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David: The Divided Heart
From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a reexamination of the biblical David, legendary warrior, poet, and king, by one of America’s most respected rabbis
"An excellent study of the most fascinating character in the Old Testament."— Wall Street Journal
"A portrait of David that is vibrant and nuanced, full of the complications that marked his life."— Jewish Week
Of all the figures in the Bible, David arguably stands out as the most perplexing and enigmatic. He was many a warrior who subdued Goliath and the Philistines; a king who united a nation; a poet who created beautiful, sensitive verse; a loyal servant of God who proposed the great Temple and founded the Messianic line; a schemer, deceiver, and adulterer who freely indulged his very human appetites.
David Wolpe, whom Newsweek called “the most influential rabbi in America,” takes a fresh look at biblical David in an attempt to find coherence in his seemingly contradictory actions and impulses. The author questions why David holds such an exalted place in history and legend, and then proceeds to unravel his complex character based on information found in the book of Samuel and later literature. What emerges is a fascinating portrait of an exceptional human being who, despite his many flaws, was truly beloved by God.
About Jewish
Jewish Lives is a prizewinning series of interpretative biography designed to explore the many facets of Jewish identity. Individual volumes illuminate the imprint of Jewish figures upon literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural and economic life, and the arts and sciences. Subjects are paired with authors to elicit lively, deeply informed books that explore the range and depth of the Jewish experience from antiquity to the present.
In 2014, the Jewish Book Council named Jewish Lives the winner of its Jewish Book of the Year Award, the first series ever to receive this award.
More praise for Jewish
"Excellent" –New York Times
"Exemplary" –Wall Street Journal
"Distinguished" –New Yorker
"Superb" –The Guardian
"An excellent study of the most fascinating character in the Old Testament."— Wall Street Journal
"A portrait of David that is vibrant and nuanced, full of the complications that marked his life."— Jewish Week
Of all the figures in the Bible, David arguably stands out as the most perplexing and enigmatic. He was many a warrior who subdued Goliath and the Philistines; a king who united a nation; a poet who created beautiful, sensitive verse; a loyal servant of God who proposed the great Temple and founded the Messianic line; a schemer, deceiver, and adulterer who freely indulged his very human appetites.
David Wolpe, whom Newsweek called “the most influential rabbi in America,” takes a fresh look at biblical David in an attempt to find coherence in his seemingly contradictory actions and impulses. The author questions why David holds such an exalted place in history and legend, and then proceeds to unravel his complex character based on information found in the book of Samuel and later literature. What emerges is a fascinating portrait of an exceptional human being who, despite his many flaws, was truly beloved by God.
About Jewish
Jewish Lives is a prizewinning series of interpretative biography designed to explore the many facets of Jewish identity. Individual volumes illuminate the imprint of Jewish figures upon literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural and economic life, and the arts and sciences. Subjects are paired with authors to elicit lively, deeply informed books that explore the range and depth of the Jewish experience from antiquity to the present.
In 2014, the Jewish Book Council named Jewish Lives the winner of its Jewish Book of the Year Award, the first series ever to receive this award.
More praise for Jewish
"Excellent" –New York Times
"Exemplary" –Wall Street Journal
"Distinguished" –New Yorker
"Superb" –The Guardian
153 pages, Hardcover
First published September 16, 2014
72 people are currently reading
307 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
November 18, 2017
I bought this book not being quite convinced that I would enjoy it; I feared it could be too technical or dry for the common reader. I was wrong: "David, the divided heart" is both a delight to read and a deep, insightful analysis of one of the most complex figures in the Bible.
I have really enjoyed it and also learned with my reading. It is what a good book should always be: interesting, well written, it makes you think and also sparks the need for knowing -and reading- more about this extraordinary character.
Definitely a must read and one of the best books I have read this year.
I have really enjoyed it and also learned with my reading. It is what a good book should always be: interesting, well written, it makes you think and also sparks the need for knowing -and reading- more about this extraordinary character.
Definitely a must read and one of the best books I have read this year.
