King David : the real life of the man who ruled Israel / Jonathan Kirsch.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kirsch, Jonathan, 1949-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

David, King of Israel.

David.

Bible. Old Testament--Biography.

Bible.

Bible. Old Testament.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

ix, 368 pages : maps ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Ballantine Books, 2000.

Summary:

David, King of the Jews, possessed every flaw and failing a mortal is capable of, yet men and women adored him and God showered him with many more blessings than he did Abraham or Moses. He was the original "alpha male" and an authentic sex symbol, a ruggedly handsome man who inspired both hero-worship and carnal love. A charismatic leader, exalted as "a man after God's own heart," he was also capable of deep cunning and bloodthirsty violence. Now, in King David: The Real Life of the Man Who Ruled Israel, bestselling author Jonathan Kirsch reveals this commanding individual in all his glory and fallibility.

In a taut, dramatic narrative, Kirsch brings new depth and psychological complexity to the familiar events of David's life--his slaying of the giant Goliath and his swift challenge to the weak rule of Saul, the first Jewish king; his tragic relationship with Saul's son Jonathan, David's cherished friend and possibly lover; his celebrated reign in Jerusalem, where his dynasty would hold sway for generations. Yet for all his greatness, David was also a man in thrall to his passions--a voracious lover who secured the favors of his beautiful mistress Bathsheba and then secretly arranged the death of her innocent husband; a merciless warrior who triumphed through cruelty; a troubled father who failed to protect his daughter from rape and whose beloved son Absalom rose against him in armed insurrection.

Weaving together biblical texts with centuries of interpretation and commentary, as well as the startling discoveries of modern biblical archaeology and scholarship, Jonathan Kirsch brings King David to life in these pages with extraordinary freshness, intimacy, and vividness of detail. At the center of this inspiring narrative stands a hero of flesh and blood--not the cartoon giant-slayer of sermons and Sunday school stories or the immaculate ruler of legend and art but a magnetic, disturbingly familiar man--a man as vibrant and compelling today as he has been for millennia.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Charisma 1

Chapter 2 The Wrong King 16

Chapter 3 "He Is the One" 43

Chapter 4 Innocent Blood 63

Chapter 5 Desperado 78

Chapter 6 Ghostwife 106

Chapter 7 "Shall the Sword Devour Forever?" 135

Chapter 8 City of David 150

Chapter 9 At the Time When Kings Go Forth to Battle 172

Chapter 10 The Daughter of the Seven Gods 185

Chapter 11 The Rape of Tamar 205

Chapter 12 "Bloodstained Fiend of Hell!" 221

Chapter 13 "O Absalom, My Son, My Son!" 239

Chapter 14 An Angel at the Threshing-Floor 253

Chapter 15 Heat 269

Chapter 16 The Quality of Light at Tel Dan 282

Appendix The Biblical Biographers of David 307.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 347-355) and index.

ISBN:

0345432754

OCLC:

44270342