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The Life of David
Part of the Jewish Encounter series
Poet, warrior, and king, David has loomed large in myth and legend through the centuries, and he continues to haunt our collective imagination, his flaws and inconsistencies making him the most approachable of biblical heroes. Robert Pinsky, former poet laureate of the United States, plumbs the depths of David’s his triumphs and his failures, his charm and his cruelty, his divine destiny and his human humiliations. Drawing on the biblical chronicle of David’s life as well as on the later commentaries and the Psalms—traditionally considered to be David’s own words—Pinsky teases apart the many strands of David’s story and reweaves them into a glorious narrative.
Under the clarifying and captivating light of Pinsky’s erudition and imagination, and his mastery of image and expression, King David—both the man and the idea of the man—is brought brilliantly to life.
Poet, warrior, and king, David has loomed large in myth and legend through the centuries, and he continues to haunt our collective imagination, his flaws and inconsistencies making him the most approachable of biblical heroes. Robert Pinsky, former poet laureate of the United States, plumbs the depths of David’s his triumphs and his failures, his charm and his cruelty, his divine destiny and his human humiliations. Drawing on the biblical chronicle of David’s life as well as on the later commentaries and the Psalms—traditionally considered to be David’s own words—Pinsky teases apart the many strands of David’s story and reweaves them into a glorious narrative.
Under the clarifying and captivating light of Pinsky’s erudition and imagination, and his mastery of image and expression, King David—both the man and the idea of the man—is brought brilliantly to life.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published September 6, 2005
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164 people want to read
About the author
Robert Pinsky
122 books134 followersRobert Pinsky is an American poet, essayist, literary critic, and translator. From 1997 to 2000, he served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Pinsky is the author of nineteen books, most of which are collections of his own poetry. His published work also includes critically acclaimed translations, including The Inferno of Dante Alighieri and The Separate Notebooks by Czesław Miłosz. He teaches at Boston University and is the poetry editor at Slate.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
February 1, 2011
In this brilliant book, part of the "Jewish Encounters" series, former United States poet laureate, Robert Pinsky drawing on the biblical chronicle of King David's life as well as the later commentaries and Psalms tells the story of the poet-warrior, King and offers the reader a fascinating look at a figure of mythical power.
March 4, 2022
That was a really interesting read. Pinsky looks at King David’s story from several perspectives, including a literary one.
January 17, 2020
Interesting, well-written, thoughtful.
April 28, 2010
This is a beautifully written and closely reasoned and informative book. It's also interesting in the context of the work of Robert Pinsky with its sense of the complexity and counter-movements of public life, moving from the tribal tents to the wider cosmopolitan scene, and also the meaning of public person's life, whose very existence is significant in its lifelong visibility. This is a double portrait in time. He tries to get close to the life of David in its historical reality, but he is plainly writing about this moment in time. His David is in some ways a proto-American of mixed heritage, motives, and charisma. Pinsky is very alive to the material and he does not twist himself into contortions to make the characters more palatable to our sensibilities, and he is very impatient with the efforts of some commentators to cloak David (whom Pinsky treats more and more like a charismatic gangster as the story progresses) in more virtue than is his due. The opening chapter has some paragraphs of truly lyrical prose.
April 13, 2016
The Life of David, a thoughtful look at the life of Israel’s “great” king, attempts to deal with the fractured chronology (p. 14) and delineation of flaws (p. 4) in the biblical narrative. This tantalizing little volume by Robert Pinsky is incredibly well-written and, though the author is clearly conversant with a historical-critical approach, takes an incredibly balanced approach in dealing with the subject. He doesn’t get stuck on the problems and expands on possibilities. The idea that Orpah, Ruth’s sister may have been an ancestor to Goliath (as suggested by the extra-biblical “Scroll of Orpah”—p. 17) of Gath is both interesting and disturbing. The quotation from Machiavelli on page 21 will send me scurrying back to The Prince to get the whole context.
Referring to David and Saul’s armor, Machiavelli is reputed to have said, “…the arms of others either fall from your back, or they weigh you down, or they bind you fast.” [The quotation comes from Chapter XIII of The Prince after the advisor has warned of the danger of mercenaries in Chapter XII and has described examples of treachery or insubordination at the beginning of this chapter. Strangely, my copy had the quotation marked, even though I had forgotten it.]