December 13, 2014
As a pastor who was an English Literature major during my college years at Baylor, I thoroughly enjoyed this rabbi's exploration of King David's multi-layered character. Author David Wolpe, who is himself named after this book's namesake, does a very good job of meditating on various themes and leitmotifs that run throughout David's life, including the role women play at key moments in his life, his flawed relationships with his children, and different patterns that mark how he handled various issues during his kingship.
While Wolpe's perspective is quite different from my own Evangelical perspective, I still found this book very worthwhile reading, and I appreciate how Wolpe traces various threads in David's character. I trust that reading this book will help me in the future whenever I do preach on those biblical passages that deal with David's life, as well as providing me with insights into human nature that will prove helpful in my own life.
I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reflecting on the Bible's themes and characters. For example, I can easily envision this short book being assigned as a text for classes on the Bible - whether "the Bible as literature" classes, or even Old Testament survey classes in seminary, universities, or community colleges. There is a wealth of material for the thoughtful reader to meditate on.
While Wolpe's perspective is quite different from my own Evangelical perspective, I still found this book very worthwhile reading, and I appreciate how Wolpe traces various threads in David's character. I trust that reading this book will help me in the future whenever I do preach on those biblical passages that deal with David's life, as well as providing me with insights into human nature that will prove helpful in my own life.
I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reflecting on the Bible's themes and characters. For example, I can easily envision this short book being assigned as a text for classes on the Bible - whether "the Bible as literature" classes, or even Old Testament survey classes in seminary, universities, or community colleges. There is a wealth of material for the thoughtful reader to meditate on.
December 1, 2019
This book is a fascinating and erudite biography of King David, but also concise and accessible.
While Rabbi Wolpe is, in the end, fairly sympathetic in his treatment of King David, he presents conflicting interpretations and allows the reader to choose among them.
Wolpe also ranges far and wide in collecting interpretations, drawing from novelists, poets and playwrights, as well as from the rabbinic tradition. He sprinkles the book with psychological and spiritual observations about King David, while allowing readers to see themselves in his attributes and foibles.
No matter how you feel about King David, there is no denying that he was a fascinating figure. I don’t know if his story inspired “Game of Thrones,” but it is as intriguing as anything George R.R. Martin has come up with.
One thing is for sure: If David is the best we can hope for in a leader, or if his life is a preview of the Messiah, we are all in trouble.
While Rabbi Wolpe is, in the end, fairly sympathetic in his treatment of King David, he presents conflicting interpretations and allows the reader to choose among them.
Wolpe also ranges far and wide in collecting interpretations, drawing from novelists, poets and playwrights, as well as from the rabbinic tradition. He sprinkles the book with psychological and spiritual observations about King David, while allowing readers to see themselves in his attributes and foibles.
No matter how you feel about King David, there is no denying that he was a fascinating figure. I don’t know if his story inspired “Game of Thrones,” but it is as intriguing as anything George R.R. Martin has come up with.
One thing is for sure: If David is the best we can hope for in a leader, or if his life is a preview of the Messiah, we are all in trouble.
May 14, 2022
David Wolpe introduces his study of the biblical figure David (in David: The Divided Heart) with this interesting affirmation:
"David is the first person in history whose tale complete and vital, laced with passions, savagery, hesitation, charisma, faith, family -- a rich canvas of a large life" (p. xi).
Rabbi Wolpe's study draws richly from biblical, rabbinic and literary commentaries to present a well-paced, clear, accessible treatment of David. David, he sums up, "is the man who enacts what God wishes -- in his sinfulness and sublimity, [who] is the most human of us all" (p. 141).
"David is the first person in history whose tale complete and vital, laced with passions, savagery, hesitation, charisma, faith, family -- a rich canvas of a large life" (p. xi).
Rabbi Wolpe's study draws richly from biblical, rabbinic and literary commentaries to present a well-paced, clear, accessible treatment of David. David, he sums up, "is the man who enacts what God wishes -- in his sinfulness and sublimity, [who] is the most human of us all" (p. 141).
April 29, 2020
This book is part of the Jewish Lives series, and was written by a Conservative rabbi. It includes the details of David's life and his significance as a Jewish leader. David represented self assurance, empathy, and repentance (for hooking up with Bathsheba) which are good traits in a leader. He had 8 wives and 18 children, and was prophesied to be the father of the Messiah. This prophesy provided a transition from the Torah to the New Testament, if your beliefs run in that direction.
