Synopses & Reviews
The exploding number of discoveries of biblical archaeology -- artifacts and texts found at hundreds of sites populated in the ancient Near East -- have shed powerful beams of light on the characters and peoples in the Bible. Most of the resulting public controversies have focused on whether or not the history in the Bible is true. Yet ultimately, there are two larger questions that matter more: exactly how did the Bible evolve into its final form, over the centuries-long process of its compilation, and what does that history tell us about the traditions we have inherited and that still stamp our memories?
In David and Solomon, Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman, leading archaeologists and authors who have done a great deal to uncover and understand the breathtaking findings of their field, focus on the first two great kings of the Bible as a lens through which we can see the evolution of the entire biblical era. The Bible's chapters and verses on David and his son were written in stages, over many hundreds of years, by authors living in very different circumstances. Thanks to a combination of textual analysis and archaeology, we now know a great deal about which parts of the story were written in which era, and why those particular societies might have added to the legend precisely as they did. In short, David and Solomon offers a guide to a thousand years of ancient civilization and the evolution of a tradition of kingly leadership that held sway throughout the West for much of our history.
The earliest folklore and verses about David depict a bandit leader, hiding in the mountains, leading a small gang of traveling raiders (which fits what we know of the ninthcentury B.C.E.). That bandit may well be the true David. In later periods, authors added images of David as a poet, as the founder of a great dynasty, as a political in-fighter, and (perhaps most famously) as a sinner. All of these images made sense for the authors who created them, and a similar evolution of Solomon from the builder of the Temple, to expander of his empire, to wise sage, to rich trader similarly reflects the successive stages of history up to the time of Jesus. Ultimately, David and Solomon came to embody a tradition of divinely inspired kings and even messiahs, the forerunners of Jesus and of the great kings of Europe throughout the Middle Ages.
David and Solomon shows how the stories built around two men reflect the very roots of the western tradition and explains a great deal of why the Bible appears as it does.
Review
"A brutally honest assessment of what archaeology can and cannot tell us about the historical accuracy of the Bible, presented with both authority and panache." -- Jonathan Kirsch, andlt;iandgt;Los Angeles Timesandlt;/iandgt;
Review
" . . . an intellectual high-wire act. Their audacity and skill is admirable . . . The book's most stunning accomplishment is its skillful reconciliation of competing perspectives within the biblical text." -- andlt;iandgt;Archaeology Magazineandlt;/iandgt;
Review
"A bold and provocative book, well researched, well written, and powerfully argued. It challenges many of the assumptions developed by the literal religious minds of the ages, opening traditional possibilities to new conclusions." -- John Shelby Spong, author of andlt;iandgt;Here I Stand: My Struggle for a Christianity of Integrity, Love, and Equalityandlt;/iandgt;
Synopsis
There has been an explosion of recent discoveries in biblical archaeology. These finds have shed powerful light on figures and stories from the Bible -- and completely changed what we know about some of its most famous characters. The reputations of the first great kings, David and Solomon, evolved over hundreds of years. In andlt;iandgt;David and Solomonandlt;/iandgt;, leading archaeologists Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman focus on the two great leaders as a window into the entire biblical era. andlt;iandgt;David and Solomonandlt;/iandgt; covers one thousand years of ancient civilization, separating fact from legend and proving that the roots of the western tradition lie very deep.
About the Author
Israel Finkelstein is a professor of archaeology at Tel Aviv University. He is a leading figure in the archaeology of the Levant and the laureate of the 2005 Dan David Prize in the Past Dimension -- Archaeology. Finkelstein served for many years as the Director of the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University and is the co-Director of the Megiddo Expedition. He is the co-author, with Neil Silberman, of andlt;iandgt;The Bible Unearthedandlt;/iandgt; (Free Press, 2001) and the author of many field reports and scholarly articles.Neil Asher Silberman is director of historical interpretation for the Ename Center for Public Archaeology and Heritage Presentation in Belgium. He is a contributing editor to andlt;iandgt;Archaeologyandlt;/iandgt; magazine and the author of andlt;iandgt;The Hidden Scrolls: Christianity, Judaism, and the War for the Dead Sea Scrollsandlt;/iandgt;; andlt;iandgt;The Message and the Kingdomandlt;/iandgt;; and andlt;iandgt;Digging for God and Countryandlt;/iandgt;, among other books.