Exodus In The Jewish Experience

Waters of the Exodus

Jewish life within Egypt: a regional analysis of Judaism in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt -- Exodus narratives of Egypt: shared characteristics -- Adopting the language of the environment of Egypt: hydric terminology in the Exodus narratives -- Challenges and observations: hydric terminology and the Jews of Egypt -- The quest for origins: Jewish perspectives on the source of the Nile flood -- The Etesian winds of Egypt and the impious Egyptians : Philo's life of Moses -- Conclusion: the fluvial experiences of the Jews of Egypt

The Gifts of the Jews

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The author of the runaway bestseller How the Irish Saved Civilization takes us on another "captivating...persuasive as well as entertaining" journey into history (The New York Times), recreating a time when the actions of a small band of people had repercussions that are still felt today. The Gifts of the Jews reveals the critical change that made western civilization possible. Within the matrix of ancient religions and philosophies, life was seen as part of an endless cycle of birth and death; time was like a wheel, spinning ceaselessly. Yet somehow, the ancient Jews began to see time differently. For them, time had a beginning and an end; it was a narrative, whose triumphant conclusion would come in the future. From this insight came a new conception of men and women as individuals with unique destinies--a conception that would inform the Declaration of Independence--and our hopeful belief in progress and the sense that tomorrow can be better than today. As Thomas Cahill narrates this momentous shift, he also explains the real significance of such Biblical figures as Abraham and Sarah, Moses and the Pharaoh, Joshua, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. Full of compelling stories, insights and humor, The Gifts of the Jews is an irresistible exploration of history as fascinating and fun as How the Irish Saved Civilization.

The Jewish Experience