David, King of Israel, and Caleb in Biblical Memory - Softcover

Wright, Jacob L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1107672635 ISBN 13: 9781107672635

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2015

Synopsis

David, King of Israel, and Caleb in Biblical Memory

About this title

Review:

'In engaging, limpid prose occasionally seasoned with humor, Wright argues that the stories of David and Caleb in the Tanakh were efforts in nation building. At the heart of Wright's argument is 'war commemoration'. Depicting characters as either helping or hindering David in one of his many military endeavors is, according to Wright, a key means by which individuals and communities were deemed to be part of, or outside, the people of Israel by the postexilic redactors of Samuel 1 and 2 and Kings 1 and 2. In narratives featuring Caleb, Wright explores how redactors transformed this Kenizzite, or outsider, into an exemplary Judahite, or insider. Wright bases his readings on a 'supplementation' model of textual development rather than the traditional documentary hypothesis. The result is a fresh and fruitful perspective on ways David and Caleb were used to construct Israelite peoplehood after Judah and the Temple were destroyed by the Babylonians. Wright succeeds in making painstaking textual inquiry into a stimulating book for general readers and experts alike.' Choice

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1107672635
• ISBN 13: 9781107672635
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 284