In 1956, the etchings on Biblical themes that Chagall had begun for Vollard in 1930, left unpublished (though printed and stored) when he escaped from the Gestapo in 1939, were finally published by the Swiss publisher Teriade, augmented by the pieces that Chagall had added between 1952 and 1956. To celebrate the occasion, Teriade commissioned a set of lithographs on Biblical themes for a special number of the deluxe art review Verve (also published by Teriade) that included heliogravure reproductions of all of Chagall's Bible etchings. The result was some of the most intense color lithographs that Chagall ever made. These lithographs (12 of which have an additional black-and-white lithograph printed on the reverse) show Chagall revelling in color but always sensitive to the themes of the stories he picks to illustrate. In addition to the edition of 6500 published in Verve (from which ours came), there was also a deluxe edition of 75 on paper with largin margins signed and numbered by Chagall.