Pinsky has a colorful way of setting up situations. In illuminating the negotiation between Saul and David over Merab, he compares it to a scene out of The Godfather (not the first I’ve read who made that comparison). Most clearly, he writes, “Saul hopes to have David killed and David hopes to avoid the expense and risk of the marriage, and probably both know neither is deceived.” (p. 21) Just as clever is Pinsky’s suggestion that David is something of a pirate or a Robin Hood when he is supposedly serving Achish while exiled from Saul’s kingdom (p. 35).
The language is colorful and insightful. In describing Saul’s venture to the Witch of Endor in disguise, he writes: “To go in disguise is like the divided and uncomfortable soul of Saul, who hid in baggage when it was time to be chosen as king….” (p. 44). I relished his exposition that “…as religion is to strategy, magic is to tactics. Religion manifests itself in overarching practice…magic is more like a desperate, giddy jaunt to Las Vegas—a ploy, whereas religion is an approach.” (p. 47)
Pinsky writes powerfully when telling of Abner’s use of Saul’s concubine Rizpah “…in a gesture as primitive and unmistakable as Freud’s notion of the Primal Horde…” and “Abner’s bullying sexual and verbal action is as lucid as when a male baboon displays his contemptuous buttocks…to cow some rival baboon.” (p. 71) David’s mourning ritual and public announcement serves as a pre-media press release assuring Israel, the northern tribes, of his guileless innocence (pp. 78-79). Pinsky pictures him (probably accurately) as an opportunistic politician.
It is in the Bathsheba account that Pinsky really delivers a telling insight. Noting that David was “faint” in the battle, nearly killed by an apparent descendent of Goliath, rescued by a relative of General Joab’s, and urged to go home to protect himself as the “Light” of Israel, David feels somewhat emasculated and has to prove his manhood to himself. Denied the field of battle, he chooses Bathsheba as a fresh sexual conquest (p. 101). Since many sexual affairs begin as a result of an inferiority complex, this really makes sense and should resonate with a lot of modern males. In fact, Pinsky goes on to suggest that the murder of Uriah has less to do with David’s passion for Bathsheba and “…more to do with the avoidance of a paternity suit.” (p. 105)
The volume even offers an interesting comparison between Samuel and Nathan as prophets. Pinsky notes that Samuel chides Saul and, since he never really liked the idea of kingship, even competed with him for authority in Israel. Yet, Nathan simply speaks the truth to David with a bit of wit and clever rhetoric to drive home his point (p. 109). Another clever observation is that, though the one syllable for father is common in names, it is interesting that the two generals who bracket David’s ascension to the throne and David’s struggle to keep it both have “ahb” or “father” in their names. Abner equals “Father is light” and Joab equals “God (Yah) is father.” (p. 117) Add to that the fact that the syllable is also in Absalom’s name (“Father of Peace”) and this syllable appears in names of several important personages in David’s life (p. 134). The explanation of Absalom setting Joab’s barley field on fire after Joab had schemed to get Absalom back reminded me of a movie villain beating up his minion to show that he means business, but Pinsky doesn’t use my metaphor; he just served up a catalyst to my imagination (p. 129).
Sometimes, Pinsky just makes me think in ways that I previously missed or simply failed to consider. On page 138, he writes of the irony that David and his followers flee to the countryside to defend the kingdom with guerrilla actions. Now, the son who was exiled has caused the father to become a de facto exile. Pinsky also notes how David essentially set up his own spy network with those who carried back the ark of the covenant at his orders and when he sent Hushai to serve Absalom as a double-agent (pp. 139-140).
There is an irony in the fact that David wrote such eloquent laments for Saul and Jonathan and offered great spoken epitaphs to others. Yet, the Bible records no such elegy for David. Pinsky compensates for this by claiming, “Solomon’s equivalent of an elegy for David is his building the City of David.” (p. 168) But in speaking of David’s eventual legacy, Pinsky has to deal with the strange account of David’s census and the killing of 70,000 over David’s presumption in trusting his kingdom for wealth (taxes) and protection (soldiers). In essence, Pinsky writes, the editors were “…making a narrative that stings itself in the tail, by counting the dead who died as retribution for counting the living.” (p. 170) Such poetic ideas, written in prose, are planted like mental landmines throughout The Life of David.
I placed this book on my shelf some years ago after casually glancing through it. I told myself that I would read it someday, but I subconsciously discounted it because Pinsky, scholar though he seems to be, didn’t source his references. Now, that I understand he is a poet who was reacting to the David narrative in much the same way David Mamet reacted to the text when reading with Rabbi Lawrence Kushner in Five Cities of Refuge on a weekly basis. Once I associated The Life of David as being devotional reading as opposed to taking the place of more rigorous scholarship, I truly enjoyed it (and will appropriate a few lines and ideas for future sermons). The only thing missing for me was a bibliography, some references, and an indication of Pinsky’s archaeological, historical, and critical studies.
Referring to David and Saul’s armor, Machiavelli is reputed to have said, “…the arms of others either fall from your back, or they weigh you down, or they bind you fast.” [The quotation comes from Chapter XIII of The Prince after the advisor has warned of the danger of mercenaries in Chapter XII and has described examples of treachery or insubordination at the beginning of this chapter. Strangely, my copy had the quotation marked, even though I had forgotten it.]
Pinsky has a colorful way of setting up situations. In illuminating the negotiation between Saul and David over Merab, he compares it to a scene out of The Godfather (not the first I’ve read who made that comparison). Most clearly, he writes, “Saul hopes to have David killed and David hopes to avoid the expense and risk of the marriage, and probably both know neither is deceived.” (p. 21) Just as clever is Pinsky’s suggestion that David is something of a pirate or a Robin Hood when he is supposedly serving Achish while exiled from Saul’s kingdom (p. 35).
The language is colorful and insightful. In describing Saul’s venture to the Witch of Endor in disguise, he writes: “To go in disguise is like the divided and uncomfortable soul of Saul, who hid in baggage when it was time to be chosen as king….” (p. 44). I relished his exposition that “…as religion is to strategy, magic is to tactics. Religion manifests itself in overarching practice…magic is more like a desperate, giddy jaunt to Las Vegas—a ploy, whereas religion is an approach.” (p. 47)
Pinsky writes powerfully when telling of Abner’s use of Saul’s concubine Rizpah “…in a gesture as primitive and unmistakable as Freud’s notion of the Primal Horde…” and “Abner’s bullying sexual and verbal action is as lucid as when a male baboon displays his contemptuous buttocks…to cow some rival baboon.” (p. 71) David’s mourning ritual and public announcement serves as a pre-media press release assuring Israel, the northern tribes, of his guileless innocence (pp. 78-79). Pinsky pictures him (probably accurately) as an opportunistic politician.
It is in the Bathsheba account that Pinsky really delivers a telling insight. Noting that David was “faint” in the battle, nearly killed by an apparent descendent of Goliath, rescued by a relative of General Joab’s, and urged to go home to protect himself as the “Light” of Israel, David feels somewhat emasculated and has to prove his manhood to himself. Denied the field of battle, he chooses Bathsheba as a fresh sexual conquest (p. 101). Since many sexual affairs begin as a result of an inferiority complex, this really makes sense and should resonate with a lot of modern males. In fact, Pinsky goes on to suggest that the murder of Uriah has less to do with David’s passion for Bathsheba and “…more to do with the avoidance of a paternity suit.” (p. 105)
The volume even offers an interesting comparison between Samuel and Nathan as prophets. Pinsky notes that Samuel chides Saul and, since he never really liked the idea of kingship, even competed with him for authority in Israel. Yet, Nathan simply speaks the truth to David with a bit of wit and clever rhetoric to drive home his point (p. 109). Another clever observation is that, though the one syllable for father is common in names, it is interesting that the two generals who bracket David’s ascension to the throne and David’s struggle to keep it both have “ahb” or “father” in their names. Abner equals “Father is light” and Joab equals “God (Yah) is father.” (p. 117) Add to that the fact that the syllable is also in Absalom’s name (“Father of Peace”) and this syllable appears in names of several important personages in David’s life (p. 134). The explanation of Absalom setting Joab’s barley field on fire after Joab had schemed to get Absalom back reminded me of a movie villain beating up his minion to show that he means business, but Pinsky doesn’t use my metaphor; he just served up a catalyst to my imagination (p. 129).
