King David, an Unauthorized Biography

The life of David, shepherd, psalmist, and king, has inspired the creativity of all kinds of artists. Poets, playwrights, novelists, essayists, and sculptors have seen in the figure of David an ideal character to study and explore, expose and analyze, update and describe, draw and sculpt... Biographies, novels, films, and musical oratorios have recounted his deeds, his virtues, and his mistakes. The brushes of Caravaggio, Poussin, and Rembrandt were entranced trying to capture the peculiarities of his personality on canvas. The chisels of Donatello, Verrocchio, Bernini, and especially Michelangelo, reached their maximum inspiration moved by his physical beauty. The biographical books and commentaries written in various languages from a Christian perspective would not fit in a single library. And one wonders, is there anything more to add?

Although David has generated much artistic creativity throughout history, both visual and literary, sober and analytical scientific biographies about him are not abundant. In Spanish, one can find homiletic and spiritual works, oriented towards devotion, but which do not address the historical difficulties, ethical challenges, and theological complexities related to the character. They explore, explain, and update some pleasant facets of his life; however, in reference to the man who commits adultery, and who, to cover up his sin, is capable of murdering a loyal and dedicated ally and friend, there are not many studies. It is not surprising, therefore, that Dr. Angel Velez, Director of the School of Theology at the University of Puerto Rico, categorically states: "We have not had access, for the moment, to many texts that offer a greater amount of data or have worked with greater rigor the number of sources concerning David than this work by Dr. Pagán."

The purpose of this book, –in the author's own words– is: "To explore the complexities of David, his aspirations, projects, and triumphs, along with his defeats, anxieties, and sins, beyond the 'sweet singer of Israel.' We do not intend to present a pious and consecrated David, but rather the man full of conflicts and uncertainties." The author's objective is to identify the human David of yesterday with the problems of the human reader of today; and to demonstrate how a character as complex and contradictory, full of achievements and limitations, virtues and defects, as David, can, in God's hands, become an ideal figure, an emblematic character, a good model for subsequent generations, a messianic figure.

The effort made by the author has been gigantic, if we take into account the difficulties of accessing documentation related to this singular and enigmatic character, outside of biblical sources. But the masterful analysis of biblical narratives, combined with critical evaluations of information from archaeology, clearly demonstrates the author's academic skills, who has achieved an exemplary text that combines the demanding requirements of academic scholarship with a clear and transparent style, new exegetical and hermeneutical research with generous literary clarity.