Sunday, February 19, 2012

The Economist Gets A Biblical Reference Wrong

In last week's (Feb 11th) Economist, they reviewed the book "Hope: A Tragedy" by stating:

EVER since Abraham’s idol-smashing outburst in the Hebrew Bible, a strain of iconoclasm has run through Jewish literature.
The problem is that Abraham does not smash any idols in the bible, Hebrew or otherwise. The story the Economist is referring to is quite a famous Midrash, of the sort we were all taught in kindergarten. I was intrigued that this reference managed to pass the Economist's famous editing team - perhaps they were all taught in Jewish Kindergartens?

I'm hoping for an interesting correction in next week's issue.
 

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