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Solomon
The Lure of Wisdom
Series: Jewish Lives
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Check link for latest rating. ( 37 ratings, 5 reviews)
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Solomon
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
This book will interest readers of religion and spirituality, biblical history, and Jewish studies, as well as those fascinated by the cultural and philosophical legacy of ancient figures. Scholars, theology students, and anyone curious about the intersections of faith, wisdom, and history will find it compelling.
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? Filled with the Solomonic texts of the Bible, along with lesser known magical texts and other writings, this title challenges both religious and secular assumptions.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
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Description
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 colourful 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 biographies 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
Series: Jewish Lives
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Praised by Robert Alter as a "deeply human" and intellectually distinguished work, Weitzman's biography is recognised for its insightful meditation on the pursuit of unattainable knowledge embodied by Solomon. Reviews highlight its entertaining treatment of a complex subject (Publishers Weekly) and its nuanced capture of the ambivalence surrounding wisdom and knowledge in Western thought (Eve Levavi Feinstein, Jewish Ideas Daily). Sandee Brawarsky of Jewish Week notes its fresh perspective on Solomon's life and significance to multiple faiths.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780300137187
Publisher: Yale University Press
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 29 March 2011
Country: United States
Imprint: Yale University Press
Illustration: 4 b-w illus.
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 22.0mm
Width: 146.0mm
Height: 210.0mm
Weight: 454g
Pages: 240
About the Author
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.
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