Gruesome and Gorey Bible Stories

Y is Yehoash of Jewish royl'ty. Killed by his servants... So much for loyl-ty. Portia: The servants of King Yehoash "devised a conspiracy, and killed [him] in the house of Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla.   It was Jozacar son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer, his servants, who struck him down, so that he died" (2 Kings 12:19-20). English Bibles will likely refer to the king as Jehoash or simply Joash.   Thomas: The illustration in Gruesome and Gorey Bible Stories is meant to resemble a hallway in the Haunted Mansion, a popular attraction at Disneyland and other Disney parks.

X is King Xerxes, of Persia nation. The cause of his death? Assassination. Portia: Scholars believe that King Ashasuerus of the book of Esther is Xerxes the Great. Xerxes the Great, along with the xylophone and the x-ray fish, is a favorite subject of alphabet books, as words that begin with "x" are uncommon in English. Conveniently for me, scholars believe that the King Ashasuerus mentioned in the book of Esther is Xerxes the Great. Like Roman Emperor Tiberius, Xerxes' assassination is not recorded in the Bible, but is attested to in other ancient sources. Thomas: Long before I knew the story of Esther, I knew of Xerxes from Edward Lear's Nonsense Alphabet Number 2: " X was once a great king Xerxes, Xerxy, Perxy, Turxy, Xerxy, Linxy, lurxy, Great King Xerxes!"  Both Xerxes and his assassin are based on illustrations in Lear's books.

Warlocks and wizards and witches are "W." Stone them all to death, should they trouble you. Portia: Exodus 22:18 says, " Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (KJV).  Also forbidden:  " any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.   Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer" (Deuteronomy 18:10-11 KJV).  Despite the Bible's prohibitions against warlocks, wizards, and witches, there are a number of stories about them: Simon Magus (Acts 8), the Witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28), and Elymas (Acts 13). Thomas: The illustration in Gruesome and Gorey Bible Stories is a collection of posters styled after posters seen in the Harry Potter films.

V is Vaizatha and all his brothers. Too bad they could not play well with others. Portia: Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,  Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,  Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and  Vaizatha are the ten sons of Haman (see H is for Haman) listed in Esther 9.  They also were hanged on the gallows.  Like father, like sons.   Thomas: S ince we already had a gallows illustration in Gruesome and Gorey Bible Stories,  we went with an alternate translation of the story: Haman and sons were impaled on stakes, as in the New Living Translation.  This gory illustration is done in the style of "flannel-graph" Sunday School pictures.    

U's for Uzzah, who manhandled the Ark. When the Lord smote him, oh boy, did he spark! Portia: When the Ark of the Covenant was being transported, the unfortunate Uzzah "reached out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God struck him there because he reached out his hand to the ark; and he died there beside the ark of God" (2 Samuel 6:3). In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and Sallah lift the Ark with long poles to avoid touching it, hoping to avoid the fate that Uzzah faced. Thomas: The painting in Gruesome and Gorey Bible Stories is a self-portrait. I photographed myself in costume with a model Ark of the Covenant found in the church basement. I used the photograph as reference for the painting. Uzzah's melting face is a nod to the aforementioned Raiders.

T is for Roman Emperor Tiberius. Was smothered to death. (Yes, we're serious.) Portia: We bent the rules on this one. While Tiberius is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke chapter 3 ( In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor  Tiberius , when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene,  2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas...) his death is not.  Various sources do say smothering was a cause of death.   Thomas: This illustration is meant to evoke the old horror comics of yesteryear. Tiberius' likeness is based on a bust.