INTRODUZIONE
“A New World” è il primo libro di Mosè, più noto come la Genesi, raccontato in modo unico. Versi scorrevoli in rima baciata ed un incalzante ritmo trasportano il lettore dalle delizie verdeggianti del Giardino dell’Eden, oltre Noè e l’alluvione e le avventure di Abramo e Isacco, fino all’arrivo di Giuseppe in Egitto e la sua ascesa al potere come braccio destro del Faraone. Uno stile scanzonato ma mai irriverente, porta in vita i personaggi di questa storia biblica e fa di ‘A New World’ una lettura molto piacevole sia per bambini che per adulti.
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The
adventures
of Abraham
[Genesis 11:27]
In those days a man called Terah had his first-born child,
‘Abraham’ he called him, as he stroked his head and smiled.
Although he didn’t know it then, Terah’s little son
Was soon to lead the Israelites as God’s new chosen one.
In fact, when many years had passed, God promised him some land,
He said he’d make him powerful and make his nation grand.
But Abraham would have to leave everything he’d got,
And wander in the desert with his wife and nephew, Lot.
Abraham obeyed the Lord as soon as it was day,
And quite a few adventures took place along the way.
When Pharaoh, for example, took a fancy to his wife,
God was forced to intervene by threatening Pharaoh’s life.
As he wandered here and there, Abraham grew wealthy,
He’d heaps of gold and silver, and all his herds were healthy.
His lands, however, weren’t enough, and problems soon began
Between the men in Lot’s camp and those of Aby’s clan.
Abraham said they should split before it reached a fight,
One would take the left path, the other one the right.
So Lot set up in Jordan, whose land was green and good,
And Abe set off for Hebron, as God had said he should.
But things were still not easy for animal or man,
And in the land where Lot lived a violent war began.
Sodom and Gomorrah’s kings, and other kings as well,
Were tired of Chedorlaomer’s rule and started to rebel.
But soon their hopes were buried in the fight at Siddim vale,
When some fell into tar-pits and all the rest turned tail.
Lot himself was not involved but he was also captured,
The victors danced the night away, delighted and enraptured.
When Abraham was told the news, he jumped straight out of bed,
And swore that he would not repose till all of them were dead.
He gathered up an army and chased them into Dan,
There he split his troops in two and wiped out every man.
He unchained all the prisoners and freed his nephew, Lot,
Then gathered all the valuables the enemy had got.
The king of Sodom thanked him, and offered a reward,
But Abraham just waved a hand, the offer was ignored.
Abe was cheerful on the whole, but one thing spoiled his fun,
His wife and he were getting old and didn’t have a son.
So one fine day the Lord dropped in to share a bite to eat,
And Abraham prepared a meal of bread and spicy meat.
When they’d finished eating, the Lord took Abe aside,
And said that he would give a son to Sarah, Aby’s bride.
Sarah wasn’t far away, she heard the words he spoke,
And laughed a little to herself, quite sure it was a joke.
God heard Sarah laughing, but when he questioned why,
Sarah said she hadn’t laughed, although it was a lie.
The Lord insisted patiently that what he said was true,
For there was nothing in the world he couldn’t make or do.
As Abraham had been so good, so generous and kind,
God felt he should tell him of a plan he had in mind.
Since Gomorrah and Sodom were full of vice and sin,
The Lord had made his mind up to do their townsfolk in.
But Aby was a man of peace and felt God should reflect,
Before destroying everyone, he should perhaps inspect.
What if some of them were good, honest, wise, and true?
It wouldn’t be a godly thing to wipe them all out too.
After quite a long discussion, God prepared a deal,
Then he headed for the door and thanked Abe for the meal.
The plan he made was simple, the townsfolk would be checked,
If ten of them were honest, the towns would not be wrecked.
God then called two angels and told them of his doubt,
And sent them into Sodom to check the locals out.
They got there after sunset and bumped straight into Lot,
Who bowed down low before them and offered all he’d got.
It took some hard persuading before they both agreed
To go inside, where Lot supplied a fancy feast indeed.
But as they finished eating, they heard a riotous sound,
As hosts of nosy neighbours gathered all around.
The neighbours said to open up and send the strangers out,
But Lot refused, and they began to beat the door and shout.
The angels of the Lord were pretty quick to understand,
The situation in the town was getting out of hand.
They made a quick decision to blind the men outside,
And warned Lot and his family to find a place to hide.
They said the walls of Gomorrah and Sodom would come down,
And in the early morning light they ought to leave the town.
God would save them, they assured, since Lot had been so kind,
But while they were escaping they must not look behind.
Lot’s family set out at dawn and as the sun rose higher,
God began to devastate with brimstone and with fire.
Lot’s wife could not resist a glance, she drew up to a halt,
But as she looked, she turned into a pillar made of salt.
Lot was sad, but since he had two daughters he must save,
He took them up the mountainside to live inside a cave.
Meanwhile Abraham moved on, he had to start a nation,
The land that God had promised him was still his destination.
He stopped a while in Gerar, where Abimelech the king,
On seeing Aby’s lovely wife, prepared to have a fling.
The Lord was forced to intervene, he made the king agree
To offer food and silver, and let them both go free.
