Davids Secret Demons

Author : Baruch Halpern
Publisher : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9780802827975
Total Pages : 516 pages
Book Rating : 4.77/5 ( download)

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Download or read book David's Secret Demons written by Baruch Halpern and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2003-11-12 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bible portrays King David as an exceptional man and a paragon of godly devotion. But was he? Some scholars deny that he existed at all. Did he? This challenging book examines the written and archaeological evidence critically in an effort to paint an accurate picture of one of the Bible's central figures. Neither defending nor rejecting the traditions about David, Baruch Halpern, a leading scholar of biblical history and the ancient Near East, traces the origins and development of David's persona. Because the biblical text clearly responds to concerns that can only be contemporary with David himself, we can believe that David was both real and a central actor in the historical drama of ancient Israel. Yet at the same time, the written record also shows that contemporaries understood David's character to be much more unsavory than the tradition has hitherto allowed. Halpern digs beneath the layers of tradition to understand David as an individual, as a person. The man he uncovers turns out to have been complex, ambiguous, and--above all--surprising. According to Halpern, the image of David grew over time. He was the founder of the dynasty that perpetuated the texts about him, and they progressively exaggerated his accomplishments. But in the earliest writings David remains a modest figure, as this book shows for the first time. To understand David as a human being, one must keep in mind that he was primarily a politician who operated in a rough-and-tumble environment in which competitors were ready literally to slit throats. Halpern's work raises many provocative questions: Was David an Israelite or a Philistine? Was Solomon really David's son? Did David take the throne ofIsrael by the consent or against the will of the people? How many murders did he commit on his way to the crown? Indeed, was David someone it would have been wise to even invite to dinner? The challenging arguments in "David's Secret Demons are sure to provoke all kinds of discussion among biblical scholars and general readers alike. In addition--a big bonus--Halpern's accessible, at times humorous prose will itself draw readers everywhere into the compelling story of David found between these covers.

Author : Joel Baden
Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN 13 : 006218833X
Total Pages : 255 pages
Book Rating : 4.35/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Historical David written by Joel Baden and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2013-10-08 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Joel Baden, a leading expert on the Old Testament, offers a controversial look at the history of King David, the founder of the nation of Israel whose bloodline leads to Jesus, challenging prevailing popular beliefs about his legend in The Historical David. Baden makes clear that the biblical account of David is an attempt to shape the events of his life politically and theologically. Going beyond the biblical bias, he explores the events that lie behind the David story, events that are grounded in the context of the ancient Near East and continue to inform modern Israel. The Historical David exposes an ambitious, ruthless, flesh-and-blood man who achieved power by any means necessary, including murder, theft, bribery, sex, deceit, and treason. As Baden makes clear, the historical David stands in opposition not only to the virtuous and heroic legends, but to our very own self-definition as David’s national and religious descendants. Provocative and enlightening, The Historical David provides the lost truth about David and poses a challenge to us: how do we come to terms with the reality of a celebrated hero who was, in fact, similar to the ambitious power-players of his day?

Author : Isaac Kalimi
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108588379
Total Pages : 405 pages
Book Rating : 4.79/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel written by Isaac Kalimi and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-11-29 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Solomon's image as a wise king and the founder of Jerusalem Temple has become a fixture of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic literature. Yet, there are essential differences between the portraits of Solomon that are presented in the Hebrew Bible. In this volume, Isaac Kalimi explores these differences, which reflect divergent historical contexts, theological and didactic concepts, stylistic and literary techniques, and compositional methods among the biblical historians. He highlights the uniqueness of each portrayal of Solomon - his character, birth, early life, ascension, and temple-building - through a close comparison of the early and late biblical historiographies. Whereas the authors of Samuel-Kings stay closely to their sources and offer an apology for Solomon's kingship, including its more questionable aspects, the Chronicler freely rewrites his sources in order to present the life of Solomon as he wished it to be. The volume will serve scholars and students seeking to understand biblical texts within their ancient Near Eastern contexts.

Author : John Van Seters
Publisher : Penn State Press
ISBN 13 : 1575066149
Total Pages : 401 pages
Book Rating : 4.41/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Biblical Saga of King David written by John Van Seters and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2009-06-23 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The biblical story of King David has been interpreted in many different ways, arising from the variety of methods used in and the intended objectives of the studies: Does the narrative contain insight into and information about the early history of the Judean monarchy, or is it merely a legendary tale about a distant past? Can we identify the story’s literary genre, it sociohistorical setting, and the intention of its author(s)? Is an appreciation for the wonderful literary qualities of the story compatible with a literary-critical investigation of the narrative’s compositional and text-critical history? Van Seters reviews past scholarship on the David story and in the course of doing so unravels the history of these questions and then presents an extended appraisal of the debate about the social and historical context of the biblical story. From this critical foundation, Van Seters proceeds to offering a detailed literary analysis of the story of David from his rise to power under Saul to his ultimate succession by Solomon.

