(PRWEB) June 19, 2006 -- Ever wonder what it was like to get married three thousand years ago? "The Song of Hannah" -- a sensual and gripping story of love, jealousy, revenge and redemption – features not one, but two weddings of biblical proportions.
The book, by Eva Etzioni-Halevy and published by Plume (a Division of Penguin), has recently hit U.S. bookshelves.
Its intriguing plot follows the lives of Hannah and Pninah. They are the two wives of Elkanah. Once close childhood friends, they are now rivals, as they compete for the attention of their husband. Despite their differences, the two women must learn to live together, protecting their own interests as well as each other's, while sharing not only the love of their husband, but that of Hannah's son Samuel, who is destined to become one of the first great prophets of the Jewish people.
As part of her research for the novel, Etzioni-Halevy spent a lot of time exploring biblical wedding customs, carefully going through every possible verse. "From some verses in the Bible we deduce that there was a ceremony of Huppah (a canopy) under which the bride and bridegroom stood together, apparently to symbolize the home that they would henceforward share," says Etzioni-Halevy.
Etzioni-Halevy says that what she describes in the novel is an amalgamation of what we know, with what makes sense.
The novel features vivid descriptions of both Hanah and Pninah's weddings to Elkana, from details of the dresses they wore to the intense preparations.
"The weddings were considered a time of joy, and there was a celebration that included a feast, drinking and playing of musical instruments," says Etzioni-Halevy.
Etzioni-Halevy says her goal is to bring the world of the Bible close to the heart of modern readers. She's excited about the wide audience her novel has the potential of reaching, and says it is not necessarily just for those with an affinity to the scriptures.
“It forms a good gift for newly weds, Jews and non-Jews alike, because it is a book that celebrates love, particularly love with marriage, and the happiness it can bring in its wake,” says Etzioni-Halevy.
A child holocaust survivor, Etzioni-Halevy is currently professor emeritus of political sociology at Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel. She has written many books in political sociology, but "The Song of Hannah" is her first parley into the world of Novels. A second novel "The Garden of Ruth" is slated for a January 2007 release.
"The Song of Hannah" is available through bookstores, and can be ordered online at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and at the author's website: http://evaetzionihalevy.com.
