David: the divided heart

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher
Yale University Press
Publication Date
©[2014]
Language
English

Description

From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a reexamination of the biblical David, legendary warrior, poet, and king, by one of America’s most respected rabbis"An excellent study of the most fascinating character in the Old Testament."—Wall Street Journal"A portrait of David that is vibrant and nuanced, full of the complications that marked his life."—Jewish Week Of all the figures in the Bible, David arguably stands out as the most perplexing and enigmatic. He was many things: a warrior who subdued Goliath and the Philistines; a king who united a nation; a poet who created beautiful, sensitive verse; a loyal servant of God who proposed the great Temple and founded the Messianic line; a schemer, deceiver, and adulterer who freely indulged his very human appetites.   David Wolpe, whom Newsweek called “the most influential rabbi in America,” takes a fresh look at biblical David in an attempt to find coherence in his seemingly contradictory actions and impulses. The author questions why David holds such an exalted place in history and legend, and then proceeds to unravel his complex character based on information found in the book of Samuel and later literature. What emerges is a fascinating portrait of an exceptional human being who, despite his many flaws, was truly beloved by God. About Jewish Lives:  Jewish Lives is a prizewinning series of interpretative biography designed to explore the many facets of Jewish identity. Individual volumes illuminate the imprint of Jewish figures upon literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural and economic life, and the arts and sciences. Subjects are paired with authors to elicit lively, deeply informed books that explore the range and depth of the Jewish experience from antiquity to the present. In 2014, the Jewish Book Council named Jewish Lives the winner of its Jewish Book of the Year Award, the first series ever to receive this award. More praise for Jewish Lives: "Excellent" –New York Times "Exemplary" –Wall Street Journal "Distinguished" –New Yorker "Superb" –The Guardian

Table of Contents

From the Book

Young David
Lover and husband
Fugitive
The king
The sinner
Father
Caretaker
Death of a king
The once and future king.

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Excerpt

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Author Notes

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Published Reviews

Choice Review

In this contribution to Yale's "Jewish Lives" series, Wolpe (rabbi, Sinai Temple, Los Angeles) crafts a poignant and provocative interpretive biography of David. Drawing on the Davidic narratives of (predominantly) 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 Kings, augmented by other biblical texts, Wolpe focuses on the roles of David as a means to his writing of David's biography. Thus, he considers the young David, David as lover/husband/fugitive/king/sinner/father/caretaker/Messianic forebear, and other such roles as poet, musician, and warrior. Yet his is more than a biography or a retelling of this classic biblical tale. Wolpe infuses his reading with varied rabbinic sources, text-critical details, parallels with world literature, and an occasional anecdote wherein Davidic deeds or thoughts are reflected in the contemporary world. With Wolpe's first statement about David-"Our first glimpse of David is his absence"-readers will recognize that this is no ordinary telling or text-critical analysis. At the culmination of this biography, readers are forced to consider the value of the "complexity" of David's character as a reflection of humanity in general and the significance of this complexity for David's role as the forerunner of the Messiah. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through researchers/faculty; general readers. --Heidi M. Szpek, Central Washington University

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Publishers Weekly Reviews

Giant killer, warrior, home wrecker, murderer, and adulterer, Israel's King David—whose kingdom was looked upon as the "golden age" of Israel and who is portrayed as an ancestor of Jesus—remains perhaps the Bible's most colorful and enigmatic figure. After all, how can a man who murders his lover's husband in order to cover up an adulterous affair be fit to be king? While Wolpe (Making Loss Matter) treads familiar territory and covers little new ground in this biography, he gently and gracefully explores the many facets—king, sinner, father, lover, and husband, among others—that together create David's outsized personality. As the young man who slays the enemy Philistine giant Goliath, David is "someone who does not follow the normal paths but brings into being, conjuring solutions and possibilities from the void." As a leader, Wolpe points out, David's ability to listen is as crucial as his courage. In the end, the author observes, contemporary readers identify with David so well because he is full of contradictions, and he is great because of this complexity, not in spite of it. (Sept.)

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