David's Secret Demons

David's Secret Demons PDF Author: Baruch Halpern
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN: 9780802827975
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 516

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Book Description
This is a print on demand 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 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 politicians 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 of Israel 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.

David's Secret Demons

David's Secret Demons PDF Author: Baruch Halpern
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN: 9780802827975
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 516

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is a print on demand 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 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 politicians 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 of Israel 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.

The Historical David

The Historical David PDF Author: Joel Baden
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 006218833X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
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?

Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel

Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel PDF Author: Isaac Kalimi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108471269
Category : Bibles
Languages : en
Pages : 405

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Book Description
Analyses Solomon's birth, rise, and temple-building within scriptural, archaeological and historical contexts.

David, King of Israel, and Caleb in Biblical Memory

David, King of Israel, and Caleb in Biblical Memory PDF Author: Jacob L. Wright
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107062276
Category : Bibles
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
This book presents a new thesis on the history of Israel: David was originally king of Judah, not of Israel. The tales of his encounters with Goliath, Saul, Jonathan, Michal, Bathsheba, Absalom, and Solomon are later additions to the account. The work develops a new model for the study of biblical literature.

The Life Of David

The Life Of David PDF Author: Arthur Pink
Publisher: Darolt Books
ISBN: 8835362296
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 871

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Book Description
The Life Of David is a message of meditation based on the Bible and written by Arthur Walkington Pink was born in Nottingham, England, to a corn merchant, a devout non-conformist of uncertain denomination, though probably a Congregationalist. Otherwise, almost nothing is known of Pink's childhood or education except that he had some ability and training in music. As a young man, Pink joined the Theosophical Society and apparently rose to enough prominence within its ranks that Annie Besant, its head, offered to admit him to its leadership circle. In 1908 he renounced Theosophy for evangelical Christianity. Desiring to become a minister but unwilling to attend a liberal theological college in England, Pink very briefly studied at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago in 1910 before taking the pastorate of the Congregational church in Silverton, Colorado. In 1912 Pink left Silverton, probably for California, and then took a joint pastorate of churches in rural Burkesville and Albany, Kentucky. In 1916, he married Vera E. Russell (1893–1962), who had been reared in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Pink's next pastorate seems to have been in Scottsville. Then the newlyweds moved in 1917 to Spartanburg, South Carolina, where Pink became pastor of Northside Baptist Church. By this time Pink had become acquainted with prominent dispensationalist Fundamentalists, such as Harry Ironside and Arno C. Gaebelein, and his first two books, published in 1917 and 1918, were in agreement with that theological position. Yet Pink's views were changing, and during these years he also wrote the first edition of The Sovereignty of God (1918), which argued that God did not love sinners and had deliberately created "unto damnation" those who would not accept Christ. Whether because of his Calvinistic views, his nearly incredible studiousness, his weakened health, or his lack of sociability, Pink left Spartanburg in 1919 believing that God would "have me give myself to writing." But Pink then seems next to have taught the Bible with some success in California for a tent evangelist named Thompson while continuing his intense study of Puritan writings.

Reports from a Scholar's Life

Reports from a Scholar's Life PDF Author: Tryggve N. D. Mettinger
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 1575063808
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
Tryggve N. D. Mettinger, emeritus professor of Hebrew Bible at Lund University, has long been one of the best known and most admired voices in biblical studies. His eight (English-language) books and countless articles, published in a career spanning over four decades, have changed the field in many ways. Mettinger is renowned not as an iconoclast, but as one working within mainstream scholarship who is nevertheless willing to challenge cherished ideas and who takes nothing for granted. For example, in one of his earliest works, A Farewell to the Servant Songs—published in its entirety in this volume—Mettinger, with his trademark brevity and articulation, drew attention to the shaky ground on which this consensus idea was built and called fellow scholars to reexamine this notion taken for granted by so many for so long. For Mettinger, the Bible is sacred literature, but in biblical interpretation there are no sacred cows. Reports from a Scholar’s Life: Select Papers on the Hebrew Bible collects 16 studies (one short monograph, twelve articles, and three reviews), originally published between 1977 and 2008, into one volume, along with a new reflective essay. The papers included provide not only Mettinger’s most groundbreaking publications, but also glimpses into several of the areas of study that occupied the author. Mettinger’s work ranged far and wide in the Hebrew Bible, and here one finds examples of his contributions to the study of, among other things: • the notions of God, the Gottesbild, in ancient Israel ; the theology of “YHWH Sabaoth” in the monarchic period ; • the development of the story of David in 1–2 Samuel; • aniconism in ancient Israel; the motif of the “dying and rising god” in the ancient world ;• narrative criticism of the book of Job; • the development and structure of Second Isaiah The entire volume is opened by the titular essay, published for the first time here, “Report from a Scholar’s Life.” This article was originally delivered as the farewell address upon his retirement from Lund University, and it provides a retrospective on his entire life and career.

