The establishment of monarchy in Ancient Israel: a historical and theological study of 1 Kings 7–10. Part I

Abstract

The present publication offers the reader an exegetical commentary on a passage from the Old Testament book of Kings (1 Kings 7–10), which talks about the Israelites demand “to appoint a king” as the ruler of the people, replacing thereby the previous institute of judges and turning the theocracy into a monarchy. The author of the publication describes the situation in which the Israeli people where, when they asked the last a judge, Samuel to appoint a king, and compares it with the situation in Mesopotamia and in general in the Ancient East where the imperial tradition had a long history and was considered sacred. The author sees as one of the most important reasons for desiring a change of the form of government, in addition to solving safety issues and improving society, the attitude toward imperial power in the Ancient East and Israel when the tsar was considered accountable to the highest authority – to God or gods and therefore the people felt protected from an autocracy of arbitrariness. The behavior of Ancient Israel shows on the one hand a falling away from the direct rule of God, but also a Divine Providence, which has directed the further development of the oppressed Israeli peoples’ strong state institutes and the preservation of its identity.