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Mordechai Beck studied at a yeshiva and at the Hornsbey College of Art in London. His etchings and prints are displayed in several museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He is known for his limited edition books that combine design and textual explorations of biblical characters, such as Jonah (Maftir Yonah, published by Bet Alpha Editions). He writes, “Jonah’s story was part of my childhood; it was the text we read every Yom Kippur in the synagogue. Yet as I grew up, Jonah became a mystery. Who was he, this strange man . . .

Nicolas Poussin painted this work in 1637–1639 for Paul Fréart de Chantelou, an admirer of Christian art, who would become one of his most benevolent patrons. The painting is based on Exodus 16:2–15, which depicts God sending food to the Israelites during their desert wanderings. Poussin is most famous for his nontraditional ordering of his compositions. The painting shows the delivery of manna through the responses of the various figures. Some people fight for the food while others wait patiently.