Moses: A Life

Rating:
Summary: Poor Scholarship with an Axe to Grind
Review: Kirsh's work is third rate at best. Yes, he has read a great deal of supporting text (midrash, commentary, etc), but he fails to present it in a balanced way. He opts instead to focus on what ever grabs his fancy. For example, where he chooses to attack Moses or the text he often does not offer the reader a traditional Jewish explination or, worse, presents it and then belittles it. This can sometimes boarder on the amusing, such as when he holds up Freud's text on Moses as illuminative, when scholars are near unanimous that it tells you more about Freud then it does about Moses.

If you are interested in this subject, there are far better texts. Start with a bible with traditional comentators and go from there. Like with Frued, this will tell you more about Kirsch and the biases of a liberal Jew in LA then it will tell you about Moses.

Rating:
Summary: Kirsch is a detached biographer...
Review: Since there is no archeological evidence that Moses ever existed, author Jonathan Kirsch uses the words of the bible,together with modern biblical scholarship to re-create the great prophet who exists between the lines of scripture. Kirsch goes through each chapter of the bible beginning with the book of Exodus and ending with the book of Deuteronomy and shows where various traditions and counter-traditions might have intersected. He shows the Moses who is portrayed as a great hero by the "Deuteronomist" and the Moses whose role is diminished by the "Priestly source." He discusses virtually every theory including the theory that their were two Moses and the first was murdered! This is surely not the book to read if you are a bible literalist (or an Orthodox Jew) and I certainly don't agree with all his points, being partial to the biblical story myself. But Kirsch is a lively writer and it is an interesting read nonetheless, as is Kirsch's "King David".

Rating:
Summary: Did Moses have horns?
Review: This book focuses in on more then Moses' life. If it just did that, you wouldn't need to buy it, you could just read a Bible. Instead, in "Moses, A Life", the author discusses Moses' life, from the perspective of many different people. Some of these stories are funny, others shocking, but they were all educational and insightful

My favorite passage in this book was the fact that, apparently, in some Bibles it says that Moses has horns. The author relates an experience where someone was starring at him, looking for horns, because the author is Jewish. It strikes me as a very funny scene. Yet, at the same time, it is sad. Here was someone, who read the Bible and took it very seriously, apparently mislead by a bad translation. How many people may have been mislead about more serious parts of the Bible?

In truth, according to this author, the Bible says that Moses was marked by his talks with God. After Moses meet with God, Moses covered his face. People who saw his face were shocked. It was this experience that was translated as Moses having horns. I never knew that Moses had to keep his face covered and also never knew that others thought Moses had horns. As such, items like this made this book very interesting to me.

There are many other examples. Did you know that God tried to kill Moses after he picked him to be his spokeperson to the Pharoah? Did you know that some believe Moses was a prince of Ethiopia? Did you know that the Jewish leaders may have had a secret code, which was given to Moses by God? Otherwise, how did he prove, to them, that he was God's messenger?

If you like interesting facts like this, you will enjoy this book. If you, however, are looking for a religious book, this book may not be you. This is not a book on theology. It is a book about history or religious history. If that is the type of book you like, you will love Mose's, A Life. For these types of people, I recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: i never read the bible until now
Review: this book was brilliant. if you take a look at what biblical biographies are available in the world, you would realize how good this one is. kirsh gives an engaging analysis into both the religious and historical evidence of not just moses, but the events surrounding his life as well. this includes the egyptian lifestyle, and the history of the early mediterranean.

i went to catholic school, and i never read the bible until after this book!

Rating:
Summary: Don't read the ending
Review: This is a truly insightful book. Not only does it cover various sources in and around Moses's life, but it does so in an amazingly amicable prose. A definite must for everyone with any sense of theological thought.

Rating:
Summary: No life to be found in this life
Review: This is not a book for believers. Anyone of the Jewish, Christian or Muslim faith should not pick up this book because you will be seriously offended. Mr. Kirsh takes several Biblical passages out of context to use in his argument. His attitude towards anyone who believes is devoutly religious and believes strongly in the words of the Bible is extreemly condeceding. He says "If you read the Bible with open eyes and an open mind". Therefore presuposing anyone who does not see things his way is narrow minded. It was not until I got trough the first 30 or so pages did I realise that none of the "rave reviews" he received were from any clergy or religious orders. Further I realised that Mr. Kirsch views are not stated out in the open. You don't see his perjorative view towards the Bible, Moses and God until AFTER you've got into reading the book. I would only recomend this book to aetheists and others who are contemptuous of the Bible and the above faiths.