Author : Bob Becking
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN 13 : 311071728X
Total Pages : 313 pages
Book Rating : 4.80/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Israel's Past written by Bob Becking and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2021-10-04 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How should one write a history of Ancient Israel? In the last few decades, a lively discussion has taken place on the historiography of ancient Israel. Minimalists such as Philip Davies, Thomas Thompson, and Niels Peter Lemche challenged the usefulness of the Hebrew Bible as a source for constructing Israel's past. Maximalists like Baruch Halpern and William Dever argued instead that the data from the Hebrew Bible should be trusted until otherwise proven. Others – among whom we can name Hans Barstad, Rainer Albertz, and Lester Grabbe – took a third road. The essays in this volume follow that third road by applying insights from the field of philosophy of history. A dozen case studies from David to the earliest Samaritans demonstrate how difficult it is to write a history of ancient Israel without falling in the abyss of an ideology in one direction or another. The matrix designed by Manfred Weippert to look at the past through five windows (landscape, climate, archaeology, epigraphy and only at the end the Hebrew Bible) turned out to be more helpful. The conclusion of this research is that there are some stable pillars in the swamp of the past, but it comes with the warning that the space between these pillars is large and cannot easily be filled.

Author : Steven T. Mann
Publisher : Penn State Press
ISBN 13 : 1575066955
Total Pages : 193 pages
Book Rating : 4.50/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Run, David, Run! written by Steven T. Mann and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2013-04-08 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Steven Mann highlights the role of theology in the story of David’s departure and return as told in 2 Samuel 14–20. Mann’s method of narrative analysis employs a philosophy of language called speech act theory. His primary interest is ways in which speech act theory has been applied to biblical narrative, and he concentrates specifically on speech acts that include theological propositional content, that is, words used to denote God. In this way, Mann analyzes the theological speech acts of the narrative and then suggests a way to view the narrative itself as a speech act. The thesis of this study is that speech act theory illuminates the integral role of theology in the story of David’s departure and return. Theology is not merely one aspect of the story but is in fact a catalyst necessary to the plot. Furthermore, the act of telling the story as 2 Sam 14–20 does is the very act of portraying David’s faith in Yhwh. David’s speech acts demonstrate that he believes that Yhwh is someone who intervenes and who finds ways to bring his banished ones back to him. The narrative portrayal of David’s faith can be understood as an illocutionary act, with the potential effect of encouraging an audience, a perlocutionary act. In other words, Man demonstrates that this story can inspire any readers who see this narrative as a story not only about David but about themselves.

Author : Ruth Mazo Karras
Publisher : University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN 13 : 0812297997
Total Pages : 315 pages
Book Rating : 4.97/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Thou Art the Man written by Ruth Mazo Karras and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2021-04-30 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "How do we approach the study of masculinity in the past?" Ruth Mazo Karras asks. Medieval documents that have come down to us tell a great deal about the things that men did, but not enough about what they did specifically as men, or what these practices meant to them in terms of masculinity. Yet no less than in our own time, masculinity was a complicated construct in the Middle Ages. In Thou Art the Man, Karras focuses on one figure, King David, who was important in both Christian and Jewish medieval cultures, to show how he epitomized many and sometimes contradictory aspects of masculine identity. For late medieval Christians, he was one of the Nine Worthies, held up as a model of valor and virtue; for medieval Jews, he was the paradigmatic king, not just a remnant of the past, but part of a living heritage. In both traditions he was warrior, lover, and friend, founder of a dynasty and a sacred poet. But how could an exemplar of virtue also be a murderer and adulterer? How could a physical weakling be a great warrior? How could someone whose claim to the throne was not dynastic be a key symbol of the importance of dynasty? And how could someone who dances with slaves be noble? Exploring the different configurations of David in biblical and Talmudic commentaries, in Latin, Hebrew, and vernacular literatures across Europe, in liturgy, and in the visual arts, Thou Art the Man offers a rich case study of how ideas and ideals of masculinity could bend to support a variety of purposes within and across medieval cultures.

Author : Bernard F. Batto
Publisher : Penn State Press
ISBN 13 : 1575065517
Total Pages : 471 pages
Book Rating : 4.19/5 ( download)

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Download or read book David and Zion written by Bernard F. Batto and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2004-06-23 with total page 471 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: J. J. M. Roberts was graduated from Harvard University, taught at The Johns Hopkins University, and then spent the bulk of his teaching career at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he influenced and was well loved by several generations of students. Here, 21 colleagues and former students contribute essays that reflect Roberts’ core interests.

Author : David Diga Hernandez
Publisher : Charisma Media
ISBN 13 : 1629987662
Total Pages : 244 pages
Book Rating : 4.68/5 ( download)

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Download or read book 25 Truths About Demons and Spiritual Warfare written by David Diga Hernandez and published by Charisma Media. This book was released on 2016-10-04 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We have been given authority over the power of the enemy.

Author : Gary N. Knoppers
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004444890
Total Pages : 471 pages
Book Rating : 4.98/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Prophets, Priests, and Promises written by Gary N. Knoppers and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2021-05-03 with total page 471 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume presents collected essays of Gary N. Knoppers (1956–2018) on the historical books of the Hebrew Bible, among them seven thoroughly revised and eight newly published ones. An introduction by H.G.M. Williamson acknowledges their significance for Knoppers’ oeuvre.