Samuel Fisher's Letter to the Jews: 'To All the House of Jacob'. Issue 2 (1st December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Birkel, Michael
• Is Part Of: Quaker studies. Volume 25:Issue 2(2020)
• Page Start: 157
• Page End: 168
• Publication Date: 2020-12-01
• Subjects: Samuel Fisher -- Quakers and Jews -- Early Quaker Writings -- Hebrew -- Early Quakers and the Bible; Society of Friends -- History -- Periodicals; 289.605
• DOI: 10.3828/quaker.2020.25.2.3
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1363-013X

Abstract

Abstract : In the 1650s, Samuel Fisher addressed an undated letter 'To All the House of Jacob', inviting Jews to attend to the light in their hearts. Composed in Hebrew, it consists almost entirely of allusions to the Jewish Scriptures or Christian Old Testament, much of it organised by clusters of images drawn from biblical sources. The letter is a call to repentance, drawing on the threats of divine wrath, particularly from the Psalms and the prophets. Since no English translation from Samuel Fisher's time is known, one is offered here.