Serge Bloch and Frédéric Boyer and Cole Swensen - In the Beginning

First published in the United States of America in 2017 by Chronicle Books LLC.
First published in France in 2016 by Bayard.
Illustrations copyright 2016 by Bayard.
Translation copyright 2017 by Chronicle Books LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form without written permission from the publisher. ISBN: 978-1-4521-6670-4 (epub, mobi) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available. ISBN: 978-1-4521-6593-6 (pb) Translation by Cole Swensen.
Art assistant contributions from Sheina Szlamka. Chronicle Books LLC
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San Francisco, California 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com

Long ago, going back more than 2,600 years, Jehoiakim was king of Judah and based in Jerusalem. He succeeded legendary kings who had resisted a succession of powerful empires.

And then Nebuchadnezzar, the fierce king of Babylon, who had defeated the Egyptians at Carchemish and Hama as well as all the sovereigns of Hatti and Phoenicia, besieged Jerusalem. The holy city was captured and pillaged. It was 586 Before the Common Era. More than ten thousand men were deported to Babylon. In exile, they remembered the one true God, a promise, and the wonders of earlier times. Words from the sky.

A path through the sea. With these ancient stories, they would write their hope. I remember an ancient tale. On the banks of the river of Babylon, I sat down to cry. I remember a very old story.
It begins long ago on the roads that lead from Egypt to Mesopotamia. I remember how we resisted the great kings of Babylon and Assyria. I remember Jerusalem.

I remember an ancient tale, which I will tell you...

based on The Book of Genesis, In the beginning God made the sky and the Earth, the plants, the animals... and you and me. And we learn why happiness lies in naming the things of the world. And how solitude was cured. How it all began well never know But we have speech
And it is speech
that started it all When all was dark
someone spoke
and light was made When there was nothing, someone said
the words star, bear, tree
And a star, a bear, and a tree appeared Everything is included in
the word of God
God wanted there to be something
rather than nothing The land and the sea
The day and the night
The sun and the moon Our world The known and familiar world
And the unknown and distant one Its the first page Ten times
God spoke.

The first time to say the words light and night, creating a day.

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