Huldah

Synopsis:This book reveals--for the first time ever--the extraordinary impact of Huldah the prophet on our Bible. She was both a leader of exilic Jews and a principal author of Hebrew Scripture. She penned the Shema: the ardent, prayerful praise that millions of worshipers repeat twice daily. Moreover, Jesus quoted as his own last words the ones that Huldah had written centuries before--'Into your hand I commit my spirit.' Huldah was an extraordinary writer--arguably she ranks among the best in Hebrew Scripture. As such, she added to God’s Word a feminine aspect that has inspired numberless believers--men and women alike. This book’s new techniques reveal that though subjected to extreme verbal abuse, Huldah surmounted her era’s high barriers to women. As elder, queen mother, and war leader during the sixth century BCE, she helped shape Israel’s history. And what, then, can this book mean to scholars--both women and men? Feminists need a rallying point and a heroine, and Huldah makes a superb one. In years ahead, experts might well place Huldah alongside the very greatest women of antiquity; indeed, they may even conclude that she is among the most influential people in human history.Endorsements:'Kavanagh’s latest book is another fascinating and creative recasting of biblical narratives. His writing is precise and lucid and his analyses are unlike anyone else’s, combining biblical scholarship, mathematical statistics, and a deep reading of Jewish canonical and literary sources, including esoteric material. Provocative and richly documented, Huldah will be well received by anyone who has followed Kavanagh’s previous research and writing.'--Jeff Levin, University Professor and Director of the Program on Religion and Population Health, Baylor Institute for Studies of ReligionAuthor Biography:Preston Kavanagh holds degrees from Princeton and Harvard. He retired twenty-five years ago from an executive position in a large company to seek the identities of those who wrote the Hebrew Bible. Huldah discusses what he has found, as do several prior books--Secrets of the Jewish Exile (2005), The Exilic Code (Pickwick Publications, 2009), and The Shaphan Group (Pickwick Publications, 2011). He and his wife, Lois, live quietly in Maryland.