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David, King of Israel, and Caleb in Biblical Memory by Jacob L. Wright
Of all the Bible's personalities, David is the most profoundly human. Courageous, cunning, and complex, he lives life to the hilt. Whatever he does, he does with all his might, exuding both vitality and vulnerability. No wonder it has been said that Israel revered Moses yet loved David. But what do we now know about the historical David? Why does his story stand at the center of the Bible? Why didn't the biblical authors present him in a more favorable light? And what is the special connection between him and Caleb the Judahite hero remembered for his valor during the wars of conquest? In this groundbreaking study, Jacob L. Wright addresses all these questions and presents a new way of reading the biblical accounts. His work compares the function of these accounts to the role war memorials play over time. The result is a rich study that treats themes of national identity, statehood, the exercise of power, and the human condition.
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First published December 31, 2013
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About the author
Jacob L. Wright
13 books27 followersDr. Jacob L. Wright is a professor of Hebrew Bible / Old Testament at Emory University, which boasts one of the world's leading doctoral programs in biblical studies. Before coming to Emory, he taught at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.
As an American with a European education, he is widely known for his ability to blend a wide range of historical, religious, and geographical perspectives on the Bible. His writing and teaching are thoroughly interdisciplinary, demonstrating how the ideas of the Bible and other ancient writings bear directly on central problems that face our societies in modern times. He brings to his work first-hand acquaintance with archeological finds and primary sources from ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece. As a testimony to his distinctive interdisciplinary approach to biblical studies, he recently received a full Faculty Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, which had not been awarded in biblical studies for many years prior.
Jacob Wright writes on an array of topics, ranging from social life in ancient Israel (feasting, war commemoration, urbicide, etc.) to the formation of biblical writings. His first book, Rebuilding Identity: The Nehemiah Memoir and Its Earliest Readers (De Gruyter), won the prestigious Templeton Award for first books in religion. His current research treats a wide range of phenomena related to war and society in ancient Israel.
As an American with a European education, he is widely known for his ability to blend a wide range of historical, religious, and geographical perspectives on the Bible. His writing and teaching are thoroughly interdisciplinary, demonstrating how the ideas of the Bible and other ancient writings bear directly on central problems that face our societies in modern times. He brings to his work first-hand acquaintance with archeological finds and primary sources from ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece. As a testimony to his distinctive interdisciplinary approach to biblical studies, he recently received a full Faculty Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, which had not been awarded in biblical studies for many years prior.
Jacob Wright writes on an array of topics, ranging from social life in ancient Israel (feasting, war commemoration, urbicide, etc.) to the formation of biblical writings. His first book, Rebuilding Identity: The Nehemiah Memoir and Its Earliest Readers (De Gruyter), won the prestigious Templeton Award for first books in religion. His current research treats a wide range of phenomena related to war and society in ancient Israel.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 22, 2019
Wright's premise that much of Hebrew scripture is written for the purpose of war commemoration to highlight the way clans have served the larger Judahite or Israelite nations is very interesting. I was fascinated by his giving Caleb prominence in the analysis and much of what he has to say makes a lot of sense. I had difficulty with the way he described his assumptions... as conclusions rather than suggestions, because many of his suggestions did not carry the weight of the argument, and were not supported very well. He was dismissive of other research that did not support his own arguments, without giving strong evidence that it should be dismissed. To a certain extent, I felt this was what I call "wishful scholarship" because it is interesting, and possible, but is written as conclusive when it is really only in early speculative stages. Nevertheless, I found the reading worthwhile, and will bring some new ideas to my next readings because of Wright's work.
February 20, 2025
Do we need another biography on David? For most, the answer is a resounding “No!” and don’t worry, because “David, King of Israel, and Caleb in Biblical Memory” is not one of them.
Less a study of the literary figure of David—something which a decent number of books (and movies, etc.) already cover—and more of diving deep into the biblical texts that cover him (Samuel, Chronicles, and even Psalms for starters) while also zooming out and seeing how societies both in the ancient past through modern day keep tradition alive not by fighting wars, but by commemorating them. To put it more succinctly, this almost feels like a book James Kugel would write about the same theme so if one enjoys his works, you’ll be very much at home here.
Building on the above, another way that separates this from a ‘David biography’ is its focus on piercing through the complicated multivariate redaction history of the Book of Samuel while also scouring similar ANE texts to see where inspiration (with a lowercase ‘i’) may have been found when crafting parts of the David story.
It should be noted that this far and away is not the kind of book ‘traditional’ (or in more Jewish lingo ‘frum’) readers may find appealing. Just as there is no resounding need for another David biography, ‘resounding’ as well can aptly be used to describe the author’s view that both the story that unfolds in the Book of Samuel, the Pentateuch, Enneateuch, and the Tanakh as a whole is the result of many hands, many redactions, many peoples, and many traditions all commingling like shatnez before solidifying into one authoritative 24 book volume.
