Harlot by the Side of the Road (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The stories you are about to read are some of the most violent and sexually explicit in all of Western literature..." (more)
Key Phrases: blood art thou, forbidden tales, biblical storyteller, Hebrew Bible, Near East, Chosen People (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Kirsch, an attorney and book critic, retells some of the juicier stories of the Bible in contemporary language. He expands upon the original biblical text to make the stories highly readable and includes with each the original text in modern translation and a brief sketch of the scholarly research and the speculation surrounding it. For those to whom Bible stories suggest "Disneyesque animals and simple uplifting moral lessons," this book may be a bit of a shock. Kirsch shows that the Bible is not a children's book. Then, as now, rape, incest, prostitution, murder, and strange religious cults were a part of life. As Kirsch says, "The Bible is a map of the human heart, and no secret chamber or hidden passage is left out." Kirsch contends that returning to the Bible can offer insight into modern issues. Mostly, however, he offers an irresistible popularization of some unfamiliar stories. Some readers will enjoy it; others will be highly offended. Recommended for public libraries.?C. Robert Nixon, MLS, Lafayette, Ind.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Although some of these biblical tales are not as "forbidden" as Kirsch makes out--both David's and Lot's stories have been on TV's Mysteries of the Biblethey do contain far more sex and violence than most readers would expect to find in a holy book. Demonstrating meticulous research and an enticing style, Kirsch recounts the rape of Dinah, in which the seducer of Jacob's daughter, along with 300 of his men, are circumcised and then murdered when they are too weak from their surgery to run; the seduction of Judah by his daughter-in-law Tamar; and the murder of Uriah by David, in order that David may have Uriah's wife, Bathsheba. Along the way, Kirsch comments perceptively on the implications of numerous instances of what he calls the "gyno-sadism" of the Bible--women being raped, gang-raped, and murdered. Along with excerpts from the Holy Scriptures according to Maoretic Text, Kirsch retells the stories, places them in the context of the time, and thoroughly addresses levels of meaning for both the ancient and modern readers. Fascinating reading. Ilene Cooper --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (March 3, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345418824
• ISBN-13: 978-0345418821
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #308,011 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You mean THAT'S in the BIBLE?, January 16, 1998

By	Bill Fleck (Wurtsboro, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Harlot by the Side of the Road (Hardcover)

In a society obsessed with religion, it is hard to imagine that, for most people, the Bible is virtually an unknown book. True, many American households have one gathering dust on the bookshelf, yet if the spine is cracked at all, it's generally for the purpose of finding out great-grandma's maiden name. The fact that the Bible is seldom read in its entirety in our day makes Jonathan Kirsch's new book, THE HARLOT BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD (Ballantine Books, 1997; 378 pages), that much more of value, for in pointing out some of its "forbidden tales," the author might just send his reader back to the source.

In HARLOT, Kirsch has picked out seven tales from the Hebrew Scriptures which set center-stage humankind in all its sinful glory. The accounts include rape, murder, genocide, and wholesale slaughter, all drawn from Holy Writ, and include such famous names as Lot, Moses, and even King David. Readers used to getting their Bible stories from Sunday services or Grolier adaptations will no doubt be shocked by what the Word of God includes.

Yet Kirsch is not writing with the now popular Bible-bashing attitude of, say, a Lloyd Graham (DECEPTIONS AND MYTHS OF THE BIBLE). While he does accept modern-day theories as to the authorship of the biblical canon, his purpose is not to poke fun; rather, he extracts from each of the tales he recounts something of value, whether it be historical or practical. This makes the book good reading for both believers and unbelievers seeking to get a handle on some of the cultural mysteries of biblical times.

Kirsch's format is instrumental in doing this. For each of the seven tales, he recounts the narrative in novelistic style, and provides detailed examinations of the various factors involved. This is particularly effective in his chapter entitled "Tamar and Judah," where he explains the concept of brother-in-law marriage, the status of women in patriarchal times, and the true "sin" of Onan (it's not masturbation). Extensive documentation from ancient and modern times is considered, though Kirsch never strays far from the biblical source.

