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What is the most comprehensive book ever compiled on his life, writings, persona and historical events, either in Hebrew or English from a scholarly and spiritual perspective?

Harel13
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JSarai
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  • There are mountains of research on David and his writings, I doubt it could all fit into one book, but I'd be happy to see if anyone has suggestions. – Harel13 May 24 '21 at 08:32
  • https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=King+David – wfb May 25 '21 at 02:11

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I'm also not aware of any comprehensive book about Dovid Hamelech. However you'll find quite a treasure at the fantastic online encyclopedia of Jewish Thought "Aspaklaria" which you'll find here http://www.aspaklaria.info/

Imanonov
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Asking for “the most comprehensive book ever” on King David; is probably using hyperbolic superlatives. However I have found the following work to be helpful.

See the book (Hebrew) “Otzar Ishei HaTanach” [אוצר אישי התנ"ך], by Rabbi Yisrael Yitzchak (initials: יש"י) Chassidah.

The book is a kind of encyclopedia, based on the order of the Alphabet, and to my knowledge, is the most comprehensive compendium of all the words of Chazal in Shas and Midrashim regarding the different personalities mentioned in the Tanach (Hebrew Bible).

Regarding David Hamelech, he has 28 different distinct areas of elaboration, as follows:

א. לידתו. ב. רועה. ג. אישיותו. ד. נביא. ה. צדיק. ו. עניו. ז. שומר מצוה. ח. מתפלל. ט. תורה. י. תהלים. יא. נשיו. יב. זרעו. יג. עם שאול. יד. שאר שונאיו. טו. גלית. טז. בית המקדש. יז. העלאת הארון. יח. מלך. יט. שופט. כ. לוחם ומושל. כא. גבוריו. כב. בת שבע ואוריה. כג. תשובה. כד. אבשלום. כה. צרותיו. כו. המגפה. כז. דורו. כח. מיתתו.

The book is available for purchase, in stores, and on-line.

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IsraelReader
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  • Approximately how many pages does this work have on King David? I'd guess it's under 10. Surely there are other books with more than 10 pages dedicated to King David's life – Double AA May 24 '21 at 15:57
  • @DoubleAA The book devotes 28 pages to the various aspects of David Hamelech’s life, and to my knowledge, represents the most comprehensive compendium of the words of Chazal, on the subject. The readers are then able to pursue their research, in the areas that are of particular interest to them, and pontificate as it suits them, all on the basis of the words of Chazal. – IsraelReader May 24 '21 at 22:37
  • I'm not saying the 28 sections are useless, just it doesn't seem to come anywhere close to what was being sought. Even if no can identify the literal most comprehensive book ever, this doesn't seem like even a reasonable estimation. This is bekius when it seems like the OP wanted iyun. – Double AA May 25 '21 at 02:13
  • @DoubleAA Correction: There are only 24 pages (not 28). I'll leave it to the reader to decide if they want comprehensive "bekius" in Chazal's words, or if they're looking for something else. – IsraelReader May 25 '21 at 13:08