When We Saw Him

Capernaum, first-century Galilee. A craftsman's son. A merchant's daughter. And a man from Nazareth eating bread on a harbour wall. Ezra bar Josiah is thirteen — methodical, quietly observant, and not yet sure what he believes. Mara bat Elias is eleven — perceptive, certain, and already paying attention to things others walk past. When a travelling teacher named Yeshua passes through their town on his way north, neither of them can explain why the encounter stays with them. But it does. As the year unfolds — a wedding in Cana where water becomes something else entirely, a miraculous catch that leaves the town's best fishermen kneeling in an empty boat, a man healed in the synagogue in front of everyone — the questions grow harder to ignore. What is happening? Who is this man? And what does it mean that two children from Capernaum keep finding themselves close enough to watch? Neither of them is wrong about what they've seen. Neither of them is ready for what comes next. When We Saw Him is drawn from the Gospels of the New Testament and grounded in the history of first-century Jewish life in Galilee — the prayers, the festivals, the Torah, and the people. Precise in its history, generous in its humour, and luminous in its treatment of the miraculous, When We Saw Him is written for readers aged 10 to 17 — and every adult who reads alongside and finds themselves unexpectedly moved. Includes a glossary of Hebrew, Aramaic, and historical terms. First book in the When We Saw Him trilogy. Precise in its history, generous in its humour, and luminous in its treatment of the miraculous, When We Saw Him: Book One is written for young readers aged 10 and up — including every adult who reads alongside them and finds themselves unexpectedly moved. Includes a glossary of Hebrew, Aramaic, and historical terms. First book in the When We Saw Him trilogy.