Table of Contents

List of IllustrationsForewordPreface: How This Book Was WrittenIntroductionCh. 1The Ark of Noah3Ch. 2Ships and Seafaring in the Bible12Ch. 3Construction and Parts22Ch. 4Types of Ships39Ch. 5The Crew47Ch. 6Maritime Trade53Ch. 7In the Harbor60Ch. 8On the High Seas64Ch. 9Naval Warfare73Ch. 10Laws of the Sea and the River85Ch. 11Similes and Parables101Ch. 12Sea Legends and Sailors' Tales109Ch. 13Ports and Port Cities132Ch. 14Lake Kinneret160AppBiblical Seafaring and the Book of Mormon171Abbreviations Used in the Notes177Notes185Index209

Promotional Information

This work is altogether a masterpiece of substance and style. It is not only a major contribution to our knowledge of the ancient world...but it is as well a sheer reading delight for humanists of all backgrounds. -- Howard M. Sachar, George Washington University

About the Author

Raphael Patai was the author of more than thirty books on Jewish history, folklore, biblical studies, and Middle Eastern culture. Among his best-known books are "The Jewish Alchemists "(Princeton)," The Jewish Mind", "The Hebrew Goddess", and "Hebrew Myths" (with Robert Graves).

Reviews

"It's not everyone who can spend a lifetime with the kinds of questions Patai asks... But almost everyone will find fascinating the answers Patai provides... Practical rather than theoretical, empirical rather than imperious, durable rather than glamorous ... a vessel with spirit, a freighter of mysteries."--Laurance Wieder, The Weekly Standard "Patai takes the bare bones of what there is in the Bible and, through scholarship and intellect, builds up a lively picture of life at sea... This book will stand as a final and fitting monument to Patai's lifetime of scholarship and research into ancient Jewish history and culture."--David Brauner, Jerusalem Post "An artful weaving together of biblical tales, Talmudic legends, and Midrash literature, The Children of Noah: Jewish Seafaring in Ancient Times chronicles the amphibious adventures of the ancient Israelites."--Publishers Weekly "A useful source book... [I]f you're Jewish and love the sea ... It's not an account you would want to miss."--Hillel Halkin, Forward "A lively and fascinating narrative that makes a full exposition of the subject available to students and advanced readers for the first time."--Library Journal