Zadok has always served God. A scribe, codifier, keeper of records in the storerooms of the temple precincts where the tithes, offerings, and temple articles are kept, among his most cherished documents are a bundle of letters, personal journal entries, and fragments of formal records, over six hundred years old and absent from the official record, that belonged to King David. In old age, widowed and alone, and with diminished responsibilities at the temple, he turns to these documents, arranging them chronologically to paint an intimate portrait of Israel's most revered king. In doing so...