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.

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 Religion Author 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.

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.