March 13, 2020
Yesterday evening, I finished David Wolpe's "David: A Divided Heart". The author is the senior Rabbi of the Sinai Temple in Los Angeles; named the most influential rabbi in America by Newsweek Magazine; and considered one of the top most influential Jews in the world.
In David, the author discusses this biblical character who has captured the imaginations of friends and foes of Judaism (they admire him the most out of the three Abrahamic religions). So versatile and enduring is David in our global culture that rare is the week that passes without some public allusion to his life.
Every sex scandal involving prominent men is sure to evoke comparisons with David and Bathsheba. Successions in power allude to David and Saul. Unequal struggles are summarized with the battle of David and Goliath. Few symbols fulfill so many functions: If you reach for an underdog, if you seek a precedent for the abuse of power, if you look for an ancient model of friendship or (perhaps) same sex love, if you want a monarch who is also a bard, if you want to suggest a kingship that will never end, and so very much more—David is your man.
While not the lengthiest book I have read this year, it is the one I have spent the most time with. I took time out to read the following materials about this character: 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Chronicles, first 3 chapters of the book of Judges, book of Psalms, and a brief look at the Jewish Talmud. Fresh insights in all of them. It was particularly emotional reading Psalm 3 following Wolpe's commentary.
A few discoveries I found from the book:
- The first time in the Bible that a woman is said to love a man is when Michal loves David.
- Although David is described repeatedly as being loved, he is pointedly never described as loving.
- Bathsheba is never said to love David.
- A CIA report on spy and counterspy used around the world is based on the strategy of Hushai, one of David's advisers.
Wolpe is so intellectually open in the book that I often wonder which side of the divide he is on, whether he is really pro-theism or anti-theism because that's what those in Nigeria, where I live, consider those who as much as question happenings in the Holy Books.
Look at this:
"When Samuel quite reasonably protests that King Saul will seek to kill him if he finds out he is on his way to anoint the new king, God instructs Samuel to lie: “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord’” (1, 16:2).
A white lie, to be sure. A lie to preserve a life. Still, it is worth noting that David is anointed in a cloud of mild deception."
See another,
"To this day it remains an uncomfortable fact that nothing unequivocal has been found that can be traced to [David's] hand or identified with his rule."
One of the things I find profound in the book is the revelation of the absence of 'genuine' miracles in David's life. For a book which invokes God so often, it is telling that even some skilled readers fail to notice that, with the murky exception of raising Samuel from the dead, there is not a single supernatural miracle in the entire story of David, the longest continuous narrative about a human being in the entire Hebrew Bible.
Many think of the life of David and envy grows in their heart for him, but almost all of his relationships - David and Jonathan, David and Bathsheba, David and Saul, David and Joab, David and Michal, David and Solomon - are marked with some wreckage and despair.
One particular episode touched his relationship with his son Absalom. After his son had disgraced and chased him out of his kingdom, David launched an offence. The offence proved successful. Yet no father is happy losing his child, even a wayward one. While victorious "...the king was shaken. And he went up to the upper room over the gate and he wept, and thus he said as he went, ‘My son, Absalom! My son, my son, Absalom! Would that I had died in your stead! Absalom, my son, my son’” The anguish of a father!
David’s anguish and considerable heartfelt remorse make him an exemplar, to later generations searching for biblical models. The Puritans turned to David more often than any biblical character except for the New Testament Jesus. For not only is David a military model, but he embodies repentance with Nathan, avoidance of idolatry - not once did he worship idols, and suffering, particularly with Absalom. David is a warrior who has suffered, a king who has demonstrated humility, and a father who has both lost (many children) and (still able to) pass on his legacy.
Still, David is too much a controversial figure. The revelation about idolatry may well be some post facto answer to justify what already exists to justify the eternal promise made to him by God, and even ancient rabbis have confessed, “We are unable to make sense of David’s character”. Even in modern Israel, David remains controversial. Shimon Peres, former Prime Minister of Israel, responding to a religious member of the Knesset, said, “I recognize the Torah of Moses our teacher and not the Torah of David our patriarch..."
Rabbi David Wolpe brings in a new light a character whose reputation is as ramified, as remarkable, and as enduring as his story.
