Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel#
Isaac Kalimi#
In this detailed study, Prof. Isaac Kalimi offers comprehensive literary and historical-critical reading of the biblical texts which deal with the reign and person of Solomon.
Solomon’s image as a wise king and the founder of Jerusalem Temple has become a fixture of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic literature. Yet, there are essential differences between the portraits of Solomon that are presented in the Hebrew Bible. In this volume, Isaac Kalimi explores these differences, which reflect divergent historical contexts, theological and didactic
concepts, stylistic and literary techniques, and compositional methods among the biblical historians. He highlights the uniqueness of each portrayal of Solomon - his character, birth, early life, ascension, and
temple-building - through a close comparison of the early and late biblical historiographies. Whereas the authors of Samuel-Kings stay closely to their sources and offer an apology for Solomon’s kingship, including its more questionable aspects, the Chronicler freely rewrites his sources in order to present the life of Solomon as he wished it to be. The volume will serve
scholars and students seeking to understand biblical texts within their ancient Near Eastern contexts.
Online ISBN:9781108558235
Publication date: 2018
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
About the author#
Isaac Kalimi is Research Professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament studies and Ancient Israelite history (emeritus) at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany and a member of the Philosophy, Theology and Religous Studies section of Academia Europaea since 2020. His scholarly output has been prodigious and has encompassed a wide variety of fields. He is author of numerous books and articles, including The Reshaping of Ancient Israelite History in Chronicles (2005, reprinted 2012; R. B. Y. Scott Book Award of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies 2006); An Ancient Israelite Historian (2005); The Retelling of Chronicles in Jewish Tradition and Literature (2009); Fighting over the Bible (2017); Metathesis in the Hebrew Bible (2018); Untersuchungen zur Jüdischen Schriftauslegung und Theologie (2018; Franz Delitzsch Prize 2019); and Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel (2018).
