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The Nazarene (1939) is a novel by Sholem Asch. Translated from the Yiddish by Maurice Samuel.

Abstract

An international bestseller. First part of a trilogy retelling the New Testament events from a Jewish perspective. Treats Jesus, Paul and Mary very sympathetically. The Roman, not the Jews, is the guilty Christ-killer. Jesus lived and died as a righteous Jew. Antisemitism is an evil that is not eternal; it can be broken and wiped out.

"The Nazarene is the story of Yeshua ben-Joseph, also known as Jesus of Nazareth, told by the famous Jewish writer Sholem Asch in an epic 1939 novel that brought him world fame, but led to condemnation by his own people ... In 1920's Poland two men travel back in time to Jerusalem. One is a hegemon, a powerful minion of Pontius Pilate. The other, a devout Jew on the fringe of Jesus's circle of disciples. They share a confession purportedly written by the betrayer Judah Ish-Kariot. They follow Jesus on his daily rounds, recording the sermons, the miracles, the controversies and the conspiracies that swirled around him. Jesus is portrayed as a demanding teacher, impatient with doubters, unyielding in his faith. They witness the pathos of his mother's love, one from the perspective of a scornful, bigoted Roman, the other from that a pious believer who feels himself drawn almost against his will to Jesus's message ... The book paints a vivid, anthropologically detailed picture of life in the Holy Land, dramatizing Jesus's words and works. It was a huge success, selling 500,000 copies and winning raves from the English-language press, but was bitterly attacked by Asch's Jewish readers who accused him of apostasy and demanded his excommunication."--Publisher description.

Editions

First published in the English translation by Maurice Samuel in the United States (New York, NY: Putnam's, 1939), and then in the original Yiddish.

Translations

After the end of the WW2, was translated into French, Italian, Hebrew, and German.

• Il Nazareno (1947 Asch), novel (Italian ed.)

External links