With Skilful Hand: The Story of King David (McGill-Queen’s Studies in the Hist of Re)

by David T. Barnard

Zadok has always served God. A scribe, codifier, keeper of records in the storerooms of the temple precincts where the tithes, offerings, and temple articles are kept, among his most cherished documents are a bundle of letters, personal journal entries, and fragments of formal records, over six hundred years old and absent from the official record, that belonged to King David. In old age, widowed and alone, and with diminished responsibilities at the temple, he turns to these documents, arranging them chronologically to paint an intimate portrait of Israel's most revered king. In doing so Zadok gains a fuller understanding of this complicated and compelling man - a man who walked with God - and through him an assurance that his own choice to serve God has been worthwhile.

216 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2004

Reviews

[Rozonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A historian turns his data into a epistolary novel about King David and his life. Very readable, it doesn't try to solve the puzzles of the monarch's life but it does build a believable portrait of him as a warrior and poet.