David
The Divided Heart
-
- $29.99
Publisher Description
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.
