David's Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, KingWm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2003 M11 12 - 492 pages 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 and 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 than 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 politician 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 ofIsrael 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. |
Contents
The Surprising David | 3 |
Davids History in the Books of Samuel | 14 |
A The Stage Set | 15 |
B Introducing David | 18 |
C Sauls Death | 22 |
D The Civil War | 26 |
E Building the Israelite State | 31 |
F David and Bathsheba | 34 |
B The Magnification of Davids State | 246 |
2 Theories of the Israelite Settlement | 247 |
3 The Magnifying Lens | 250 |
4 Is Jonah Liable? | 252 |
C Dating the Extension of Davids State | 256 |
A LIFE OF DAVID | 261 |
Davids Youth | 263 |
B The Name of David | 266 |
G Absaloms Coup | 39 |
PENETRATING THE TEXTUAL VEIL | 55 |
Dating 2 Samuel | 57 |
King David Serial Killer | 73 |
B Ten Little Indians | 77 |
Saul and His Sons at Gilboa | 78 |
Ishbaal | 81 |
Abner | 82 |
Sauls Other Descendants | 84 |
Amnon | 87 |
Absalom | 89 |
Amasa | 90 |
Uriah | 92 |
C The Apology and the Absalom Revolt | 94 |
DEFINING DAVIDS EMPIRE | 105 |
How to Take Up What Kings Set Down | 107 |
B The Image of the King in Royal Propaganda | 113 |
C The TiglathPileser Principle | 124 |
Reading Davids Conquests | 133 |
2 Samuel 8 | 142 |
Settling the Philistine Problem 2 Samuel 81 | 144 |
The Conquest of Moab 2 Samuel 82 | 160 |
David and Hadadezer 2 Samuel 83 and the History of the Ninth Century | 164 |
B The Northern States | 167 |
2 Hazael King of Amqi? | 169 |
3 Hazael Invader of Amqi? | 170 |
4 Rehob and Zobah | 173 |
C Zobah and Davids Empire | 175 |
D The Name of Hadadezer | 179 |
David in the North and in Transjordan 2 Samuel 8311 | 187 |
B Davids Stela | 195 |
The Date and Reception of 2 Samuel 8 | 199 |
2 Samuel 8 and the Historicity of the Davidic State | 208 |
B The Claims of Samuel and the Date of the Text | 224 |
A HISTORICAL OVERTURE TO DAVIDS CAREER | 227 |
The Relative Chronology of Davids Reign | 229 |
Ages of Kings at Death | 242 |
Geography of the Davidic State | 243 |
C Davids Daddy | 270 |
D Davids Antecedents | 271 |
E Location in Bethlehem | 274 |
Chart of the A and B Sources in 1 Samuel 82 Samuel 1 | 277 |
David and Saul | 280 |
B The Wilderness Years | 284 |
C A Foreign Affair | 287 |
On the Hot Seat in Hebron | 295 |
B Kingship in a Nutshell | 296 |
C David across the River | 301 |
D Davids Philistine Pedigree | 302 |
E Hebron and the Gibeonites | 306 |
F The Civil War | 307 |
G The Cuckoo in the Nest | 310 |
Rising over Zion | 317 |
B The Philistine Wars | 320 |
Bringing Home the Ark | 333 |
B The Dynastic Oracle | 337 |
C The Saulide Hostage | 341 |
Davids Wars | 345 |
B Edom | 353 |
C Other Regions | 355 |
Absaloms Gift | 357 |
The Aftermath of Absaloms Revolt | 382 |
David and Israel | 384 |
C Solomons Succession | 391 |
D Solomons Politics | 406 |
APPENDIX | 425 |
The Archaeology of Davids Reign | 427 |
B Megiddo Gezer and Hazor | 433 |
C Downdating the Solomonic Layers | 451 |
D Ramses III and the Sea Peoples | 454 |
Positive Evidence | 460 |
Afterword | 479 |
481 | |
488 | |