Kirjahaku

David’s Successors: Kingship in the Old Testament argues for a new reading of kingship in the Old Testament. Rather than presenting the kings as monsters—with the occasional angelic ruler—this study seeks a more nuanced version of kingship. This book considers the original concept and context of kingship before concentrating on five kings in particular: Jeroboam, Ahab, Hezekiah, Manasseh, and Josiah. Much contemporary scholarship is concerned with the reconceptualization and recontextualization of kingship that hearkens from a negative perspective on kingship, but this book will fully consider the positive and original vision of kingship. This book is ultimately rooted in a hopeful and joyful view of humanity as found in the Psalms, Sirach, and the Chronicles.

The Old Testament often presents Egypt as a place of bondage, but the picture is not monolithic. Upon closer examination, one can argue that many biblical figures flee to Egypt as a place of refuge. Garrett Galvin examines biblical texts from a number of different time periods (1 Kgs 11:14-12:24; Jeremiah 46; Matt 2:13-15, 19-21) in order to highlight the importance of literary genre for understanding the phenomenon of Egypt as a place of refuge in the Old Testament. For his study of Egypt the author focuses on the broad sweep of ancient Near Eastern history through literary, historical, and textual criticism of selected texts. His aim in doing so is to draw the reader's attention to the complexity of Egypt in the Bible and to help understanding the situation of refugees in the Bible. He also highlights the evolving relationship between Israel and Egypt as well as the influence of the ancient Near East on Israel.