The focus on how scripture became Scripture is slightly less in your face during the first ten chapters covering David, but the technical deep dive comes hard and heavy when cannonballing into the Caleb story and making ingenious connections between that figure and Israel’s second (depending on who one asks given the nature of this book!) king.
Were Saul and David truly two narratives and both possibly written before the Pentateuch? Did a later editor (or editors) attempt to blend them together in a way that united a defeated nation after certain events in the 6th century BCE? What is the importance of war commemoration and is this the reason more than any other so many are familiar with these stories? Many questions asked and many are answered in a book that from some later heavy technicals aside, makes for mostly accessible reading.
---Notable Highlights---
On David:
“He is the original “Teflon Don.” Even when we know he’s guilty, nothing sticks to him.”
I kid you not, while the first section has many a zinger, the book becomes and remains very academic:
“The fourth woman is Abishag, David’s hot-water bottle.”
Does patriotism and thus a need for war commemoration increase when a nation is in decline?
“After 586 BCE, when the political borders of the Judahite kingdom had been erased, one needed to do something to be a Judahite. In a multiethnic empire, identity was severed from location.”
David == Israel?
“David’s biography – from his glorious early years that he spent as a soldier fighting alongside his men, to his days when he no longer marches out with the others – replicates Israel’s history in the biblical narrative.”
Less a study of the literary figure of David—something which a decent number of books (and movies, etc.) already cover—and more of diving deep into the biblical texts that cover him (Samuel, Chronicles, and even Psalms for starters) while also zooming out and seeing how societies both in the ancient past through modern day keep tradition alive not by fighting wars, but by commemorating them. To put it more succinctly, this almost feels like a book James Kugel would write about the same theme so if one enjoys his works, you’ll be very much at home here.
Building on the above, another way that separates this from a ‘David biography’ is its focus on piercing through the complicated multivariate redaction history of the Book of Samuel while also scouring similar ANE texts to see where inspiration (with a lowercase ‘i’) may have been found when crafting parts of the David story.
It should be noted that this far and away is not the kind of book ‘traditional’ (or in more Jewish lingo ‘frum’) readers may find appealing. Just as there is no resounding need for another David biography, ‘resounding’ as well can aptly be used to describe the author’s view that both the story that unfolds in the Book of Samuel, the Pentateuch, Enneateuch, and the Tanakh as a whole is the result of many hands, many redactions, many peoples, and many traditions all commingling like shatnez before solidifying into one authoritative 24 book volume.
The focus on how scripture became Scripture is slightly less in your face during the first ten chapters covering David, but the technical deep dive comes hard and heavy when cannonballing into the Caleb story and making ingenious connections between that figure and Israel’s second (depending on who one asks given the nature of this book!) king.
Were Saul and David truly two narratives and both possibly written before the Pentateuch? Did a later editor (or editors) attempt to blend them together in a way that united a defeated nation after certain events in the 6th century BCE? What is the importance of war commemoration and is this the reason more than any other so many are familiar with these stories? Many questions asked and many are answered in a book that from some later heavy technicals aside, makes for mostly accessible reading.
---Notable Highlights---
On David:
“He is the original “Teflon Don.” Even when we know he’s guilty, nothing sticks to him.”
I kid you not, while the first section has many a zinger, the book becomes and remains very academic:
“The fourth woman is Abishag, David’s hot-water bottle.”
Does patriotism and thus a need for war commemoration increase when a nation is in decline?
“After 586 BCE, when the political borders of the Judahite kingdom had been erased, one needed to do something to be a Judahite. In a multiethnic empire, identity was severed from location.”
David == Israel?
“David’s biography – from his glorious early years that he spent as a soldier fighting alongside his men, to his days when he no longer marches out with the others – replicates Israel’s history in the biblical narrative.”
October 18, 2022
Książka dla mnie trudna. Autor śledzi przekazy biblijne, związane z królem Dawidem, a "wcześniej" Kalebem (cudzysłów, bo choć w historii biblijnej są one wcześniej, to za starszą uważa jedną z relacji Dawidzie) i wiąże je z pamięcią plemienną, sytuacją polityczną w Judzie, Izraelu, a także po powrocie z niewoli babilońskiej, która zaowocowała taką, a nie inną obecnością tych historii w Biblii.
Książka mnie zmęczyła i często nudziła, ale jak się czyta pracę biblisty adresowaną do innych biblistów, będąc tylko amatorem, to takie są skutki. Nie mogę za to odbierać gwiazdek...
Książka mnie zmęczyła i często nudziła, ale jak się czyta pracę biblisty adresowaną do innych biblistów, będąc tylko amatorem, to takie są skutki. Nie mogę za to odbierać gwiazdek...
