Chapter 36 of Ben-Hur: A tale of the Christ is here in full — 301 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVI
Chapter 36 of Ben-Hur: A tale of the Christ is here in full — 301 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Esther—Esther! Speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water.” “Would you not rather have wine, father?” “Let him bring both.” This was in the summer-house upon the roof of the old palace of the Hurs in Jerusalem.
Chapter 36 of Ben-Hur: A tale of the Christ is here in full — 301 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/60 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading “Speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water.””
a small open container usually used for drinking; usually has a handle
From this reading “Speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water.””
(Old Testament) a beautiful Jewess chosen by the king of Persia to be his queen; she stopped a plot to massacre all the Jews in Persia (an event celebrated by Jews as the feast of Purim)
From this reading ““Esther—Esther!”
capital and largest city of the modern state of Israel (although its status as capital is disputed)
From this reading “This was in the summer-house upon the roof of the old palace of the Hurs in Jerusalem.”
a large and stately mansion
From this reading “This was in the summer-house upon the roof of the old palace of the Hurs in Jerusalem.”
a protective covering that covers or forms the top of a building
From this reading “This was in the summer-house upon the roof of the old palace of the Hurs in Jerusalem.”
a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading “Speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water.””
fermented juice (of grapes especially)
From this reading ““Would you not rather have wine, father?””
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water.”
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading Speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water.”
the two together, not just one
From this reading “Let him bring both.”
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water.”
a small open container usually used for drinking; usually has a handle
From this reading Speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water.”
(Old Testament) a beautiful Jewess chosen by the king of Persia to be his queen; she stopped a plot to massacre all the Jews in Persia (an event celebrated by Jews as the feast of Purim)
From this reading “Esther—Esther!
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading “Would you not rather have wine, father?”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Would you not rather have wine, father?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water.”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Let him bring both.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was in the summer-house upon the roof of the old palace of the Hurs in Jerusalem.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading This was in the summer-house upon the roof of the old palace of the Hurs in Jerusalem.
capital and largest city of the modern state of Israel (although its status as capital is disputed)
From this reading This was in the summer-house upon the roof of the old palace of the Hurs in Jerusalem.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading “Let him bring both.”
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading Speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water.”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Would you not rather have wine, father?”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water.”
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading This was in the summer-house upon the roof of the old palace of the Hurs in Jerusalem.
a large and stately mansion
From this reading This was in the summer-house upon the roof of the old palace of the Hurs in Jerusalem.
on the contrary
From this reading “Would you not rather have wine, father?”
a protective covering that covers or forms the top of a building
From this reading This was in the summer-house upon the roof of the old palace of the Hurs in Jerusalem.
a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading Speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water.”
express in speech
From this reading Speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was in the summer-house upon the roof of the old palace of the Hurs in Jerusalem.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water.”
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This was in the summer-house upon the roof of the old palace of the Hurs in Jerusalem.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water.”
a formal word for “on”
From this reading This was in the summer-house upon the roof of the old palace of the Hurs in Jerusalem.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This was in the summer-house upon the roof of the old palace of the Hurs in Jerusalem.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading Speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water.”
fermented juice (of grapes especially)
From this reading “Would you not rather have wine, father?”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “Would you not rather have wine, father?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Would you not rather have wine, father?”
Chapter 36 of Ben-Hur: A tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace holds 301 sentences, grouped into 61 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 36 holds 301 sentences of Ben-Hur: A tale of the Christ, unabridged, divided into 61 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 36 of Ben-Hur: A tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 301 sentences, grouped into 61 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 61 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 61 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 36 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Ben-Hur: A tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11078 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2145 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2145, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2216 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ben-Hur: A tale of the Christ section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Ben-Hur: A tale of the Christ to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Ben-Hur: A tale of the Christ, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
