Living with the Bible

by Moshe Dayan

Book Overview

Illustrated, personalized recreation of the dramatic events of the Old Testament as told by Israel's legendary soldier/statesman. An exploration of the archeology of the Holy Land and a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 068803361X
• ISBN13: 9780688033613
• Release Date: January 1978
• Publisher: W. Morrow
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 1.98 lbs.

Customer Reviews

An officer and a gentleman describes the history of Eretz Yisrael

Moshe Dayan was a great son of Israel- a General, who led the defence of Israel from her sworn enemies, for decades, a gentleman, an archaeologist, a lover of poetry and the Land of Israel, and a scholar of the Bible and the history of the Land of Israel. In this phenomenal book, filled with photos of the landscape of the Land of Israel, and major landmarks, as well as watercolour paintings of events described in the Bible, throughout the ages, Dayan describes the history of the Land, the roots of the Jewish people in the Land, living with the history recorded in the Bible, and the struggle of the Jews to re-establish themselves in their ancient homeland. Dayan gives his "real and tangible homeland the added dimension of historical depth, to bring to life the strata of the past which now lay beneath the desolate ruins and archaeological mounds- the Israel of our patriarchs, our judges, our kings and prophets". As he reminds us 'The people of Israel were exiled from their land, but their land was never exiled from their hearts". He brilliantly juxtaposes the Biblical history of Israel with the modern history of Israel, and her strugle to survive. In describing the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron the burial site of the patriarchs and matriarchs and one of the holiest sites, the author reminds us how for exaxtly seven hundred years, from 1267 AD to the 8 June 1967, the Cave of Machpelah was barred to Jews! Under Israeli sovereignty it has been open to all faiths! The first Jew to enter the site, after seven hundred years, was a pretty and clever twelve year old girl, Michal, who was able to wriggle her way through the narrow aperture in the Cave of Machpelah. I have been to the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron for a synagogue service of the Jewish Sabbath, and have never been to such an amazing service, with such devout worship. The Jewish community of Hebron is a beautiful and warm community. It is clear from the accounts in this book of David Ben-Gurion and by Moshe Dyan, that as Ben-Gurion and Dayan' although not observant, were deep believers in the Allmighty. As the biblical accounts are juxtpaosed with the struggle of Israel. during the 20th century, we read of the frequent Arab terrorist raids into Israel, during the 1950's and 60's in which a number of Israeli men, women and children were murdered. He describes Varda Freedman, a young girl, murdered at her wedding, by Arab terrorists at the immigrant village of Patish in March, 1955. Israel-hating revisionist historians have reffered to Israel's raid on a terrorist base in Kibya, in 1953, and labelled it as one of 'Israel's atrocities'. A close reading of the history of the events, reveals that the raid on Kibya was retaliation for an Arab terrorist raid on the village of Yehudia, in which a Jewish mother and her two small children were murdered. Dayan describes the struggle for survival during the 1948 War of Independence, where the vastly outnumbered and outgunned Jewish community of the newly

General Legends per Legendary General

Ever wonder what some of the famous military leaders of ancient Israel (Joab comes right to mind) would do if they were living in modern Israel? General Dayan fits the mold well. He's been heavily criticized for his rape of the land in search of its historical treasure, but in this book, from his perspective, it's presented as a deeply affectionate love affair. Controversies aside, Dayan provides excellent illustrations of maps, photos showing a few of his most valuable items, but mostly of life in modern Israel where he dug them up, serving to put his hobby in perspective. Dayan's book contrasts the past with the present: The traditional story is told of the patriarch Abraham wandering through the land God promised to give him, then Dayan jumps to the modern settlement of his own birthplace, Nahalal in northern Israel west of Nazareth. After recounting the Exodus led by Moses, Moshe gives a firsthand account of his own military campaigns in the Sinai region. On one page a photo of the site of Beth Shan where the Philistines displayed the mutilated body of Israel's first king, Saul; a few pages later we see Arabs looting & burning Jewish shops in 1947 following the United Nations' resolution to establish the Jewish state. One page shows the site of Jericho where Joshua led the Israelites in conquering the land; another page shows Dayan escorting Israel's first president, Chaim Weizmann, after Israel declared her independence in 1948; then a photo of Dayan in his own backyard displaying a unique, cow-shaped jug found near Jericho. Many of these famous Biblical stories are enhanced herein with photos of medieval Bible manuscripts & modern watercolor art, even modern poetry on occasion. But the real value of this book comes from Dayan's narrative describing the land & its history with words. While you can read the details of his military achievements ( & failures, as with any character of Biblical proportions) in his other books, "Living with the Bible" lets you focus on life itself in the Holy Land with him.