Of all the characters bequeathed to us by the Hebrew Bible, none is
more compelling or complex than David. Divinely blessed, musically
gifted, brave, and eloquent, David's famous slaying of Goliath also
confirms that he is a redoubtable man of war. Yet, when his son
Absalom rebels, David is dogged by the accusation than he will lose
his kingdom because he is not merely a man of war, but a man of
'bloods' - guilty of shedding innocent blood. In this book, for the
first time, this language of 'innocent blood' and 'bloodguilt' is
traced throughout David's story in the books of Samuel and 1 Kings.
The theme emerges initially in Saul's pursuit of David and resurfaces
regularly as David rises and men like Nabal, Saul, Ishbosheth, and
Abner fall. Innocent blood and bloodguilt also turn out to be central
to David's reign. This is seen in a surprising way in David's killing
of Uriah, but also in the subsequent deaths of his sons, Amnon and
Absalom, his general, Amasa, and even in David's encounters with
Shimei. The problem rears its head again when the innocent blood of
the Gibeonites shed by Saul comes back to haunt David's kingdom.
Finally, the problem reappears when Solomon succeeds David and
orchestrates the executions of Joab and Shimei, and the exile of
Abiathar. Attending carefully to the text and drawing extensively on
previous biblical scholarship, David J. Shepherd suggests that
innocent blood is not only a pre-eminent concern of David, and his
story in Samuel and 1 Kings, but also shapes the entirety of David's
history.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780192579713
Publisert
2023
Utgiver
Vendor
OUP Oxford
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter