The Hope of Israel
Edited by Henri Méchouan and Gérard Nahon
‘The editors are to be commended not merely for their editions of the text, but more specifically for their most informative and detailed introduction . . . a scholarly but immensely readable background to Menasseh’s life and times.‘
Jewish Chronicle
‘Doubly welcome. The editors’ introduction is admirable in its elucidation of Menasseh’s life and times, the Marrano background and the messianic atmosphere of the mid-seventeenth century.‘
Polin
When The Hope of Israel was translated into English in 1652, its argument from Scripture that Messianic redemption would not come to the Jewish people until they were scattered in all corners of the Earth aroused great interest and played an instrumental part in the discussions in the Commonwealth under Cromwell which eventually led to the readmission of the Jews in 1656. This edition of that English text includes a new Introduction and notes which place the work in the intellectual context of its time.
About the translators
Henri Méchouan is Director of Research at the Centre Nationale de Recherche Scientifique, Paris.
Gérard Nahon is Director of Studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (Sciences Réligieuses), Paris.
Publication details
| Format | 21.5 x 13.5 cm / 5.5″ x 8.5″ |
| Pages | 206 pages, map |
| ISBN | 978-1-904113-20-1 |
| Price | £16.95 / $27.95 |
| Date of publication | July 2004 (Print on Demand) |
Contents
Foreword
Abbreviations
Editions and translations
Introduction
Amsterdam: From the Marranos to a Portuguese Jewish Community • Menasseh ben Israel: A New Look at his Life and Work, 1604-1657 • Esperança de Israel, 1650
Wall’s English Translation of the Latin Text
A Note on the English Translation • Facsimile of the Title Page • The Epistle Dedicatory • Menasseh ben Israel to the Courteous Reader • The Authors of Other Nations, which are Quoted in this Treatise • The Hebrew Books, and Authors • The Relation of Antonio Montezinos • The Hope of Israel
A Note on Moses Wall by Richard H. Popkin
Bibliography
Index of Place and Proper Names