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Audiobook edition · 16 h 50 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What stories grow in the spaces where the Bible falls silent?
In Legends of Old Testament Characters, Sabine Baring-Gould gathers tales from the Talmud, the Midrash, and other Jewish and Eastern sources. These legends explore moments that scripture leaves brief or untold. They imagine Adam’s appearance, Abraham’s boyhood, and Moses’s early years, showing how ancient and medieval readers give familiar figures fuller lives in story.
The collection begins with Adam and Eve, then follows Noah and Nimrod, Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob’s family. Jacob faces quarrels with Esau, work abroad, and a return home; Joseph and Moses also enter the story. Later tales turn toward David and Solomon. Throughout, the interest lies in folklore around scripture, rather than scripture itself.
What you’ll discover
- The first family Meet Adam and Eve through lore that imagines the first man’s great size and splendor.
- Flood and tower Follow the collection from its beginnings into the stories surrounding Noah and Nimrod.
- Abraham before the call Explore legends of Abraham’s boyhood, before the biblical call to leave his home.
- Families under strain Trace Jacob’s quarrels with Esau and discover tales surrounding Joseph and Moses.
- Kings and wisdom Encounter the tales gathered around David the shepherd-king and Solomon, famed for wisdom.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy folklore, comparative myth, and the stories that grew around the Bible. It rewards anyone who likes curious details and seeing one story told many ways.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The legends draw from many streams
- Pride gives rebellion its beginning
- Exile leaves room for mercy
- The first family carries new warnings
- The flood reaches across many traditions
- Abraham's faith takes several forms
- Private trials become lessons through legend
- Moses moves from rescue to leadership
- Solomon's power reaches beyond human subjects
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Legends of Old Testament Characters, From the Talmud and Other Sources
by Sabine Baring-Gould · 1871
Adam shrinks, Abraham walks out of a furnace, and Solomon loses his ring in a book of rabbinic and Muslim legends.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“Imagination and its absence each added to the store.”
In short
What happened to Adam's great height after he left Paradise? Why does a raven turn black, and who really wore the first leather apron?
Legends of Old Testament Characters, From the Talmud and Other Sources at a glance
- Reading time
- About 9 h 55 min7 h 55 min fast, 11 h 50 min slow
- Length
- 141,900 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1871by Sabine Baring-Gould
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
The legends flow from many streams of tradition
Baring-Gould gathers legends from many shelves at once. He keeps the stories that seem to him of particular interest.
In his preface he sorts the sources by value. Some tales trace back to Persia, such as the story of the demon Asmodeus. Kabbalists made others by rearranging the letters of a name. Some rabbis took a poetic phrase literally and then invented a story to explain it, as when David thanks God for answering him from the horns of the unicorns.
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Details
- First published
- 1871
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Baring-Gould, Sabine. Legends of Old Testament Characters, From the Talmud and Other Sources. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/legends-of-old-testament-characters-from-the-talmud-and-other-sources.
Baring-Gould, S. (2026). Legends of Old Testament characters, from the Talmud and other sources. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/legends-of-old-testament-characters-from-the-talmud-and-other-sources (Original work published 1871)
Baring-Gould, Sabine. Legends of Old Testament Characters, From the Talmud and Other Sources. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/legends-of-old-testament-characters-from-the-talmud-and-other-sources.
@book{baringgould2026legends,
author = {Baring-Gould, Sabine},
title = {Legends of Old Testament Characters, From the Talmud and Other Sources},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/legends-of-old-testament-characters-from-the-talmud-and-other-sources},
note = {First published 1871}
}
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What is Legends of Old Testament Characters about?
It collects legends from the Talmud, Midrash, Muslim chroniclers and other sources about Old Testament figures, from the fallen angels and Adam through Abraham, Moses, David and Solomon, with comparisons to myths from many other cultures.
Where do the stories in this book come from?
They come mainly from rabbinic writings such as the Talmud and the Book of Jasher, from Muslim authors such as Tabari, from Persian sources, and from apocryphal books, and the author names the source for most tales.
Are these legends found in the Bible?
No, most of them are not. They are traditions told around the Bible, adding names, causes and scenes to the scriptural accounts, and the author often notes where they differ from Genesis or from one another.
The author
Sabine Baring-Gould
1834–1924 · English novelist and folklorist
Sabine Baring-Gould (1834–1924) was an English clergyman, novelist, antiquarian and collector of folk songs. He was born in Exeter and later lived at Lewtrenchard in Devon, where he died. His writings included The Book of Were-Wolves, published in 1865, and the novel Grettir the Outlaw, published in 1890.
“Imagination and its absence each added to the store.”
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