Love and Romance in the Bible

About the Book

This new project concentrates on the power of love and other passions that changed the world.

As we consider the Bible as a historical document we cannot help but wonder about those personalities in the Bible who can take credit for creating a multitude of tribal orders and nations throughout the globe.

Sarah and Abraham were the very first ancestors who discovered Monotheism and consequently gave birth to powerful nations who ended up populating nearly half of the people’s planet. One of the most populous nations on earth: Islam , was created as a result of Sarah’s consent to have Abraham (her husband) consort with her maid: Hagar. Ishmael was born and he became the father of twelve powerful tribes.

Love in The Bible speaks about how entire kingdoms were formed and other destroyed. It also emphasizes the power of seduction aimed at altering a destiny of a nation. Delilah sought to destroy Samson in order to guarantee the supremacy of the Philistines over the Israelites. Athaliah the mean destroyed her own children in order to maintain power. Jezebel managed to do away with over four hundred so called prophets in order to maintain her power over the land.

Those women of power did evil while using their men. Delilah used Samson by seducing him and convincing him to disclose the secret of his power. Jezebel and Athaliah used their men kings in order establish their own kingdom.

On the other hand, there were impressive female heroes. Deborah was a pure military strategist who saved a whole nation with her inspiration and positive attitude towards victory. Deborah was also a poetess and a highly praised judge who kept a nation in peace for forty years.

Esther was a special queen who came to the rescue of the entire Jewish Persian minority because she was the preferred woman of King Xerxes.

King Solomon in his “Song of Songs” described love and romance in a manner that can be duplicated in our modern era. His poetry is still read and appreciated in our times and it can be quoted repeatedly by true lovers of our century. Romance and the longing for love have never changed. Lovers can be imaginative and use silly ways to remain in love as they do today.

However, love can take different turns as well. A true shocking story of love by accident is the story of Judah who became the father of Judaism.

Could anyone imagine that Judah, the head of the tribe of Judah, a tribe that was almost extinct, suddenly became the ancestor of the most populous tribe of Israel? It happened at a time where Judah was almost childless. By accident, he encountered a woman named Tamar, who paused as a harlot. However, since Judah did not recognize her he became intimate with her. Tamar was actually Judah’s daughter in law. Since her two husbands (Judah’s sons) died- it was Judah’s duty to have Tamar marry the only surviving son. That never happened either. As Tamar used a special ruse to fool Judah, she conceived and she became the actual ancestress of Judaism, as we know it today. This intriguing (soap opera-like) story is described in details. What is more, she became the ancestor of Boaz and David, King of Israel. Both Jews and Christians claim Tamar as their ancestor, while Christians state that King David was twenty generations apart from Jesus.

Love And Romance in The Bible depicts other passions such as incest and rape. The daughters of Lot who saw it necessary to ‘revive’ seed from their own father because they were afraid of their generation becoming extinct committed incest. The Bible does not condemn nor condone this act. However, the curious outcome was that two nations evolved out of this incestuous act: Moab and Ammon.

The Amnon and Tamar (daughter of David)’s story is a perfect example of an insecure man (son of David) who gets infatuated with his half sister (Tamar) and ends up abusing and humiliating her. In the

About the Author

Asher Elkayam was born in Morocco where he spent his childhood and where he studied Arabic, Hebrew and French. When he moved to Israel, he was exposed to Middle Eastern and Hebrew cultures. Asher has been most fascinated with Monotheism and how it originated and spread to become the heritage of Jews, Christians, and Moslems. The striking similarities between Judeo-Christian religions and Islam became the object of a life-long project. After he studied Arabic and Hebrew studies in morocco and Israel, Asher traveled to France to study Political Science and international relations in Paris and Strasbourg (Institut d’Etudes Politiques). Mr. Elkayam has previously authored a book on the bible (The Bible, The Power of the Word) and is in process of publishing a new book (One Family, Four Cultures, Four Continents) about his childhood in Morocco and in Israel. Having lived among Moslem and Arab neighbors most of his adult life he became interested in the Islamic way of life and began concentrating on the positive nature of Islam. Asher speaks fluently the Moroccan Arabic dialect. He is also fluent in the French and the Hebrew languages. In the U.S.A., Mr. Elkayam has studied and obtained diplomas in secondary education and Audioprosthology (separately). He taught Hebrew and French and he has been an active member of a conservative Hebrew congregation for nearly 35 years. Mr. Elkayam believes wholeheartedly in a constructive dialogue and friendly coexistence and interaction between Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.