suggested that he might have been destined to write, because he had never received a rejection slip. Once when appearing in Pantomime as Cinderella’s father, Baron Hardup, at the London Palladium, he missed his cue twice because he was working on his latest book! (This happened on more than one occasion, when he was absorbed in correcting proofs.)
David Kossoff’s life was not without heartache. One of his three children, Paul, achieved fame as a guitarist with the rock group “Free”, but died at just 25 of a heart attack brought on by drug addiction. David Kossoff himself had promised to devote a year fundraising, for drug and other charity performances, to celebrate his son’s withdrawal from drugs. When Paul tragically died anyway, his father fulfilled his promise as a tribute to Paul’s memory, and spent the rest of his life actively campaigning against drugs.
David Kossoff, actor and writer, was born in November 24 1919, two months after my Mum. He died in March 2005, and is much missed by those who remember his quirkiness. Sadly though, many nowadays have not heard of him, as he never seems to have attained an international reputation. I was overjoyed to discover this large book in my local charity shop. It will in time, I’m sure, be treasured by the person I am giving it to.
For although she is only two, she is the great granddaughter of David Kossoff. I’m sure her own Mum will tell her all about him, and ensure that his memory lives on.
Here is a link to a youtube clip of David Kossoff:
The Story of Moses
I hope, if you listen to it, you enjoy it!
August 19, 2024
Beautifully written. Thoughtful and engaging.
April 18, 2022
David Kossoff rewrites Old Testament stories (the author is Jewish) and makes them very readable.
As someone who has read all of the stories I found David's interpretation of what might be missing very helpful.
This book is close to being a 5 star but David is better on Genesis than he is on later stories and the book deteriorates as he moves through the Bible.
As someone who has read all of the stories I found David's interpretation of what might be missing very helpful.
This book is close to being a 5 star but David is better on Genesis than he is on later stories and the book deteriorates as he moves through the Bible.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews