This book presents a new thesis on the history of Israel: David was originally king of Judah, not of Israel.
Jacob L. Wright Books
Jacob L. Wright is a renowned scholar of the Hebrew Bible, adept at weaving together historical, religious, and geographical perspectives. His work is profoundly interdisciplinary, demonstrating how biblical ideas resonate with and inform central problems facing modern societies. With firsthand familiarity with archaeological finds and ancient primary sources from Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece, he brings a distinctive depth to his scholarship. His research explores a wide array of topics, from social life in ancient Israel to the formation of biblical writings, showcasing an approach recognized with significant scholarly distinction.
Rebuilding identity
- 372 pages
- 14 hours of reading
This monograph presents a fresh and detailed treatment of the problems posed by the Nehemiah-Memoir. Starting from the pre-critical interpretations of Ezra-Neh, the study demonstrates that the use of the first-person does not suffice as a criterion for distinguishing between the verba Neemiae and the additions of later authors. The earliest edition of the Memoir isconfined to a building report, which was expanded as early generations of readers developed the implications of Nehemiah's accomplishments for the consolidation and centralization of Judah. The expansions occasioned in turn the composition of the history of the „Restoration“ in Ezra-Neh.
Demonstrating how the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible represents the first, and one of the most elaborate, projects of 'peoplehood,' Wright tells the dramatic story of the Bible's origins in relation to 1) a longstanding political division between North and South (Israel and Judah) and 2) the traumatic experience of defeat.