Reading Notes: Folklore of the Holy Land, Part B
The deaths of Moses and Aaron contain a small yet resoundingly sad ghost story; the shepherd doomed forever alive through the curse of Musa, "May you never die!" This reminds me of almost every suicide ghost story, where sightings are rumored of the unfortunate and tormented soul reappearing at the location of their death. But the shepherd didn't die. What if he's still alive, wandering the desert wilderness, adapted to the modern world?
The detail provided regarding the Uriah/Bathsheba/David triangle is considerably more than I remember in my Sunday School classes. I am rather impressed that Uriah's forgiveness of David is contingent upon his newly-provided one thousand wives in heaven (don't remember that part!). A bird is the trap described, leading to the (unstated) adultery committed by David. I think the bird is analogous to Bathsheba.
El Khudr reminds me of Ra's al Ghul from the Batman stories. Discovery of the fountain of youth, immortal being lurking throughout the centuries, powerful and dangerous but usually benign. I didn't care for the story of El Khudr and Moses - mysterious knowledge of no verifiable source justifies not only theft but the murder of a boy. Overall though, the idea of El Khudr and the poor shepherd existing forever and wandering the Middle East is fun. A meeting (by chance or by deliberation) between these two could be a fun story.
The detail provided regarding the Uriah/Bathsheba/David triangle is considerably more than I remember in my Sunday School classes. I am rather impressed that Uriah's forgiveness of David is contingent upon his newly-provided one thousand wives in heaven (don't remember that part!). A bird is the trap described, leading to the (unstated) adultery committed by David. I think the bird is analogous to Bathsheba.
El Khudr reminds me of Ra's al Ghul from the Batman stories. Discovery of the fountain of youth, immortal being lurking throughout the centuries, powerful and dangerous but usually benign. I didn't care for the story of El Khudr and Moses - mysterious knowledge of no verifiable source justifies not only theft but the murder of a boy. Overall though, the idea of El Khudr and the poor shepherd existing forever and wandering the Middle East is fun. A meeting (by chance or by deliberation) between these two could be a fun story.
17th-century Mughal painting of Al Khidr (El Khudr)
Bibliography
Folk-lore of the Holy Land: Moslem, Christian and Jewish by J. E. Hanauer (1907).
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