Sometimes, Pinsky just makes me think in ways that I previously missed or simply failed to consider. On page 138, he writes of the irony that David and his followers flee to the countryside to defend the kingdom with guerrilla actions. Now, the son who was exiled has caused the father to become a de facto exile. Pinsky also notes how David essentially set up his own spy network with those who carried back the ark of the covenant at his orders and when he sent Hushai to serve Absalom as a double-agent (pp. 139-140).
There is an irony in the fact that David wrote such eloquent laments for Saul and Jonathan and offered great spoken epitaphs to others. Yet, the Bible records no such elegy for David. Pinsky compensates for this by claiming, “Solomon’s equivalent of an elegy for David is his building the City of David.” (p. 168) But in speaking of David’s eventual legacy, Pinsky has to deal with the strange account of David’s census and the killing of 70,000 over David’s presumption in trusting his kingdom for wealth (taxes) and protection (soldiers). In essence, Pinsky writes, the editors were “…making a narrative that stings itself in the tail, by counting the dead who died as retribution for counting the living.” (p. 170) Such poetic ideas, written in prose, are planted like mental landmines throughout The Life of David.
I placed this book on my shelf some years ago after casually glancing through it. I told myself that I would read it someday, but I subconsciously discounted it because Pinsky, scholar though he seems to be, didn’t source his references. Now, that I understand he is a poet who was reacting to the David narrative in much the same way David Mamet reacted to the text when reading with Rabbi Lawrence Kushner in Five Cities of Refuge on a weekly basis. Once I associated The Life of David as being devotional reading as opposed to taking the place of more rigorous scholarship, I truly enjoyed it (and will appropriate a few lines and ideas for future sermons). The only thing missing for me was a bibliography, some references, and an indication of Pinsky’s archaeological, historical, and critical studies.
April 7, 2020
I had a hankering to learn more about "The man after God's own heart" (Acts 13:22). Many of the opinions are a bit recherché and opaque for the average reader. Not only does it presuppose you know the story of David already, but gives possible scenarios that could have happened. This book uses recondite literary references, such as; "Like the Athenian rogue Alcibiades he goes over to the enemy side" or, "Looking at King Lear's face, Kent reads authority there". The Author tries to make these parallels assuming one has already read Shakespeare, Dante's Inferno, and Homer. This book also quotes passages from the Talmud, for instance; "Tamar was born before her mother's conversion to Judaism. Her relation to Ammon is less sinful than if they would have been Jewish brother and sister".
David did this because.....
He felt this way because.....
To many opinions for my taste. Not enough cannon. The Author even talks about folklore and legends handed down through generations. A new one for me, was that Goliath was in fact David's cousin. Their was a myriad of things I didn't already know or had forgotten about which makes this tolerable to some extent. If your looking for an objective book on the life of David you won't find it here. This reads more like fiction.
David did this because.....
He felt this way because.....
To many opinions for my taste. Not enough cannon. The Author even talks about folklore and legends handed down through generations. A new one for me, was that Goliath was in fact David's cousin. Their was a myriad of things I didn't already know or had forgotten about which makes this tolerable to some extent. If your looking for an objective book on the life of David you won't find it here. This reads more like fiction.
August 8, 2018
I enjoyed this book for three reasons. As told in Samuel and Chronicles, the story of David is very disjointed and hard to pull together. Pinsky does a much better job of this, reminding us of who the various characters are who move in and out of this story and their significance. Second, Pinsky uses his power of poetry in his own prose. Often there were sentences I wanted to read again because they had some particular rhythm or word-choice that I found particularly well done. And third, it is a delightful size, slightly out of the ordinary, smaller, easy to hold in one hand and even turn the pages. There are lots of pleasures to this book. I recommend it to folks interested in both the life of David and those interested in understanding the numerous references to the stories in literature.
August 30, 2020
I am not sure if it is a genre but I enjoy books that provide what you might call a perspective on a figure from the Tanakh. Perhaps the best example i have in mind is a book from Elie Wiesel on a number of figure from the Tanakh. That’s what motivated me to read this book by Pinsky. The rating is more a reflection of my character - I am more interested in the insights about the story than in the literary aspects of the text. Anyone good intro into one of the key figures of Jewish history.
