I didn’t expect II Samuel to be quite so interesting…and
topical, but then, any Bible study always seems to end up being compellingly relevant.
Today I was reading SAM,
the alumni magazine for Sydney University (my husband did his Master’s degree
there), and came across a piece about Australian author and 2006 Pulitzer Prize
winner (for fiction), Geraldine Brooks. It transpires that although she now
resides in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, she is in Australia this month for
her annual visit to family and to promote her latest historical novel The Secret Chord (published by Hachette).
And which famous Biblical character do you suspect is the
central character in The Secret Chord?
It’s none other than King David, who
we’ve been getting to know in the course of our reading this month. I am sure
readers of this blog will be interested to chase up a copy for themselves (and
your editor hopes she can find a bookstore in Malaysia that might have a copy).
In the SAM
interview, Ms Brooks is quoted as saying “I am bound to the facts as far as I
can know them. In this case, I was surprised to discover that in 1000 BC they
did not ride horses. It felt odd having a king like David ride a mule, but I
couldn’t lie.”
I will be interested to hear from readers who manage to read
the book.
In the meantime, I wonder why David took so many wives plus concubines. My internet is patchy
here, so I haven’t been able to do any research.
Julie Swannell
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