In David, the author discusses this biblical character who has captured the imaginations of friends and foes of Judaism (they admire him the most out of the three Abrahamic religions). So versatile and enduring is David in our global culture that rare is the week that passes without some public allusion to his life.
Every sex scandal involving prominent men is sure to evoke comparisons with David and Bathsheba. Successions in power allude to David and Saul. Unequal struggles are summarized with the battle of David and Goliath. Few symbols fulfill so many functions: If you reach for an underdog, if you seek a precedent for the abuse of power, if you look for an ancient model of friendship or (perhaps) same sex love, if you want a monarch who is also a bard, if you want to suggest a kingship that will never end, and so very much more—David is your man.
While not the lengthiest book I have read this year, it is the one I have spent the most time with. I took time out to read the following materials about this character: 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Chronicles, first 3 chapters of the book of Judges, book of Psalms, and a brief look at the Jewish Talmud. Fresh insights in all of them. It was particularly emotional reading Psalm 3 following Wolpe's commentary.
A few discoveries I found from the book:
- The first time in the Bible that a woman is said to love a man is when Michal loves David.
- Although David is described repeatedly as being loved, he is pointedly never described as loving.
- Bathsheba is never said to love David.
- A CIA report on spy and counterspy used around the world is based on the strategy of Hushai, one of David's advisers.
Wolpe is so intellectually open in the book that I often wonder which side of the divide he is on, whether he is really pro-theism or anti-theism because that's what those in Nigeria, where I live, consider those who as much as question happenings in the Holy Books.
Look at this:
"When Samuel quite reasonably protests that King Saul will seek to kill him if he finds out he is on his way to anoint the new king, God instructs Samuel to lie: “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord’” (1, 16:2).
A white lie, to be sure. A lie to preserve a life. Still, it is worth noting that David is anointed in a cloud of mild deception."
See another,
"To this day it remains an uncomfortable fact that nothing unequivocal has been found that can be traced to [David's] hand or identified with his rule."
One of the things I find profound in the book is the revelation of the absence of 'genuine' miracles in David's life. For a book which invokes God so often, it is telling that even some skilled readers fail to notice that, with the murky exception of raising Samuel from the dead, there is not a single supernatural miracle in the entire story of David, the longest continuous narrative about a human being in the entire Hebrew Bible.
Many think of the life of David and envy grows in their heart for him, but almost all of his relationships - David and Jonathan, David and Bathsheba, David and Saul, David and Joab, David and Michal, David and Solomon - are marked with some wreckage and despair.
One particular episode touched his relationship with his son Absalom. After his son had disgraced and chased him out of his kingdom, David launched an offence. The offence proved successful. Yet no father is happy losing his child, even a wayward one. While victorious "...the king was shaken. And he went up to the upper room over the gate and he wept, and thus he said as he went, ‘My son, Absalom! My son, my son, Absalom! Would that I had died in your stead! Absalom, my son, my son’” The anguish of a father!
David’s anguish and considerable heartfelt remorse make him an exemplar, to later generations searching for biblical models. The Puritans turned to David more often than any biblical character except for the New Testament Jesus. For not only is David a military model, but he embodies repentance with Nathan, avoidance of idolatry - not once did he worship idols, and suffering, particularly with Absalom. David is a warrior who has suffered, a king who has demonstrated humility, and a father who has both lost (many children) and (still able to) pass on his legacy.
Still, David is too much a controversial figure. The revelation about idolatry may well be some post facto answer to justify what already exists to justify the eternal promise made to him by God, and even ancient rabbis have confessed, “We are unable to make sense of David’s character”. Even in modern Israel, David remains controversial. Shimon Peres, former Prime Minister of Israel, responding to a religious member of the Knesset, said, “I recognize the Torah of Moses our teacher and not the Torah of David our patriarch..."
Rabbi David Wolpe brings in a new light a character whose reputation is as ramified, as remarkable, and as enduring as his story.
August 18, 2015
Engrossing reconstruction of the life of David, mostly from the Biblical books of Samuel. An even-handed exploration of the character and motivations of an extremely intriguing, complex personality that has left such an indelible impression on all of Western culture, not to mention the thought and writings of Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
The life events of David and his so very human responses - murderous calculation and unbridled lechery as well as repentance, rapture and poetry - continue to loom large in our collective memory and literature.