July 5, 2014
Although this is not an exhaustive, detailed, history of David and his context, enough context is given so that the lay reader can follow along.
And what you’d be following is the development of Dr. Wright’s argument that the what determined whether a specific episode in the life of David or a cohort of his would be included in the Tanakh canon was the same determinations that go into the erection of war memorials right up to our times.
Possibly an extension of the idea that history is written by the loser - where Jewish history was written after they've already lost their wars, Wright builds up the idea that the parts of history that made it into the Bible were put there by various minority tribes to highlight their own historical allegiance to the kingdom of Judah and simultaneously highlight rival tribes’ disloyalty.
Not being any kind of scholar on the Bible or this period in Jewish history myself, I was nevertheless able to follow along but I felt that the book could have benefited from an introduction to the period in question and the various characters as well as the region. I know the iPad version of the book contained maps and I regretted that I hadn't gotten that edition, my imagination would have been taxed less if I didn't have to construct the maps myself.
No introduction is given to the rivalry between Israel and Judah, knowledge of this is assumed.
On page 141 there is a two and a half page introduction to the political landscape in which David would have grown up, I think the book would have benefited from having this introduction - perhaps even an expanded version of this introduction - in the beginning of the book.
The implications of Biblical criticism to modern day Israel's historical claims cannot be ignored. Is Hebron Jewish? Was it always Jewish? Did God really promise it to Abraham or were those promises inserted into Genesis after Jews had already lost control of it?
Overall the argument is well-made and well-defended and I am left wanting to study the primary sources more, which is a good thing.
And what you’d be following is the development of Dr. Wright’s argument that the what determined whether a specific episode in the life of David or a cohort of his would be included in the Tanakh canon was the same determinations that go into the erection of war memorials right up to our times.
Possibly an extension of the idea that history is written by the loser - where Jewish history was written after they've already lost their wars, Wright builds up the idea that the parts of history that made it into the Bible were put there by various minority tribes to highlight their own historical allegiance to the kingdom of Judah and simultaneously highlight rival tribes’ disloyalty.
Not being any kind of scholar on the Bible or this period in Jewish history myself, I was nevertheless able to follow along but I felt that the book could have benefited from an introduction to the period in question and the various characters as well as the region. I know the iPad version of the book contained maps and I regretted that I hadn't gotten that edition, my imagination would have been taxed less if I didn't have to construct the maps myself.
No introduction is given to the rivalry between Israel and Judah, knowledge of this is assumed.
On page 141 there is a two and a half page introduction to the political landscape in which David would have grown up, I think the book would have benefited from having this introduction - perhaps even an expanded version of this introduction - in the beginning of the book.
The implications of Biblical criticism to modern day Israel's historical claims cannot be ignored. Is Hebron Jewish? Was it always Jewish? Did God really promise it to Abraham or were those promises inserted into Genesis after Jews had already lost control of it?
Overall the argument is well-made and well-defended and I am left wanting to study the primary sources more, which is a good thing.
October 6, 2014
'David, King of Israel, and Caleb in Biblical Memory' is a scholarly serious book about the layers of "war commemoration" and contested tribal polity hidden in the often contradictory layers of biblical memory in the David, Saul, and Caleb sections. Wright's redaction analysis illustrates that many of the key elements of both the Caleb and David stories are probably much younger than assumed by scholarly consensus, and the fissures in the presentation of David show a narrative where David and Saul did not intertwine in the earliest texts.
While the text is definitely scholarly Wright offers enough analogies to contemporary society and political memory to illustrate the main points of the contested war commemoration. Wright clearly illustrates that in addition to a heroic path, the insiders and outsiders of Judahite and Calebite societies are clearly related to much of what otherwise seems lime marginalia to the main thrust of the stories of Caleb and David. Furthermore, Wright shows that Caleb actually offers a counter-history to Davidic and Judahite claims on the history of Hebron.
Excellent.
While the text is definitely scholarly Wright offers enough analogies to contemporary society and political memory to illustrate the main points of the contested war commemoration. Wright clearly illustrates that in addition to a heroic path, the insiders and outsiders of Judahite and Calebite societies are clearly related to much of what otherwise seems lime marginalia to the main thrust of the stories of Caleb and David. Furthermore, Wright shows that Caleb actually offers a counter-history to Davidic and Judahite claims on the history of Hebron.
Excellent.
July 14, 2019
I read this after reading Baden's and Halpern's books on the historical David - and find this the better book, though I recommend reading it with (and against) the others. Wright's approach to the biblical texts on Davis is a supplementary one - explicitly framed against the traditional documentary approach - and he makes an excellent case for the texts having expanded over time with multiple layers. The careful textual analysis and resulting interesting reflections on Israel's political and religious history makes this a must read for those interested in uncovering the real history behind the Biblical events.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews