Audiobook · read by volunteers
Hurlbut's Story of the Bible Part 2
Jesse Lyman Hurlbut (1843–1930)
Read by Esther, Sibella Denton, Eric Ray, Laura Caldwell, Ezwa, Kalynda, Missie · 18 chapters · 2 h 22
About the book
Jesse Lyman Hurlbut wrote his Story of the Bible to retell the great episodes of Scripture in a clear and appealing way, so that young people and busy adults alike could follow them from beginning to end. This second part picks up with the conquest of the promised land. You will hear about a scarlet cord at a window, the crossing of a dried-up Jordan and a hidden wedge of gold, then about the judges who ruled afterwards: Ehud, Gideon and his three hundred, Jephthah and the strong man of Dan. The last chapters bring Ruth in the field of Boaz, the little boy in a linen coat and the tall man chosen as king. Each of the eighteen chapters is short, self-contained and told in straightforward prose. Several LibriVox volunteers share the reading, and at roughly two and a half hours it is a brisk, accessible way to revisit familiar stories.
Introduction
Jesse Lyman Hurlbut (1843-1930) was an American Methodist minister and author who became well known for his work in religious education, above all for books that presented the Bible to young readers. His Story of the Bible, first published in 1904, retells the narrative of the Old and New Testaments in plain language, arranged as a series of brief chapters that are easy to read or to hear. It was widely used in homes and Sunday schools in the early twentieth century and has remained in print in various forms.
This is the second part of the LibriVox recording. It covers the entry of the people of Israel into the land of Canaan and the age of the judges, up to the choosing of the first king. Chapter titles such as The Story of a Scarlet Cord, How the River Jordan Became Dry, The Story of a Wedge of Gold and How Joshua Conquered the Land of Canaan show the author's approach: each episode is presented as a story with a clear beginning and end, and the focus is on events and people rather than on commentary.
The recording is shared among several volunteers, among them Esther, Sibella Denton and Eric Ray, and it lasts about two hours and twenty-five minutes across eighteen chapters. Listeners who already know the text will find a gentle refresher, while those who have never read it will find a clear introduction to some of its best-known scenes. Whether you are interested for reasons of faith, history or literature, the book is a useful reminder of how many familiar phrases and images in the English-speaking world trace back to these ancient stories.
Public domain
Jesse Lyman Hurlbut died in 1930: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text