January 2, 2021
last paragraph pretty much covers it: "in such impure, fluid, partly accidental manifestations, certain human doings continue as nodes of energy: durably complex particles that radiate, shift, and recombine to exceed likelihood and evade prediction. King David ... gathers meaning a systole and diastole of need and invention--over centuries of attainment and outrage, suffering and ordinary life, in an endlessly glamours, stubborn accretion." good and thoughtful; not sure it needed to be an entire book but not mad in my uncertainty
July 13, 2025
I honestly have no clue how this book ended up on my shelf, but I decided to read it recently and fell into the rabbit hole if King David’s lore. I appreciated the unpacking of David’s lineage all the way down to the Hebrew origins of specific words used in translations of the Old Testament. Pinsky definitely knows his stuff and I learned so much about Judaism and their traditions through the telling of David’s life.
November 17, 2019
A delight to follow Pinsky as he relates and reflects upon the ancient story of David.
April 16, 2020
This story of flawed fathers, a fighter, a poet, a royal adulterer, a uniter of kingdoms is one of the Old Testament’s greatest. What a family! Saul, David and Solomon!
August 26, 2020
Boring as hell, gave up halfway through!
November 23, 2021
What it looks like when an author despises his subject, and is profoundly cynical toward the most reliable sources of his life.
November 29, 2024
Memory is a work of imagination.
May 25, 2013
One has to understand that this book is about Robert Pinsky's contemplation of the life of King David as reported in the Old Testament. It is not about the life of King David or about the authority of the texts. Mr. P. accepts the texts or, rather, the narration in the texts as a given. Hence, his book is really about his engagement with the narration regardless of what light scholarship might shed on the texts. In this respect, the book is essentially idiosyncratic. That is, it is a highly personalized view of an unquestioned narration.
As to subject matter, there is an area in which Mr. P. violates his own unquestioned contemplation of the narration. In this respect, Mr. P. discusses, quite movingly at times, numbers of the narration's dramatic episodes of David's life. But it is entirely inexplicable why he devotes no direct and extended attention to a highly dramatic and tragic episode --- that is, the complete devotion and love of Jonathan for David. This was the one love in David's life that, although tragic, had no personal "sharp edges". I think this love is clear in the text even if the intensity of David's attachment to Jonathan is, to my mind, less clear. Yet, although it is one of the western world's most unusual and saddest love stories, Mr. P. is silent. This I simply cannot understand especially in what many have called a "poetical" study of David's life. It is a major flaw --- as is describing the book with a flabby word like "poetical".
As to scholarship, Mr. P. asks how David could go about killing two-thirds of the defeated Moabites although his grandmother had been the famous Ruth of Moab and he had sent his parents as refugees to Moab when he was an outlaw hunted by King Saul. I think that Mr. P. missed an opportunity here. That is, an exploration of the story of Ruth and its timing. In this connection, I believe that the Book of Ruth post-dates the reign of David and, indeed, post-dates the Babylonian Exile. Therefore, the purpose of the book may be unconnected to David's war with the Moabites and the subsequent slaughter. Mr. P. could have explored whether the story of Ruth was entirely of post-exile authorship or whether there might always have been a traditional "Ruth narrative", possibly oral. This might have enriched the book. Instead, Mr. P. provides unsatisfactory speculation regarding possibly unnecessary questions.
What is the strength of the book is how it portrays David as one of our civilization's icons. He is not quite a hero, he is not a romantic king of legend; but he is a man, canny and feeling and subject to his whims, highly political, triumphant always, loved, but perhaps not loving or not loving lastingly. He is the icon of the individual life. So strong is the icon that sometimes we want, not to admire, but to be a David as beautiful youth, warrior outlaw, and forceful, competent king. Sometimes we are repelled by David's practicality, selfishness, and bravado. But we are always fascinated.
P.s. A good book that takes a fictional look at the icon is "The King David Report" by Stefan Heym.
As to subject matter, there is an area in which Mr. P. violates his own unquestioned contemplation of the narration. In this respect, Mr. P. discusses, quite movingly at times, numbers of the narration's dramatic episodes of David's life. But it is entirely inexplicable why he devotes no direct and extended attention to a highly dramatic and tragic episode --- that is, the complete devotion and love of Jonathan for David. This was the one love in David's life that, although tragic, had no personal "sharp edges". I think this love is clear in the text even if the intensity of David's attachment to Jonathan is, to my mind, less clear. Yet, although it is one of the western world's most unusual and saddest love stories, Mr. P. is silent. This I simply cannot understand especially in what many have called a "poetical" study of David's life. It is a major flaw --- as is describing the book with a flabby word like "poetical".
