The name of the Polish writer Zenon Kosidowski is known for his popular science works, historical books about ancient civilizations and cultures. In the countries of the socialist bloc, they were sold in million copies. In his works there was everything so that Kosidovsky would be among the pioneers of a popular historical essay, especially in the field of antiquity: an excellent narration, a lively language, colorful characters, a distant past and a necessary pinch of historical materialism.
Historical cycle
The first hit was a book published in 1956, When the Sun Was God. Zenon Kosidovsky talks about Mesopotamia, Egypt, Aegean and Central America and has one goal - to show colorful and vibrant how civilizations appeared, covered with layers of dust and sand. Introduces the reader to the findings of archaeologists and researchers.
Each of the four parts contains the stories of people who sought to penetrate the thickness of centuries and walked in the footsteps of ancient people. Over the decades, after modern research, the book has ceased to be a source of information, but it will be useful to those who love history, because the whole essence of history as a science is revealed in the book of Kosidovsky.
Bible legends
But the most famous work was a book published in 1963 by Zenon Kosidovsky, "Biblical Tales." The topic of this book was interesting and became the subject of many discussions. It is surprising that the writer cites the historical and scientific justification of the Bible in his works, but they do not feel anti-religious ideas.
The author considers the events described in the Bible as historical. Miracles, for example, a burning bush, crossing the sea and water flowing out of the rock, try to find a real or logical justification. Some of the author’s arguments seem quite logical, there are no answers to some questions.
As readers of those years write, they expected a refutation from the church, but it did not follow. Perhaps this did not happen, because it was alien to the ideological policy of the communist states, to which the socialist countries belonged, and this did not seem possible. But the books of Kosidovsky for many years became desktop for believers, since in them, apart from the author’s arguments, a complete retelling of the Bible was given, which in those years could not be found in the countries of the socialist camp.
Only at the end of the 90s did Orthodox priests get reviews of the “Bible Tales” by Zenon Kosidovsky, where church officials call the writer's works “pseudo-scientific reading” full of contradictions, myths and fairy tales written by a “layman”. But on the part of ordinary people who want to find an answer to questions relating to religion, interest in Kosidovsky’s works has not decreased. Why? Let's try to find the answer.
Fairy tale or true story
The book "Bible Tales" consists of 7 chapters. At the beginning of each chapter, the author retells the Bible in detail, at the end - gives historical facts, research results, talks about archaeological finds. In the first part of "From Creation to the Tower of Babel" after a brief summary of the chapters from the Old Testament, Zenon Kosidovsky explains "Amazing discoveries regarding the creation of the world." Moreover, he does it very correctly, does not categorically deny Scripture, but gives conclusions and assumptions of scientists.
The biblical story of creation is rooted in ancient myths. It would seem that what can be shared between exalted biblical stories and primitive Mesopotamian myths? But the archaeologist D. Smith, having read the Babylonian poem Enuma Elish on cuneiform tablets from Mesopotamia, found a great similarity between them and was sure that the poem served as the basis for creating the biblical version. Paradise is also the result of Sumerian fantasies, as many legends are written on tablets that are similar to Old Testament stories. But the legends about Abel and Cain belong exclusively to Hebrew imagination, D. Smith is sure, having deciphered the tablets from Nineveh, he found a fragment of the legend about the flood.
In the second chapter of “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” the writer offers the reader a study of scholars in the commentary “Truth and Legend of the Patriarchs.” Historians claim that the biblical text appeared between the 6th and 4th centuries BC. e. and its authors were priests whose duties were not to record events, but to teach the people. The scholar J. Velghauz, having studied the Bible, noted that the history of the Jewish people was not written in the wake of fresh tracks, but much later than the events that occurred. Therefore, based on the legends of the patriarchs.
Archives found in Nineveh prove that the historical heritage was much older. The tablets found between Damascus and Mosul made it possible to find out that the names of the patriarchs correspond to the names of ancient cities and tribes. In Qumran scrolls dating back to the 2nd century BC. e., referred to the beauty of Sarah.
Old Testament stories
In the third part of the book, the writer retells the biblical "Story of Joseph", and in the end he gives the study "Folk Tradition or Glory." Here he writes that it still remains a mystery, was Joseph a historical figure? But the authors of the legend were people who thoroughly knew Egypt, since the historical accuracy of Egyptian customs is striking in the Old Testament tales.
In the next chapter, readers will learn the story of Moses. In the appendix Moses in the Halo of Myths, the author explains that the legend of Moses was passed from mouth to mouth, overgrown with details and acquired a mystical character. Scientists are trying to separate the core of truth from fiction and still can not accurately determine the date of the outcome.
Zeno Kosidovsky explains many "miraculous phenomena." As the Bible says, Moses spoke with God through a burning bush. Such a bush really exists and is called diptam. The plant releases an essential oil that ignites in the sun. Biblical manna is nothing more than a variety of tamarisk, emitting a sweetish liquid and quickly freezing in the sun in the form of balls similar to hail.
The miraculous appearance of a spring from a rock, on which Moses struck with a staff, also found an explanation. At the foot of the mountains, despite prolonged drought, water collects under the fragile crust of sand and, having broken this shell, it is easy to reach it.
Kingdom of israel
Having studied the biblical books "Joshua" and "Judges", scientists came to the conclusion that this is a conglomerate of several documents from different times, as the author tells the reader in the application "The Age of Struggle and Heroism".
In the chapter “The Golden Age of Israel,” Zenon Kosidovsky, in the commentary “Truth and Legend of the Creators of the Kingdom of Israel,” writes that chronicles telling about the history of Israel were created in the second half of the 6th century BC. e. Describes in detail the best period of the united state, which lasted more than 100 years.
After the northern tribes break away from him, two warring states are formed, which the author talks about in detail in the next chapter, "Israel and Judea." In the appendix "Am I my brother's keeper?" he writes about scholars' research on the greatest tragedy of the Jewish people - the split of the state of David into Judea and Israel.
The final chapter of The Six Bible Tales tells the story of Job, Daniel, Jonah, Esther, and Judith. Biblical characters under the pen of Kosidovsky come to life and invite to get acquainted with the life of that era, talk about exploits and victories. And at the end of the narrative, the author in his commentary “Edifying Folk Tales” explains that the plot of all biblical legends is based on a conditionally historical background, as they indicate facts known from other sources.
Tales of the Evangelists
A fascinating book, Bible Tales, written in living language, colorfully talked about excavations in Mycenae, Syria, Anatolia, Palestine and Egypt. The writer presented readers with information about unexplored eras, about little-known finds of archaeologists. As readers write in their reviews, Kosidovsky's "Biblical Tales" was the first book that turned over, literally "blew up" their view of history in general.
In 1979, a book about New Testament stories was published - The Tales of the Evangelists. Zenon Kosidovsky in it vividly tells about the person of Christ, about the Gospel messages and apocrypha. Describes in detail the Roman Empire, the situation, the attitude towards Christians. He leads the research of theologians and theologians, discoveries of archaeologists and historians. According to readers, although the book is noted by the publisher as popular science, it reads in one breath.
Not only books on the biblical theme were in great demand, but also “Clock of Centuries”, “Kingdom of Golden Tears”, “Poem about Stanislav Vysotsky” and many others.