In this volume of the popular Rational Series, the noted scholar Dr. Israel Drazin continues to look at the life of King David. Focusing on the text of II Samuel and the first two chapters of I Kings, Dr. Drazin carefully examines what the Bible actually states about David when he was king over Judah for some seven years and over the united kingdom of Judah and Israel for some thirty-three years, revealing that David was radically unlike what many think the Bible says about him.
We see that David, being human, made mistakes, three of which had substantial consequences that affected the lives of many people: the story of David and Bat-sheva and the murder of her husband together with the troops that were with him, his repeated mistreatment of the northern tribes, and his public census of the people.
Significantly, Dr. Drazin leads us to wonder whether the author or editor of the book of Samuel had any knowledge of the laws of the Five Books of Moses.
About the Author
Dr. Israel Drazin served for thirty-one years in the US military and attained the rank of brigadier general. He is an attorney and a rabbi, with master’s degrees in both psychology and Hebrew literature and a PhD in Judaic studies. He also completed the US Army’s senior course for generals. He developed the legal strategy that saved the military chaplaincy when its constitutionality was attacked in court, for which he received the Legion of Merit, awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the United States. Dr. Drazin is the author of thirty-eight books, among them a series of volumes on the Bible in which he examines what the text actually states, a series on the Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible, and a series on the twelfth-century philosopher Moses Maimonides. His website is www.booksnthoughts.com.