As to scholarship, Mr. P. asks how David could go about killing two-thirds of the defeated Moabites although his grandmother had been the famous Ruth of Moab and he had sent his parents as refugees to Moab when he was an outlaw hunted by King Saul. I think that Mr. P. missed an opportunity here. That is, an exploration of the story of Ruth and its timing. In this connection, I believe that the Book of Ruth post-dates the reign of David and, indeed, post-dates the Babylonian Exile. Therefore, the purpose of the book may be unconnected to David's war with the Moabites and the subsequent slaughter. Mr. P. could have explored whether the story of Ruth was entirely of post-exile authorship or whether there might always have been a traditional "Ruth narrative", possibly oral. This might have enriched the book. Instead, Mr. P. provides unsatisfactory speculation regarding possibly unnecessary questions.
What is the strength of the book is how it portrays David as one of our civilization's icons. He is not quite a hero, he is not a romantic king of legend; but he is a man, canny and feeling and subject to his whims, highly political, triumphant always, loved, but perhaps not loving or not loving lastingly. He is the icon of the individual life. So strong is the icon that sometimes we want, not to admire, but to be a David as beautiful youth, warrior outlaw, and forceful, competent king. Sometimes we are repelled by David's practicality, selfishness, and bravado. But we are always fascinated.
P.s. A good book that takes a fictional look at the icon is "The King David Report" by Stefan Heym.
August 9, 2013
Eloquent thoughts by Robert. Crisp sounds throughout.
"Unsung hero" is a paradox.
"Subterranean fires and currents, forming the stories that form us, make themselves visible in the career of the hero."
"Going back three generations, the sister of Ruth was the barbaric-sounding Orpah. (Almost impossible to keep the brain from familiarizing it to "Oprah.")"
"The quality of the foreign, like the strangeness of the exile, is to be respected."
"Goliath of Gath says to David of Bethlehem: Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field."
"From Nabal's viewpoint, he may be resisting demands made by a gang of thugs."
"The symbolism of magic tends toward a kind of crude, insistent imagism. And sometimes the Philistines use it."
"Who is the man -- or, for that matter, if he is a figment then what is the figment? -- who writes such a poem and who repeatedly kills all the inhabitants of a place to keep his raid secret?"
"I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."
"Whatever wresting-with-God may mean, it entails becoming a nation or a people or a company of nations: vertical in time, a ladder destined through the ages, rather than bound for a lifespan to move merely horizontal to the earth like any individual creature or species."
"Heroism is not nostalgic, nor is government."
"malleable, unseeing duffer"
"...kissed on the lips by Victory in all he undertakes, as if by royal birthright."
"The scene is like something from Kurosawa, or one o the lower incidents in Homer."
"Now, three darts to the heart."
"His actual, historical government is visible, though beclouded by the gigantic, many armed squid of two millennia, the successive passions and agendas of centuries."
"Even the word 'kin' has an archaic flavor in modern life, and we hardly recognize kin's companion 'kith,' which besides meaning 'the known' also means 'the properly-behaving': it is the same word as 'couth.'
"The enumeration and description have the obsessive quality of Robinson Crusoe's lists, or manic writing about sex or food. (Readers of American poetry will recognize a note of exquisite, compulsive specificity struck by James McMichael's description of Pasadena houses.)"
"...and all their hinder parts were inward."
"...let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace."
"Unsung hero" is a paradox.
"Subterranean fires and currents, forming the stories that form us, make themselves visible in the career of the hero."
"Going back three generations, the sister of Ruth was the barbaric-sounding Orpah. (Almost impossible to keep the brain from familiarizing it to "Oprah.")"
"The quality of the foreign, like the strangeness of the exile, is to be respected."
"Goliath of Gath says to David of Bethlehem: Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field."
"From Nabal's viewpoint, he may be resisting demands made by a gang of thugs."
"The symbolism of magic tends toward a kind of crude, insistent imagism. And sometimes the Philistines use it."
