Who Really Was the Biblical David?

This disappointing effort by rabbi Drazin (The Authentic King Solomon) is a chapter-by-chapter examination of the second half of the Hebrew Bible’s first book of Samuel, complete with bullet point observations and simplistic conclusions about stories of David prior to his becoming king of Israel. Despite numerous footnotes and references, the author appears uninformed about scholarly criticism that analyzes biblical texts from historical, literary, and other exegetical perspectives. Noting the frequent occurrence of what he refers to as “doublets,” stories that offer conflicting information (for example, about how David came to meet King Saul), Drazin makes unsophisticated assumptions about the respective validity of the texts: “The fact that chapter 18 follows chapter 16 as if chapter 17 did not exist, speaking of David, as in chapter 16, as a man of war, shows that it is chapter 17 which is not the original version.” In an afterward, Drazin gives an unsatisfying answer to the titular question: “David was unlike how many think the Bible describes him. And the book of Samuel itself is similarly different than what one supposes it to be.” Drazin acknowledges that this simple book originated in notes prepared for weekly study sessions with friends, which is exactly how it reads. (Apr.)