Product Description

The first biography of David from a purely historical perspective reveals not a hero but a holy terrorist and a ruthless despot.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1690447 in Books
• Published on: 2000-03-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 1.13 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From Amazon.com
King David: A Biography is a revisionist account of a life that has been viewed as heroic throughout history. Taking a stance against this traditional view, Hebrew scholar Steven L. McKenzie maintains that David was in fact tyrannical to the bone. Thus, McKenzie's version of the David story "reads like a modern soap opera, with plenty of sex, violence, and struggles for power." McKenzie's arguments are based on ancient inscriptions and archaeological artifacts that shed light on the biblical stories of David's reign--and on the Bible stories themselves. (Throughout the book, McKenzie also refers to the many poems, plays, novels, paintings, and sculptures that have helped shape David's reputation.) The key to McKenzie's argument is the apologetic tone of the biblical David stories, which he traces with enthusiastic rigor. McKenzie explains: "The fact that the author felt the need to try to explain the motives behind David's deeds indicates that those deeds were widely believed to have occurred. An author would not invent accusations against David--such as that he once served as a mercenary to the Philistines--just to try to explain them away." In other words, McKenzie believes that the Bible's misrepresentation of King David's despotic reign is the best evidence that the Bible is historically reliable. It's a somewhat contorted argument, but it has been the consensus among Hebrew scholars for some time. McKenzie has done readers a great service by writing an accessible version of this important academic theory so that lay readers will be better equipped to judge David's reputation for themselves. --Michael Joseph Gross

From Publishers Weekly
The conventional, laudatory image of David as a simple shepherd boy who courageously slew Goliath and rose to become Israel's greatest king despite some human failings is disputed by McKenzie, an associate professor of Hebrew Bible at Rhodes College in Memphis. His biography emphasizes the negative aspects of David's character and minimizes his achievements. McKenzie begins by identifying the sparse contributions of archeology to the story of David and then describes the sections of the Bible that deal with the enigmatic shepherd-king. McKenzie's suggestion that it would be helpful to have a copy of the Bible at hand while reading his book should be strongly emphasized. Fortunately, readers can turn to Robert Alter's 1999 volume, The David Story, for a translation and insightful commentary on 1 and 2 Samuel and the first two chapters of 1 Kings, in which David's life is recounted. Alter's sober presentation balances McKenzie's strident depiction of David as a "Middle Eastern tyrant" who was "senile and flaccid" in his dying days. Early in his life, according to McKenzie, David was a "ruthless... mercenary" who tried to "usurp" King Saul's throne. McKenzie claims that his portrait of David as a brazen adulterer, power-hungry politician, grim assassin and wanton murderer is "a realistic likeness." (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Scholarship relating to the Bible tends to gravitate toward two extremes: the apologetic and devotional camp finesses difficulties and sees pure heroes and villains, while the skeptical and secular camp takes the Bible to be a purely human creation untainted by divine intervention. McKenzie (Hebrew Bible, Rhodes Coll.; The Hebrew Bible Today), who clearly belongs in the latter camp, laments that there are few "real" biographies of David. A careful and accomplished scholar, he begins solidly with the recognition that the Deuteronomist's goal was not to recount what happened but to use what happened to instruct the reader. Nevertheless, McKenzie asserts that there is much of historical value in the text and sets forth three guidelines for the analysis of data. As a result, a real King David, who ruled over a real kingdom, emerges as a typical Eastern monarch of his time, albeit one of exceptional ability, who connived, murdered, pillaged, betrayed, and ruthlessly crushed all opposition. This work ought to get enough disdain from both extremes to make it very profitable reading for the informed and thoughtful student. Recommended for public and academic libraries.
-Eugene O. Bowser, Univ. of Northern Colorado, Greeley
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.