Ahoti: A Story of Tamar

by Miriam Feinberg Vamosh, Eva Marie Everson

Overview

A masterful retelling of Tamar's story of redemption, faith, healing, and justice

"As an author of biblical fiction, I know the amount of research and work that goes into crafting a story like this. Miram Feinberg Vamosh and Eva Marie Everson comprise the perfect team." —Jerry B. Jenkins, The Chosen series

Ravaged by one brother, silenced and betrayed by another, and abandoned by her father, Tamar—once beloved daughter of the king of Israel, and healer of the court—suddenly finds herself in exile, fleeing for her life. But the story continues where the scriptures end: a dangerous journey and tenacious pursuit of her true identity and calling brings her full circle, to her rightful place in the kingdom.

Connoisseurs of Biblical fiction will love Ahoti.

• Ahoti brings to life the Old Testament story of the biblical princess Tamar, the daughter of David, King of Israel.
• The familiar Bible story ends with Tamar living “desolate” (2 Samuel 13:20), but master storytellers Miriam Feinberg Vamosh and Eva Marie Everson take readers beyond this sorrowful ending to a horizon of hope, thanks to their brilliant adaptation of an ancient anonymous manuscript, purportedly written by Gad the Seer (1 Chronicles 29:29), which was discovered in India in the early 18th century. Beyond the biblical text, this manuscript provides a surprising conclusion, which has powerful modern-day significance.
• Rich with cultural, biblical, and historic detail, and spiritually compelling, Ahoti will inspire readers to overcome humiliation, pain, betrayal, and bitterness, to embrace a life of purpose.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781640608986
Publisher:	Paraclete Press
Publication date:	05/14/2024
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.54(h) x 0.67(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

For 44 years, Miriam Feinberg Vamosh, who was born in the U.S. and moved to Israel at the age of 17, has led tours in Israel as a tour educator licensed by the Israel Ministry of Tourism, specializing in showing the Holy Land to Christian visitors. In addition to her bestselling series of books on daily life at the time of the Bible, Miriam is the translator into English for the pamphlets given to tourists at national parks and nature reserves across the Holy Land, and works for the English edition of the Israeli daily Haaretz. She also translates into English and edits books and articles by Israel’s leading archaeologists and historians. Miriam, who has a master’s degree in Archeology and Heritage, is considered an expert in her field, especially as it relates to the land, her people, and her heritage.

Eva Marie Everson is a multiple award-winning author and speaker. She is one of the original five Orlando Word Weavers critique group members, an international and national group made up of critique chapters. She served as the original president from 2000 to 2007 and is now president of Word Weavers International, Inc. Eva Marie served as a mentor for Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild for several years and has taught at a number of writers conferences nationwide. During the 2010-2011 school year, Eva Marie served as an adjunct professor at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. She describes it as one of the best times she ever had while working. In 2002 she was chosen as one of six journalists to tour Israel and in 2009 she worked with Israel’s Ministry of Tourism to organize another journalistic tour. Eva Marie has spoken in churches and women’s groups in the U.S. and Canada. A common face among faculty at Christian writers conferences across the nation, Eva Marie also serves as the director of the Florida Christian Writers Conference (along with Taryn Souders). In 2022 she received the Yvonne Lehman Legacy Award (June) and the Lifetime Achievement Award from AWSA (August). Eva Marie is a member of Word Weavers International, AWSA (Advanced Writers & Speakers Association), ChiLibris, and FHL (Faith, Hope, and Love). Eva Marie has received degrees and studied theology at Andersonville Baptist Seminary and The Tzemach Institute. Eva Marie has been featured on numerous radio and television shows, speaking not only on theological matters but about writing, her work, etc. Eva Marie and her husband make their home in Central Florida where they are owned by one very spoiled cat and two hearts-full of children and grandchildren.

