Five Biblical Portraits

by Elie Wiesel

Overview

Five Biblical Portraits is a sequel to Elie Weisel's Messengers of God; in this work Elie Wiesel illuminates Joshua, Saul, Elijah, Jeremiah, and Jonah through sensitive readings of the scriptures as well as the Talmudic and Hasidic sources. As a sequel to his book, Messengers of God, this work brings ancient religious figures to literary life and emphasizes the personal struggles within the awesome missions of these men.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780268009571
Publisher:	University of Notre Dame Press
Publication date:	11/30/1981
Edition description:	1
Pages:	166
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.44(d)

About the Author

Elie Wiesel (1928–2016) was Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University. He is the author of more than forty books, several of which have won international awards. His work on behalf of human rights and world peace has earned Wiesel the Nobel Peace Prize (1986), the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the United States Congressional Gold Medal, among many other honors.

Hometown:

New York, New York

Date of Birth:

September 30, 1928

Place of Birth:

Sighet, Romania

Education:

La Sorbonne

Editorial Reviews

This collection of biographies of prophets—Joshua, Elijah, Saul, Jeremiah, and Jonah—does a masterful job of humanizing these figures. However, in the course of his descriptions, Elie Wiesel does more than inform us about their lives and supposed thoughts. He asks today’s questions in the context of the past. . . . There is no ambiguity or vagueness in Wiesel’s writing. He promises us portraits, and there is not a wasted brushstroke, not a blurred line.

Christian Century

“This collection of biographies of prophets—Joshua, Elijah, Saul, Jeremiah, and Jonah—does a masterful job of humanizing these figures. However, in the course of his descriptions, Elie Wiesel does more than inform us about their lives and supposed thoughts. He asks today’s questions in the context of the past. . . . There is no ambiguity or vagueness in Wiesel’s writing. He promises us portraits, and there is not a wasted brushstroke, not a blurred line.” —Christian Century

“Jonah the unlucky, Joshua the lucky, Saul the complex, Jeremiah the tearful—all stride through semi-narrative episodes which the masterful story-teller weaves as a historical vignette of prophetic destiny.” —Commonweal

“Wiesel’s sketches will stir the imagination in ways that will open readers to new depths in ancient texts.” —Religious Studies Review

“Deeply moving and enlightening.” —Chicago Tribune

From the Publisher