Portraits of a King Favored by God : David the King: God's Poet, Warrior, and Statesman

David the king, when studied against the backdrop of existing material cultural remains from the ancient Middle East, scarcely seems to have been there. Excavations in Jerusalem have turned up nothing concrete about his existence. The literature concerning him is fraught with problems and generally takes on a legendary-mythological character. Even the meaning of his name is unclear. If he is mentioned at all by his contemporary monarchs against whom he would have fought it is only obliquely or only intimated by omissions or partial spellings in context. This volume attempts to advance scholarship addressing these concerns. The study of the'King David Phenomenon'is far from over. When pressed, the careful scholar must admit to how very little we actually know about this statecrafter and venerator of the god YHWH. At present, archaeologists, epigraphers, literary historians, historians of religion, and military historians are engaged in interpretive battles in an attempt to provide a much clearer outline of this person and his life and times than ever heretofore. Professors Caspi and Greene have assembled a number of scholars who focus on studies concerning King David and during their Annual ISBL Seminar have had these scholars share their most recent scholarship. What is contained within the present anthology are the honed and furbished essays invited from the best works presented during the seminar. These in turn have been edited by the editors and sequenced in such a way that the combined information contained in the essays tell a most recent and chronological or thematic story of the David saga. Scholarship has thus been advanced greatly by the efforts of those who contributed to this volume. To those essays, the editors added a Prolegomenon which framed the entire work, as well as contributed learned essays of their own. Thus, all of the major lines of scholarly inquiry, biblical, historical, archaeological, have been given voice in a work that approaches King David from viewpoints expressed in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. King David Three Thousand Years Later : David And My Orthopractic Experiences / Richard E. Sherwin -- The Idea Of A King David : Creating A Ruler, A Dynasty, And His Capital City Stories And History : David As Literary And Historical Figure / John T. Greene -- The Strings Of David's Life / Mishael M. Caspi -- David's Laments As A Vehicle Of Vindication / Azila Reisengberger -- Two Readings Of The Story Of David And Bathsheba And Their Meanings / Yitzhak Peleg -- Counterpoint And Contrast : 'tamar Versus Tama Versus' : A Focalized-emphathetic Reading / Angeline M. G. Song -- David As Son Of Man : Hebrew Narratives Of Divine Exaltation As Sources Of Second Temple Son Of Man Traditions (psalms 2, 8, 72, 80 And 110) / J. Harold Ellens -- The Portrait Of David : Comparing The Bible And The Talmud / Adrienne L. Spunaugle -- King David : Six Portraits In Music / Max Stern -- Disappearing Daughters In The Tradition Of David (sir. 47:6) / Nancy Tan Edited By Mishael M. Caspi, John T. Greene. Includes Bibliographical References. Table of Contents Prolegomenon King David Three Thousand Years Later: David and My Orthopractic Experiences The Idea of a King David: Creating a Ruler, a Dynasty, and His Capital City Stories and History: David as Literary and Historical Figure The Strings of David’s Life David’s Laments as a Vehicle of Vindication Two Readings of the Story of David and Bathsheba and Their Meanings Counterpoint and Contrast: ‘Tamar Versus Tamar Verses’: A Focalized-Emphathetic Reading David as Son of Man: Hebrew Narratives of Divine Exaltation as Sources of Second Temple Son of Man Traditions (Psalms 2, 8, 72, 80 and 110) The Portrait of David: Comparing the Bible and Talmud King David: Six Portraits in Music Disappearing “Daughters” in the Tradition of David (Sir. 47:6)