The David Story

The David story may be the greatest single, in-depth character study we have inherited from antiquity, a dramatic revelation of the social, political, and family life of a tragically flawed and deeply impressive founding King of Israel. Is this history or literature, fiction or fact? Scholar Robert Alter, who does not hesitate to compare the author of this story to the likes of Shakespeare, Tolstoy, and Dickens, lifts the veil on this text with his sparkling new English translation that one reviewer called “a literary landmark.” Lust, power, friendship, and a desperate flight from the angel of death—nothing human is omitted in this foundational narrative of the Hebrew Bible.