Synopsis:
A group of authors led by Shaphan, King Josiah's secretary, wrote some three hundred chapters of Scripture--one-third of the Hebrew Bible. For the first time ever, we can learn the names of those who composed Joshua, Isaiah, Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Songs, Daniel, and half the Minor Prophets. (Probabilities throughout the book strongly support these findings.) Moreover, those authors together constitute Dtr, the long-sought editors of Deuteronomy through Second Kings. One of the most important discoveries of The Shaphan Group is that Huldah the prophetess signed many chapters of Hebrew Scripture. Judged from her use of coded writing, Huldah was arguably the most accomplished writer among the group's fifteen authors. She was joined by the Priestly Source and Second Isaiah (both of whom are named), as well as others--unrecognized until now--who risked their lives to shape the Hebrew Bible. The Shaphan Group offers students of whatever age, not only a book full of discoveries, but also a new way to approach Holy Scripture.
Endorsement:
"In The Shaphan Group, his third book on the subject, Kavanagh offers up another provocative exploration of coding within the Tanakh. There is much here that will inform new understandings of biblical texts and confound conventional scholars. Reading Kavanagh is always an exciting and illuminating experience."
-Jeff Levin
Institute for Studies of Religion, Baylor University
Editor of Divine Love: Perspectives from the World's Religious Traditions
Author Biography:
Twenty-four years ago, Preston Kavanagh retired from an executive position in a large company in order to seek the identities of those who wrote the Hebrew Bible. The Shaphan Group discusses what he found, as do his two prior books--Secrets of the Jewish Exile (2005) and The Exilic Code (Pickwick Publications, 2009). He and his wife, Lois, live quietly in Maryland.