Wolpe's short book sensitively but unflinchingly examines this almost larger-than-life historical personality, moving in sequence through David's many facets by chapters focused on his role as young warrior and companion of the king, Saul, followed by the dramatic developments of his becoming fugitive, king, publicly-recognized adulterer and murderer, failed and distant father with tragic consequences for his children and the nation and old man suffering the remorse and sadness of his final days. David's is a deeply moving human drama and Wolpe does a very good job of telling the tale.
The life events of David and his so very human responses - murderous calculation and unbridled lechery as well as repentance, rapture and poetry - continue to loom large in our collective memory and literature.
Wolpe's short book sensitively but unflinchingly examines this almost larger-than-life historical personality, moving in sequence through David's many facets by chapters focused on his role as young warrior and companion of the king, Saul, followed by the dramatic developments of his becoming fugitive, king, publicly-recognized adulterer and murderer, failed and distant father with tragic consequences for his children and the nation and old man suffering the remorse and sadness of his final days. David's is a deeply moving human drama and Wolpe does a very good job of telling the tale.
April 12, 2015
I found David Wolpe's "David: The Divided Heart" difficult to get through though not because it's not a fascinating read: it is. Wolpe's in depth analysis of King David is thorough and deep. It takes time to process and absorb all he has to say. Wolpe goes back into Jewish history and tradition and explores all of who David was his ambitions, flaws, positive actions, etc. It's a great read and I would recommend it to anyone who's studied the Bible or Jewish history as David is a major component of both. Be prepared though to take the time to really study.
January 9, 2015
David is Every Man as interpreted by Wolpe. The author tells the story of David as written in I Samuel, using translations by Robert Alter. He compares David to other political, historic, and literary figures in history. His interpretations give a reader much insight and thoughts to ponder. In this short and beautifully written book, he brings David, with all of his flaws, to life and shows how we all are present in David's actions. I read the book from the Overdrive eBook network but plan to buy a copy. There is too much here for a one time read.
August 19, 2016
Some interesting thoughts here. Wolpe doesn't try to sieve through what is or isn't historical, but he pokes a little into the agenda of the storyteller(s) in recounting particular episodes and into the motivations of all the characters. I think Wolpe could've done more with a few more chapters devoted entirely to analysis instead of just retelling what's in the Tanakh. That might not be a fair criticism because that's not really a rabbi's job or the purpose of this book. One big strength here -- Wolpe is clearly a great lover of literature and this book is better for it.
December 23, 2014
This was a very interesting take on the life of King David. The author is a Rabbi and offers many different takes on events in David's life.
I enjoyed it very much.
However, when I was looking up the bible verses, I became very frustrated, as a lot of the verses were wrong, not the books but the verses and I had to search for the right ones. I don't know if this is because the Jewish Old Testament is different or the editing was sloppy.
Regardless, it was worth reading.
I enjoyed it very much.
However, when I was looking up the bible verses, I became very frustrated, as a lot of the verses were wrong, not the books but the verses and I had to search for the right ones. I don't know if this is because the Jewish Old Testament is different or the editing was sloppy.
Regardless, it was worth reading.
November 28, 2014
Short, but powerful, analysis of the biblical character, David ... shepherd boy, psalmist, and King of Israel ... several interesting points are made about the record of his life in the books of Samuel and Kings ... very thorough, considering the holes in the material ...
December 27, 2014
Interesting mix of biography and rabbinic analysis of one of the most challenging biblical figures. Not exactly the story you learn in Sunday school. I liked a how he showed echos of the david stories throughout literature, from Shakespeare to the godfather.
June 15, 2025
When I was in high school, one of the best students in my AP English Literature class told the class, with a strange kind of pride: The Bible is so boring 🥱
I haven’t read a lot of the Bible at that time and I thought she must be right, because she was getting better grades than me, she grew up here, and she’s white, she must know better than me. What does a silly Chinese immigrant girl know anyway? I mean comparing to goth boi Heathcliff and Cathy’s haunting you beyond your grave obsessive neurotic love, adopted brother & sister forbidden twin flame collapse, Wuthering Heights which we were reading in class at that time is so much more interesting right?
