David's Secret Demons : Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King, Paperback

by Halpern, Baruch

$67 · Offered by eBay

David's Secret Demons : Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King, Paperback by Halpern, Baruch, ISBN 0802827977, ISBN-13 9780802827975, Like New Used, Free shipping in the US This is a book and is therefore non- returnable. 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 of 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 trhan 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 writin

• ISBN: 9780802827975
• Condition: Fine

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