Five Biblical Portraits

Elie Wiesel (1928–2016) was Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University since 1976. Wiesel 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.

"Elie Wiesel asks: What went on within the minds and souls of these biblical figures; what were their hopes and their hurts; and what do they have to say to our hopes and our hurts?" —America"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." —The Chicago Tribune"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"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