I could not believe how wrong I was until many years later 😂 Now if anybody comes up to me and tells me “The Bible is so boring 🥱”, I’d probably be like: ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME??
Thinking of my dad and the life of king David on this Father’s Day, and thinking about how could anybody read king David’s story and say, the Bible is so boring 😂 My dad gave himself the English name David upon conversion to Christianity from Buddhism (after my conversion but not because of my conversion), because my dad liked the idea of being a man of God’s heart.
King David, the OG underdog that came from no money, a boy that lived in the wild nature with the sheep and lions, the OG musician-poet archetype (preceded the German Romantics by more than two millennia), wrote half of the book of Psalm while playing harp like a sadboi emo rapper without SoundCloud and autotune, full of rizz and ambition, ascended to the highest plane of human existence, Yahweh’s fave chosen sons’ energy. Then he did what? He MURDERED a woman’s husband so he could f*ck (r*pe) her and have children with her and make her his queen (all the while he could have had any other women he wanted, the number of concubines as many as the stars in the sky). If that’s not divine madness, I don’t what is 💀 The Greeks only theorized divine madness, King David said, hold my beer🍺 this some real historical true crime type shit.
I don’t know happened to the West that the majority of the people here would call the Bible boring. What does a silly Chinese immigrant girl know anyway.
I haven’t read a lot of the Bible at that time and I thought she must be right, because she was getting better grades than me, she grew up here, and she’s white, she must know better than me. What does a silly Chinese immigrant girl know anyway? I mean comparing to goth boi Heathcliff and Cathy’s haunting you beyond your grave obsessive neurotic love, adopted brother & sister forbidden twin flame collapse, Wuthering Heights which we were reading in class at that time is so much more interesting right?
I could not believe how wrong I was until many years later 😂 Now if anybody comes up to me and tells me “The Bible is so boring 🥱”, I’d probably be like: ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME??
Thinking of my dad and the life of king David on this Father’s Day, and thinking about how could anybody read king David’s story and say, the Bible is so boring 😂 My dad gave himself the English name David upon conversion to Christianity from Buddhism (after my conversion but not because of my conversion), because my dad liked the idea of being a man of God’s heart.
King David, the OG underdog that came from no money, a boy that lived in the wild nature with the sheep and lions, the OG musician-poet archetype (preceded the German Romantics by more than two millennia), wrote half of the book of Psalm while playing harp like a sadboi emo rapper without SoundCloud and autotune, full of rizz and ambition, ascended to the highest plane of human existence, Yahweh’s fave chosen sons’ energy. Then he did what? He MURDERED a woman’s husband so he could f*ck (r*pe) her and have children with her and make her his queen (all the while he could have had any other women he wanted, the number of concubines as many as the stars in the sky). If that’s not divine madness, I don’t what is 💀 The Greeks only theorized divine madness, King David said, hold my beer🍺 this some real historical true crime type shit.
I don’t know happened to the West that the majority of the people here would call the Bible boring. What does a silly Chinese immigrant girl know anyway.
August 4, 2025
The original Game of Thrones is in the books of Samuel and the books of Kings in the Bible. Violent, treacherous contesting for the throne, lots of sex, including amongst siblings, betrayals -it is all there. And yet, David is still the revered king of the Jews, revered both by religious Jews as idea king and the progenitor of the Messiah and revered by Zionists as the founder of the dynasty and regional power of Israel.
Rabbi Wolpe guides us through a close reading of the story of David in the Bible. Judaism prefers its heroes to be human, rather than perfect. Throughout the Hebrew bible we read a chronicle of jealousy, family and dynastic struggle, murder, illicit sex. The Jewish patriarchs are divinely inspired humans, not infallible beings. David is no different. The story of David is the story of the struggle for power and its consequences. As Rabbi Wolpe writes, "David has won everything he coveted and lost everything he cared for. This snapshot of agony sums up for generations the price of power, the intersection of family and public life, the way in which we injure ourselves and are then staggered by the pain."
