King David, The Beloved Villain - Or, What Does it Mean to be Chosen?

King David, The Beloved Villain - Or, What Does it Mean to be Chosen?
Dr. Benjamin D. Sommer SIJ/file
King David, The Beloved Villain - Or, What Does it Mean to be Chosen?
Dr. Benjamin D. Sommer SIJ/file

King David, The Beloved Villain - Or, What Does it Mean to be Chosen?

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The Bible seems to be of two minds regarding the first successful king of the Israelites. On the one hand, King David was a mighty warrior, a skilled musician, a sensitive poet, and a faithful servant of his God. Yet the Bible also depicts him as a sinner, a corrupt leader, a sinister politician, and a terrible father. In this lecture Dr. Benjamin D. Sommer examines this conflicted picture and its connection with central themes of Judaism.

Dr. Benjamin D. Sommer is Professor in the Department of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He was previously Director of the Crown Family Center for Jewish Studies at Northwestern University and has been a visiting faculty member at Hebrew University, the Shalom Hartman Institute, and University of Chicago.

Recorded Sunday, July 11, 2010 at the Spertus Institute for Jewish Studies.