ABSTRACT

'Yours Faithfully' presents an anthology of virtual letters from the Bible, in which leading scholars imagine correspondence between biblical characters. Each letter conveys the insights that a given character might have and, together, the letters provide a rich sense of the concerns which propel and characters who inhabit the Bible. The letters are written in a range of styles - from the strictly historical to the very contemporary - and embrace the serious and the playful. The aim is to offer a commentary on familiar texts and events and to continue a long tradition of retelling stories from the Bible.

chapter |4 pages

Sarah to Abraham

(Genesis 11.26–23.2)

chapter |18 pages

Isaac to Abraham

(Genesis 22)

chapter |4 pages

Sarah to Rebekah

(Genesis 17–49)

chapter |5 pages

Pharaoh Ramses to Moses

(Exodus 1–15)

chapter |8 pages

Aaron to Miriam

(Numbers 12)

chapter |3 pages

Jephthah's Daughter to her Father

(Judges 11.29–40)

chapter |5 pages

Samson to Delilah

(Judges 13–16)

chapter |5 pages

Shmuel ben Elkanah to Achish

(1 Samuel 4–6)

chapter |4 pages

Absalom to David

(2 Samuel 13–29)

chapter |4 pages

Salu Father of Zimri to Zur Father of Cozbi

(Numbers 25, with 12 and 31; Genesis 34 and 49; Exodus 2 and 4)

chapter |4 pages

Ahitophel to Absalom

(2 Samuel 15.12–17.23)

chapter |5 pages

Ahitophel to Eliam, his Son

(2 Samuel 15.12–17.23)

chapter |4 pages

King Ahab to his Steward Obadiah

(1 Kings 18–22; 2 Kings 9.25)

chapter |5 pages

King Ahab to the Writers of the Books of Kings

(1 Kings 18–22)

chapter |4 pages

Athaliah to Elijah the Tishbite

(2 Kings 11; 2 Chronicles 21–22)

chapter |2 pages

The Big Fish to Jonah

chapter |5 pages

Nineveh to Judah

chapter |5 pages

Jeremiah to Ezekiel

chapter |5 pages

Between Zedekiah and Jeremiah

(Jeremiah 21, 34, 37–38)

chapter |2 pages

Haggai to Zechariah

chapter |2 pages

Zechariah to Haggai

chapter |4 pages

Esther to her Mother

chapter |3 pages

John the Baptizer to Jesus

chapter |6 pages

Jesus to his Mother

chapter |4 pages

Judas Iscariot to James; James to his Family

(Matthew 27.3–10; Acts 1.18–20)

chapter |3 pages

From a Greek woman of Tyre to jairus of Galilee

(Mark 5.21–43; Luke 8.40–56)

chapter |2 pages

Pilate's Wife to her Husband

(Matthew 27.19)

chapter |5 pages

Onesimus to Paul

(Epistle to Philemon)

chapter |5 pages

‘Jezebel' of Thyatira to John of Patmos

‘Jezebel' of Thyatira to John of Patmos (Revelation 2.18–29)