The Hebrew bible revels in humanity. It does not deny it. Later Rabbinical gloss tried to turn the human Patriarchs into paragons, but the stories themselves are accessible to us because they are about us. "Conventional religion has a regrettable tendency to do surgery on the human soul, leaving only the exalted parts. But readers of the Bible find that the original source is more realistic. The Bible is filled with flawed human beings and fraught situations against the backdrop of charged sanctity."
I enjoyed Rabbi Wolpe's reading of the David story, but it is very plot driven. If you have read the original, Rabbi Wolpe's book acts as the Cliff Notes. The book is far better for those who do not know the story - for those who have heard of David (likely slaying Goliath), but are unaware of the whole story. I could have used a bit more analysis and commentary, but that is me.
Rabbi Wolpe guides us through a close reading of the story of David in the Bible. Judaism prefers its heroes to be human, rather than perfect. Throughout the Hebrew bible we read a chronicle of jealousy, family and dynastic struggle, murder, illicit sex. The Jewish patriarchs are divinely inspired humans, not infallible beings. David is no different. The story of David is the story of the struggle for power and its consequences. As Rabbi Wolpe writes, "David has won everything he coveted and lost everything he cared for. This snapshot of agony sums up for generations the price of power, the intersection of family and public life, the way in which we injure ourselves and are then staggered by the pain."
The Hebrew bible revels in humanity. It does not deny it. Later Rabbinical gloss tried to turn the human Patriarchs into paragons, but the stories themselves are accessible to us because they are about us. "Conventional religion has a regrettable tendency to do surgery on the human soul, leaving only the exalted parts. But readers of the Bible find that the original source is more realistic. The Bible is filled with flawed human beings and fraught situations against the backdrop of charged sanctity."
I enjoyed Rabbi Wolpe's reading of the David story, but it is very plot driven. If you have read the original, Rabbi Wolpe's book acts as the Cliff Notes. The book is far better for those who do not know the story - for those who have heard of David (likely slaying Goliath), but are unaware of the whole story. I could have used a bit more analysis and commentary, but that is me.
February 24, 2024
Rabbi David Wolpe published a biography of King David in 2017. The book is for Yale University Press and the Leon D. Black Foundation's Jewish Lives series. Rabbi Wolpe is the Rabbi Emeritus of Mont Sinai, a Conservative Synagogue in Los Angeles, California. As a person named David, Rabbi Wolpe has long been fascinated by the Ancient King David (Wolpe ix-x). This book is written for anyone who is looking for a short and readable biography of King David within the tradition of Judaism. Rabbi Wolpe does mention several Christian texts as well. Interestingly, Wolpe writes that “the Puritans turned to David more often than any other biblical character than the New Testament Jesus" (Wolpe 115). The book includes an index and a section of “suggested reading” (Wolpe 143-144). I read the book on the Kindle. The book is organized chronology, sort of similar to how the Bible organizes the story of King David (Wolpe xiii). Each chapter is defined by the role that King David played in that chapter (xiii). Wolpe wants the reader to gain an understanding of King David within Judaism without going into all the details of the story (Wolpe xiii). David Wolpe’s biography of King David is an interesting short biography of King David within the tradition of Judaism.
January 7, 2026
This short book is a real gem if you want to have a good picture of the biblical David. It's essentially a character study of the King of Israel, close to the account of the Bible, but not a literary retelling. Rabbi David Wolpe reflects on the different roles of David as they emerge one after the other during the course of his life.
If you want a good introduction to the David of the Bible in all his complexity, this is an excellent place to start. Many accounts of David, both scholarly and literary, tend to simplify his personality in one way or the other, making him either a hero or a monster. Wolpe has the intellectual humility and honesty to let David stand as he emerges from the biblical accounts. He also highlights the fact that we may never truly know the heart of another - and even less the heart of a man who lived 3,000 years ago.
If you want a good introduction to the David of the Bible in all his complexity, this is an excellent place to start. Many accounts of David, both scholarly and literary, tend to simplify his personality in one way or the other, making him either a hero or a monster. Wolpe has the intellectual humility and honesty to let David stand as he emerges from the biblical accounts. He also highlights the fact that we may never truly know the heart of another - and even less the heart of a man who lived 3,000 years ago.