It's an approach that should please both scholars and casual readers alike.

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bible, R rated, March 1, 2003

By	Patrick Devenny (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

Jonathan Kirsch hits the nail right on the head when he speaks of the general populaces ignorance of what is actually in the Bible. Most people have some kind of fairy tale idea that the Bible is full of wonderful, pretty stories that always conclude with a happy ending. God is always just and fair, and his messages are easy to understand. People that have this opinion, and I know a lot of them, have no idea what they are missing. As the famous line from Kerouac reads, "that Bi-ble has some hot stuff". Man, does it ever.

Instead of magical fairy tales, the Bible is one of the most brutal and violent books you are ever going to read. It's full of genocide, divinely inspired murder and human sacrifice, and some really complex sexual situations. To deny this is really to deny the true Bible, which is an amazing work of literature. That is not to say that these examples of extreme actions are without meaning; that is far from the case. Unlike modern literature which often uses murder and sex for no reason other than better book sales, the Bible delivers some deep moral pronouncements concerning a whole array of human situations. Using the horrible consequences of certain human action, the Bible can teach us a lot of harsh but important lessons.

Kirsch delivers this message brilliantly. Using a very interesting way of getting his point across, Kirsch writes some good little novellas of the various Bible stories he proposes, helping the lay reader get a clearer grasp on what actually happens in the story. These fictionalizations are bolstered by the requisite Bible passages. After the novellas, Kirsch presents some great commentary on the various stories, bring in all kinds of varying opinions and interpretations. It really is fascinating, as some of the stories are so complex and unclear that no one in the centuries of Bible study can get a clear grasp on their true meaning. We are left with a whole host of intriguing but disparate interpretations that make for some good reading nonetheless.

Kirsch does not go the route of cheapening the stories either. I was worried that this book would be some kind of sensational attempt to sell some books by showing that the Bible was really dirty and violent. That is not true at all. Kirsch does not dwell on the wild aspects of the story, he just means to explain what they mean to us today. Additional chapters deliver some good historical backgrounds concerning who actually wrote the Biblical stories, and the motivation behind many of the.

A great example of modern Biblical analysis.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stories Not Told in Sunday School, August 23, 2005

By	Chris Luallen (Nashville, Tennessee) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm an atheist who also happens to have a strong interest in religious history and theology. I find the Old Testament captivating because both God and humanity are depicted with a variety of traits, both positive and negative. The complexity of its characters makes for stories far richer and true to life than a simple morality play.

With "The Harlot By The Side Of The Road" Kirsch has plucked some of the most provocative biblical tales to demonstrate this point.I was already familiar with the seduction of Lot by his daughters. But other Bible stories, such as that of Tamar and Judah, were new and interesting to me. Thus I found Kirsch's book to be a very useful guide to discovering these hidden scriptures.

I must admit, however, that I usually preferred the succinct text of the Bible to Kirsch's imagination fuelled re-tellings. I highly recommend that readers carefully read the scripture itself before jumping into Kirsch's version. For example, Kirsch often attributes thoughts and feelings to the characters not clearly indicated by the biblical text. This is perhaps Kirsch's attempt at the Jewish tradition of Midrashic writing. But certain readers may end up being confused about what the Bible actually says.

Another significant portion of the book includes examination and interpretation of the stories presented. Kirsch presents his own point of view while also discussing the research of other religious scholars. This section of the book is interesting enough. But actually my favorite parts were towards the end. The final chapter - "God's Novel Has Suspense" - is where Kirsch espouses his ideas about why the Old Testament still holds purpose and power for us today. The appendix provides a fascinating look into who wrote the various sections of the Herbew Bible and how these writings were collected and translated. He even makes a fairly strong case that the writer "J", who wrote much of Genesis was, in fact, a woman and thus many of the most important stories of the Bible are actually told from a female prespective. Good stuff!