One God – One Cult – One Nation

One God – One Cult – One Nation PDF Author: Reinhard G. Kratz
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110223589
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 484

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Book Description
Recent archaeological and biblical research challenges the traditional view of the history of ancient Israel. This book presents the latest findings of both academic disciplines regarding the United Monarchy of David and Solomon (‛One Nation’) and the cult reform under Josiah (‛One Cult’), raising the issue of fact versus fiction. The political and cultural interrelations in the Near East are illustrated on the example of the ancient city of Beth She'an/Scythopolis and are discussed as to their significance for the transformation in the conception of God (‛One God’). The volume contains 17 contributions by internationally eminent scholars from Israel, Finland and Germany.

The Transjordanian Palimpsest

The Transjordanian Palimpsest PDF Author: Jeremy M. Hutton
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110212765
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
This study analyzes several passages in the Former Prophets (2 Sam 19:12-44; 2 Kgs 2:1-18; Judg 8:4-28) from a literary perspective, and argues that the text presents Transjordan as liminal in Israel’s history, a place from which Israel’s leaders return with inaugurated or renewed authority. It then traces the redactional development of Samuel-Kings that led to this literary symbolism, and proposes a hypothesis of continual updating and combination of texts, beginning early in Israel’s monarchy and continuing until the final formation of the Deuteronomistic History. Several source documents may be isolated, including three narratives of Saul’s rise, two distinct histories of David’s rise, and a court history that was subsequently revised with pro-Solomonic additions. These texts had been combined already in a Prophetic Record during the 9th c. B.C.E. (with A. F. Campbell), which was received as an integrated unit by the Deuteronomistic Historian. The symbolic geography of the Jordan River and Transjordan, which even extends into the New Testament, was therefore not the product of a deliberate theological formulation, but rather the accidental by-product of the contingency of textual redaction that had as its main goal the historical presentation of Israel’s life in the land.

Just Deceivers

Just Deceivers PDF Author: Matthew Newkirk
Publisher: James Clarke & Company
ISBN: 0227905199
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
Is it ever right to lie? Does the Bible allow us to deceive? These are perennial questions that have been discussed and debated by theologians for centuries with little consensus. Entering this discussion, Just Deceivers provides a fresh analysis of thisimportant topic through a comprehensive examination of the motif of deception in the books of Samuel. While many studies have explored deception in other Old Testament texts-especially the patriarchal narratives of Genesis-and a few articles have initiated examination of this motif in Samuel, Just Deceivers builds upon this groundwork and offers an exhaustive treatment of this theme in an important portion of the Hebrew Bible. Newkirk takes the reader through the books of Samuel, investigating every occurrence of deception in the narrative and exploring how the author depicts these various acts of deception, and then synthesises the results to offer an exegetically based theology of deception. In so doing, this study both challenges commonly held views concerning the Bible's stance on falsehood and illustrates the importance of attending to the sophisticated literary character of biblical narrative.

1 & 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Study Guide

1 & 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Study Guide PDF Author: David Firth
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350008974
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 114

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Book Description
Scholarly study of Samuel continues to wrestle with how we interpret this pivotal text. Even such basic matters as the question of what kind of literature it is remain unresolved while older questions such as the nature of its text and sources are debated anew in the light of material from Qumran and of current approaches to Hebrew narrative. Recognizing the importance of questions such as these, David Firth explores and introduces fresh ways of reading Samuel as a unified and yet complex text, which displays high levels both of literary artistry and of theological commitment. Although some stories in the books of Samuel are well known, and in the case of David and Goliath even proverbial, much of the content of these books is strange to modern readers. It is a story about a woman wanting a child, for example, that relates the beginnings of monarchy within Israel. Even the question of the monarchy is problematic, for we are introduced to not one royal family but two-those of Saul and David. David is ultimately shown to be the king chosen by God, yet by the end of the book he is only just managing to hold on to the kingdom as it is nearly torn from him by rivalries within his family. These arresting stories are perplexing, for Samuel's writers seldom tell us how to read and interpret them. Firth presents these complex and fascinating stories as part of a bigger picture, enabling students to chart their way through the literary and historical issues of the Samuel narrative. Firth addresses issues of historicity, sources, date and authorship, as well as -- crucially -- appreciating the text as a literary whole.