Editorial Reviews

03/25/2024

Vamosh (The Scroll) and Everson (The Ornament Keeper) put an empowering spin on the biblical story of Tamar, the daughter of King David. A respected healer in her father’s court, Tamar is commanded to minister to her half-brother Amnon, a “beast of a man” suffering from a mysterious “illness” that was only a pretense to rape her. David refuses to punish him and, worse, it becomes clear that Tamar’s brother Absalom helped orchestrate the rape to usurp power from Amnon, heir to the throne of Judah. Reeling from the assault and her family’s betrayal, Tamar relies on her servant, Mara, and her father’s benevolent advisers Gad, Nathan, and Mephiboseth to help her flee the palace. She strikes out on her own as a healer in the city of Abel, where she gains power and dreams of traveling to Geshur, the home of her long-banished mother Maacah. Vamosh and Everson’s characters are made three-dimensional through evocative descriptive language (Amnon is “a scorpion quietly biding its time beneath a colorful tapestry”). The revisions to the original story—in the Bible, Tamar eventually dies “desolate” in Absalom’s household—uplift, even if the propulsive plot leaves little room to develop her motivations. Still, it’s a welcome and often gripping portrait of the unsung courage of a biblical heroine. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Evocative, illuminating, beautiful, tragic, and triumphant at once. Ahoti is the story of Tamar we only thought we knew—a tale of faith and hardship written in breathtaking detail.”
—Tosca Lee, New York Times bestselling author of Iscariot and The Legend of Sheba

"In Ahoti: A Story of Tamar, Miriam Feinberg Vamosh and Eva Marie Everson create a gripping story of Tamar, King David’s daughter who was raped by her half-brother Amnon. The narrative stays true to the sparse details of the biblical story, and fills in the gaps by adding plausible details to the plot and realistic portrayals of the characters in the story. Today’s readers will relate to the loneliness and shame Tamar experiences because of the actions and inactions of her father, brother, and half-brother. At the same time modern readers will appreciate the support the women in the story give to Tamar. Their concern makes possible the gift of transformation Tamar experiences as the story ends." —Joan E. Cook, S.C., Ph.D., author of Hannah’s Desire, God’s Design: Early Interpetations of the Story of Hannah and articles about biblical women as teachers for today

"Our ancestors faced the same traumas and troubles that plague us in this age, and dealt with them in much the same way. That’s why Ahoti: A Story of Tamar is relevant to this generation of ordinary people trying to make sense of a world filled with violence and dishonor. Miriam Feinberg Vamosh and Eva Marie Everson relate the tragedy of King David’s daughter Tamar, filling in the details from the historical reality of ancient Israel. This is a story of one whose faith in the God of Israel overcomes the epic failures of those who also serve her God, but whose humanness inevitably tarnishes His Name. The result is an uplifting account of a woman who could have allowed her circumstances to make her a perpetual victim, but who chooses to become mistress of her own destiny." —Albert J. McCarn, creator of The Barking Fox and Executive Director of B’ney Yosef North America

"As an author of biblical fiction, I know the amount of research and work that goes into crafting a story like this. Miriam Feinberg Vamosh and Eva Marie Everson comprise the perfect team." —Jerry B. Jenkins, The Chosen series

"In a compelling melding of Jewish history, folklore, and biblical truth, the tragic story of King David’s daughter, Tamar, leaps off the page and shouts a redemptive cry for every woman silenced by her circumstance. A masterpiece of fiction based on solid historical documentation, Ahoti: A Story of Tamar, is a biblically accurate and believable story about one of the most unfairly treated women in the Bible. The authors have successfully related Tamar’s tragic tale without villainizing David or the ancient culture in which he ruled by presenting a strong woman’s response to a lifetime of adversity. Today’s reader will find an example of hard-won redemption for the past and hope for an unexpectedly hopeful future." —Mesu Andrews, best-selling author of In Feast or Famine
 
"I was privileged to have the opportunity to discover, annotate, and publish the ancient text Words of Gad the Seer. Now I feel even more privileged, when Ms. Feinberg Vamosh and Mrs. Everson share part of the book with the whole world. This story of Tamar is for women by nature, and it is almost unbelievable that it was told thousands of years ago." —Prof. Meir Bar-Ilan, Professor Emeritus, Former chair, Talmud Department, Bar-Ilan University, Israel, Author, among many other works, of Words of Gad the Seer, Some Jewish Women in Antiquity
 
"Fans of Biblical Historical Fiction will fall in love with Vamosh and Everson’s Ahoti. This story is filled with heartache and healing in a beautifully crafted tale of pain, loss, and redemption. A compelling historical novel that answers the question, “What happened to Tamar?” The authors bring well-known historical figures to life through this familiar tale of woe with an unexpected twist. From the splendor of David’s palace in Jerusalem, to the lowly streets of Abel, to the haven and confinement of Geshur, and back again, Tamar finds herself on a journey she never knew was waiting for her. Vamosh and Everson grant Tamar not only a well-crafted story that ultimately results in a new name, but also readers a woven tapestry of God’s redemption they can wrap around their personal struggles." —Jenifer Jennings, author of Biblical historical fiction

From the Publisher