The Color of Prophecy: Visualizing the Bible in a new light

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9652295795 ISBN 13: 9789652295798

Publisher: Gefen Publishing House, 2012

The Prophets sublime poetry, phantasmagoric visions, and sonorous voices have intrigued us and moved us over the centuries. The writings of the great seers of the Hebrew Bible resonate with us in ways that go beyond our own short lives, tapping in to a human consciousness that transcends our age. How do we understand them? How do we appreciate them? Nahum HaLevi has painted the prophetic visions in unified, loud, and explosively colorful visual-literary canvases, which he has then retranslated back into fresh literary-biblical analyses, providing novel understandings of the Bible and insights into the genesis of biblical thought. The Color of Prophecy contains fifteen chapters, one chapter for each of the fifteen books in the Prophets. Each chapter is accompanied by a copy of an original oil painting and the biblical analysis derived from it. This book addresses those who have an interest in the visual arts, the Bible, or both. Although it is a Jewish-inspired book, it strikes a universal chord and broadly appeals to Jews, Christians, and those of all faiths who share a common love of the Bible and art.

About the Author:

Nahum HaLevi is the Hebraic acronym and painterly name of Nathan C. Moskowitz, MD, PhD, FACS, FICS. He is a visionary painter, neurosurgeon, neuroscientist, inventor, and author. He is the author of a book on neuroscience and of over thirty scientific articles related to neuroscience and neurosurgery, as well as over thirty patents/patent pendings of medical device designs and applications. He has also authored two articles on biblical analysis for the Jewish Bible Quarterly. Nahum HaLevi has exhibited his paintings either in solo or group exhibitions in Europe, Australia, and the United States, and one of his paintings is in the permanent collection of the Yad Vashem Art Museum in Israel. He is currently Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Medical School, a member of the Arts and Letters Council of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, and president and founder of the Shoah Forensic Art Institute.

Review:

San Diego Jewish World, February 2014, Rabbi Michael Samuels discusses this book at length. "In Nahum HaLevis The Color of Prophecy: Visualizing the Torah in a New Light, the author skillfully uses art to convey a visual interpretation of themes taken from the prophetical writings. While the author explains the prophetical writings, his paintings really engage the readers imagination on a level that transcends his personal expositions. For those who do not wish to fully use their imagination, the author is a capable guide in presenting the thoughts that inspired his work."