Solomon : the lure of wisdom / Steven Weitzman.

ISBN:

9780300171679

Title:

Author:

Weitzman, Steven, 1965-

Personal Author:

Weitzman, Steven, 1965-

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxviii, 197 pages) : illustrations.

Series:

Jewish lives

Jewish lives (New Haven, Conn.)

Contents:

A life in letters -- A lust for knowledge -- Succession struggles -- Solomonic judgments -- Sacred books, satanic verses -- The King of kings -- Building heaven on earth -- Mining for Solomon's gold -- Difficult questions from a dubious queen -- A thousand and one sex scandals -- Afterthoughts.

Local Note:

eBooks on EBSCOhost

Personal Subject:

Solomon, King of Israel.

Solomon, King of Israel. (OCoLC)fst00050906

Title Subject:

Bible. Old Testament -- Biography.

Bible. Old Testament. (OCoLC)fst01808092

Subject Term:

Jews -- Kings and rulers -- Biography.

BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- Religious.

RELIGION -- Biblical Studies -- Old Testament.

BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- Royalty.

Jews -- Kings and rulers. (OCoLC)fst00983293

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

http://ezproxy.angliss.edu.au/login?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&AN=360686

Publication Date:

2011

Publication Information:

[New Haven, Connecticut] :

Yale University Press,

[2011]

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
222.53092 22	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, an intriguing and unconventional biography about one of the Bible's most elusive figures

Tradition has it that King Solomon knew everything there was to know--the mysteries of nature, of love, of God himself--but what do we know of him? Esteemed biblical scholar Steven Weitzman reintroduces readers to Solomon's story and its surprising influence in shaping Western culture, and he also examines what Solomon's life, wisdom, and writings have come to mean for Jews, Christians, and Muslims over the past two thousand years.

Weitzman's Solomon is populated by a colorful cast of ambitious characters--Byzantine emperors, explorers, rabbis, saints, scientists, poets, archaeologists, trial judges, reggae singers, and moviemakers among them--whose common goal is to unearth the truth about Solomon's life and wisdom. Filled with the Solomonic texts of the Bible, along with lesser-known magical texts and other writings, this book challenges both religious and secular assumptions. Even as it seeks to tell the story of ancient Israel's greatest ruler, this insightful book is also a meditation on the Solomonic desire to know all of life's secrets, and on the role of this desire in world history.

About Jewish Lives:

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 Lives:

"Excellent." -New York Times

"Exemplary." -Wall Street Journal

"Distinguished." -New Yorker

"Superb." -The Guardian

Author Notes

Steven Weitzman is the Daniel E. Koshland Professor of Jewish Culture and Religion at Stanford University. He was awarded the Gustave O. Arlt Prize for Outstanding Scholarship in the Humanities for his first book, Song and Story in Biblical Narrative , and has received fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Yad-Hadiv Foundation. His other books include Surviving Sacrilege and The Jews: A History .

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Weitzman (Surviving Sacrilege: Cultural Persistence in Jewish Antiquity) writes in the tradition of critical biblical scholarship with great eclat, which makes his latest effort something of a demolition derby. This is illustrated well by the most familiar story told of King Solomon, finding him judging two women who are vying for the same baby, a sword suspended above it. In some versions of the Bible, a second, dead child exists, "accidentally smothered by its mother and scarcely acknowledged after its death." Likewise, recent archaeological research has not only debunked what was thought to be evidence of the king's construction projects, including his Temple, but also his Kingdom, once thought to be vast. This kind of brush clearing opens the way for a tour de force evaluation of Solomon's wisdom-both the practical mastery which brought him to political power and the wisdom which God granted him while he slept-a trait that the biblical narrative does "not explain or describe...but only shows in action, leaving us awestruck and puzzled," Claims Weitzman. His effort is organized through successive tales-Solomon's Kingdom, his Temple, and so on-clearly illustrating the many cultures, including Islam, Rome, and medieval Catholicism, that contributed, creating a foundation story for our culture. A thoroughly entertaining treatment of a controversial topic. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Who was Solomon? Even the Old Testament, hardly a foolproof historical source, presents a contradictory picture of him. Wise, temperate, and a lover of God, he is also seen as lustful, petty, and prone to idolatry. To his credit, Weitzman, professor of Jewish culture and religion at Stanford, makes no claim to have unearthed the real Solomon. Instead, he has written an unauthorized biography, which tells as much about various perceptions of Solomon over centuries as it does about Solomon himself. Of course, Weitzman does trace the key events of Solomon's life, relying on the biblical text and a few other speculative accounts. After all, Solomon's life, loves, and fall from grace are the stuff of a great melodrama and provide strong moral lessons. Still, as Weitzman acknowledges, a true understanding of the historical Solomon is beyond our grasp, but the author's speculations and his examination of other historical views of the man offer intriguing food for thought.--Freeman, Jay Copyright 2010 Booklist

Choice Review

Among the subjects of Yale's "Jewish Lives" series, King Solomon is strange company for the likes of Moses Mendelssohn, Emma Goldman, and Hank Greenberg. For someone whose biographical details can be discerned only through the contentious literary source the Hebrew Bible, the biblical king is at least as much a literary character and folkloric hero as a real man. But Weitzman (Stanford; Surviving Sacrilege, CH, Apr'06, 43-4850) is exceedingly aware of the methodological difficulties. He applies his expertise in biblical, rabbinic, and early Christian and Muslim traditions to compile a biography of Solomon as known through disparate legends over the centuries, right up to modern, pop-cultural perspectives. Weitzman approaches his subject with levity and erudition, balancing his interpretive views between religious lore and secular scholarship in a voice that laypeople and scholars alike can appreciate. With this short biography of King Solomon, the author presents readers with a modest test case for research into the interpretations of biblical figures from their roots in ancient tradition to modern incarnations. Although the text is not annotated, with its rich bibliography and comprehensive index, the volume could serve as a useful preliminary reference. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. S. H. Werlin University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill