Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

Part 1: The Genealogies 13

1. The Genealogies 15

Part 2: The Reign of David 41

2. David’s Reign from Election to Dynastic Promise 45

3. David’s Reign from the Census to the Selection of the Temple Site 63

4. David’s Reign from His Preparations for the Temple to His Death 82

Part 3: The Reigns of Solomon and the Kings of Judah 103

5. The Reigns of Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijah, and Asa 107

6. The Reigns of Jehoshaphat, Joash, Uzziah, and Ahaz 129

7. The Reigns of Hezekiah, Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah 148

8. The Reign of Manasseh 166

Coda A 187

Coda B 190

Glossary of Names and Terms 193

Abbreviations 201

Bibliography 203

Author Index 219

Scriptural Index 223

Subject Index 231

About the Author

Blaire A. French is an adjunct lecturer in Biblical Hebrew at the University of Virginia, USA. She holds a doctorate in Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity from the University of Virginia. She is the author of The Ticking Tenure Clock: An Academic Novel (1998) and The Presidential Press Conference: Its History and Role in the American Political System (1982).