Comments on: The Book of Voices: Completed http://www.josephzitt.com/wordpress/archives/355 Joseph Zitt on selling, writing, and considering books and music. Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:45:58 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: joseph.zitt http://www.josephzitt.com/wordpress/archives/355/comment-page-1#comment-10414 joseph.zitt Mon, 18 May 2009 00:16:12 +0000 http://www.josephzitt.com/wordpress/?p=355#comment-10414 Hmm! I wasn't familiar with this figure. It's been a while since I read the Gospels. Elisheva was, I think, a pretty common name. (Actually, at the time that I conceived the character, she was to be a potter, with an overcomplicated story about her recording the voices on shards. I had recently met a potter named Elizabeth, so I used her name.) As far as John the Baptist, you may have noticed that in my piece on <a href="http://bookofvoices.wordpress.com/2007/06/30/elijah/" rel="nofollow">Elijah</a>, I mention that one of the names by which he is called in stories is "Jochanan." That one's not a coincidence. Hmm! I wasn’t familiar with this figure. It’s been a while since I read the Gospels. Elisheva was, I think, a pretty common name. (Actually, at the time that I conceived the character, she was to be a potter, with an overcomplicated story about her recording the voices on shards. I had recently met a potter named Elizabeth, so I used her name.)

As far as John the Baptist, you may have noticed that in my piece on Elijah, I mention that one of the names by which he is called in stories is “Jochanan.” That one’s not a coincidence.

]]> By: John Cowan http://www.josephzitt.com/wordpress/archives/355/comment-page-1#comment-10413 John Cowan Sun, 17 May 2009 14:53:24 +0000 http://www.josephzitt.com/wordpress/?p=355#comment-10413 When I read the first Elisheva passage, I assumed she was <i>the</i> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_(Biblical_person)" rel="nofollow">Elisheva</a>, the mother of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Baptist" rel="nofollow">John the Baptist</a>. But when I read the second one, I knew she couldn't be. The John article is worth reading in full: different religions have had very different views of this man, a charismatic preacher in a Messiah-ridden age who (as far as we ever hear of him) carefully claimed that he was <i>not</i> the one. When I read the first Elisheva passage, I assumed she was the Elisheva, the mother of John the Baptist. But when I read the second one, I knew she couldn’t be. The John article is worth reading in full: different religions have had very different views of this man, a charismatic preacher in a Messiah-ridden age who (as far as we ever hear of him) carefully claimed that he was not the one.

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