December 7, 2020
solid ridealong on the david story. not quite as down on david as robert alter's commentary is, but not too permissive of david's several egregious whoopsies. increasingly curious about the tensile strength of absalom's hair. i appreciated the frequent throws over to medieval rabbis for their takes, which are sometimes good sometimes awful always entertaining. still not over the deathbed scene where david lectures solomon about righteousness and then appends a list of colleagues he would like his son to murder. who hasnt been there.
March 5, 2018
This book made me ponder David a bit more. David & Bathsheba did not commit adultery as her husband, before he left for war divorced her. Most soldiers did this as they were killed in battle.
David did not commit murder because Uriah disobeyed the Kings order and didn 't go home and sleep with his wife.
Were these just used as excuses so we would like David more after hearing these tales.
David did not commit murder because Uriah disobeyed the Kings order and didn 't go home and sleep with his wife.
Were these just used as excuses so we would like David more after hearing these tales.
March 1, 2020
This is a short, easy read, but utterly fascinating and worthwhile. The author explores the fullness of David's character, not with an impartial eye, but with one that is willing to see the very human combination of empathy and atrocity in David's depiction.
February 22, 2021
達味王應該是希伯來聖經裡面最富有色彩的，最傳奇，最扣人心弦的人物，沒有之一。如果要把希伯來聖經裡的故事拍成宮廷劇，非他的故事莫屬。從神奇的上帝揀選傅油，權利競爭，戰爭，流亡時對amalakites冷血屠殺，對手下Uriah背叛，奸詐，與拔示巴的姦情，女兒的強姦，對兒子們橫行霸道無動於衷，對篡位的Absalome的愛恨交織。他是一個缺陷多得不得了的一個人，他犯錯悔改，又犯錯又悔改，卻對上帝不離不棄。David Wolpe 拉比把這個人物分析得很有趣。我覺得這本可以跟Geraldine Brook 的歷史小說Secret Chord 一起閱讀。
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 15, 2021
Wolpe provides a strong and well written analysis of the David story looking at the character of David. The text contains many citations from Rabbinical literature and pop culture. Less a biography and more of a narrative and character analysis of the texts of 1 and 2 Samuel.
February 8, 2019
Outstanding summary and analysis in clear prose. Loved reading this and referring back to it in the context of broader Bible study.
April 7, 2019
For me, it read like a term paper or a text, which occasionally held my interest. I should've taken notes to follow the family names. If you read it, do work up family trees to better follow.
March 7, 2020
Very interesting book on the humanness of David
August 26, 2021
Very enjoyable. Explores the complex nature of King David.
January 18, 2016
Wolpe's biography is an enlightening read, but the writing collapses in many places, more and more as the book progresses. I know it is evidence of poor editing - his editors do not know what they should know about written English. However, it undermines the confidence I feel in the work. If Wolpe makes mistakes I can easily recognize, what mistakes has he made that I'm not aware of? How can I really trust what he says? It's also highly disturbing to me that this book is part of a Yale series on great Jewish lives. This fact means Yale editors - Yale! - did not review the proof, possibly not even the manuscript, before they published the book. It says they don't really care, but just want to get the book out there, add something -anything - to the series, which is worse than slop - it's bad ethics.
October 2, 2014
King David was, to say the least, a very complicated person. He was a poet, warrior, leader, uniter of the two kingdoms, returner of the ark to Jerusalem, wife stealer, murderer, fugitive, and seriously deficient father, just to name a few of his attributes. There have been many books exploring the king's complex character and personality. This highly readable book gives wonderful insight into this truly extraordinary biblical figure. The author is a congressional rabbi whose sermons are as spellbinding as this lovely book.
April 8, 2015
It was a pretty thorough biography, faithful to the biblical text. I disagreed, however, with Wolpe's premise that David's heart was divided. Wolpe claims David was sensitive & compassionate listener; I think he used the people in his lives & discarded them when they were no longer useful to him, particularly the women. The evidence Wolpe brings to support his claims can easily be interpreted to suggest David was a narcissistic jerk and the author of the book of Samuel (and the rabbis) merely wish to exonerate him because the messiah will come from Davidic line.
December 8, 2014
This short book is a good summary of the biblical account of King David with some speculation on motivation and comments form other sources. The ultimate analytical question, why such a flawed character is so idolized in the Jewish tradition, gets surprisingly little ink.
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