"Who is the man -- or, for that matter, if he is a figment then what is the figment? -- who writes such a poem and who repeatedly kills all the inhabitants of a place to keep his raid secret?"
"I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."
"Whatever wresting-with-God may mean, it entails becoming a nation or a people or a company of nations: vertical in time, a ladder destined through the ages, rather than bound for a lifespan to move merely horizontal to the earth like any individual creature or species."
"Heroism is not nostalgic, nor is government."
"malleable, unseeing duffer"
"...kissed on the lips by Victory in all he undertakes, as if by royal birthright."
"The scene is like something from Kurosawa, or one o the lower incidents in Homer."
"Now, three darts to the heart."
"His actual, historical government is visible, though beclouded by the gigantic, many armed squid of two millennia, the successive passions and agendas of centuries."
"Even the word 'kin' has an archaic flavor in modern life, and we hardly recognize kin's companion 'kith,' which besides meaning 'the known' also means 'the properly-behaving': it is the same word as 'couth.'
"The enumeration and description have the obsessive quality of Robinson Crusoe's lists, or manic writing about sex or food. (Readers of American poetry will recognize a note of exquisite, compulsive specificity struck by James McMichael's description of Pasadena houses.)"
"...and all their hinder parts were inward."
"...let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace."
March 12, 2011
Not knowing much about the bible i was curious how welcoming this would be. obviously not a straight forward biography, but a blend of history and legend, based on various sources. it lays the basic stories out in a straightforward manner, and has some fascinating insights and ideas about how David the man became David the legend. Mr. Pinsky is an obviously dept scholar and a superb writer, and despite a few tangents i found tiresome, overall it is an excellent overview of an incredibly huge subject.
November 20, 2012
Well worth the second read. This book is part poetry, part history, part cultural evaluation, part myth, and part theology. Pinsky's interpretation of the major events in the life of David is insightful and enlightening. The analogies that he uses, the language that he uses, and the respect that he has for his material work together to make this a fascinating, enthralling read. I highly recommend this book to Jewish readers, Christian readers, and to people interested in history, myth, theology, and culture.
September 24, 2007
I plan to start this book sometime over the weekend. David is a fascinating person and I'm interested in Pinsky's presentation of man. Not sure I'll agree with it - but curious enough about it to read it. Pinsky was my poetry professor in college - only one semester.
Turned out what I expected - a scholarly look at a figure in Scripture. Pinsky proves he is inded more intelluctual than us all - yawn.
Turned out what I expected - a scholarly look at a figure in Scripture. Pinsky proves he is inded more intelluctual than us all - yawn.
October 3, 2022
The Life of David is a grand, poetic construction, a loving and deeply thoughtful biography to a man who must be real, "for what nation would invent so flawed a hero?" I wept. I was humbled. I aspire to remember that the vastness of David's character is a flourish in our long unfolding history. A poet raises a cup of honor to one of his own.
Read
August 10, 2007This was a nice book. Beautifully written - contemporary without being revisionist (mostly). AND I learned a lot about the life of David (go figure) and the wonderful abitraryness and vindictiveness of my Jewish god.
January 4, 2009
This was a good book about the life of King David written as a series of essays. I wouldn't say this book is for the general reader. But if you have a particular interest in King David and would like to read an interesting set of interpretive essays, it's a very good place to begin.
February 8, 2014
I had never even read some of the parts of the historical books that Pinsky comments on. A revealing look at the qualities of David as King, soldier and man. This book is in a series by Jews about Jews.
July 27, 2007
Interesting brush up on the life of the Biblical David. The author is foremost a poet, which is reflected in his writing.
September 14, 2008
A book that really makes you think. David as you don't get him in SS.
April 19, 2009
Gorgeous depiction of the life of David. So refreshing to read a non-fiction book written by a poet, especially a non-fiction book looking into the contradictions of myth and history.
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September 23, 2010The Life of David (Jewish Encounters) by Robert Pinsky (2008)
March 21, 2012
Some interesting observations and thoughts on the story of King David. It's a relatively fast read.
April 8, 2013
It's well written, and it looks like Pinsky did his homework. But...why not just read The Book of Samuel with some good annotations? Robert Pinsky, why did you write this book?
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