Reference: Government
Hastings
The purpose of this article will be to sketch in outline the forms of government among the Hebrews at successive periods of their history. The indications are in many cases vague, and it is impossible to reconstruct the complete system; at no period was there a definitely conceived, still less a written, constitution in the modern sense. For fuller details reference should be made throughout to the separate articles on the officials, etc., mentioned.
We may at once set aside Legislation, one of the most important departments of government as now understood. In ancient communities, law rested on Divine command and immemorial custom, and could as a rule be altered only by 'fictions.' The idea of avowedly new legislation to meet fresh circumstances was foreign to early modes of thought. At no period do we find a legislative body in the Bible. Grote's dictum that 'The human king on earth is not a lawmaker, but a judge,' applies to all the Biblical forms of government. The main functions of government were judicial, military, and at later periods financial, and to a limited extent administrative.
1. During the nomadic or patriarchal age the unit is the family or clan, and, for certain purposes, the tribe. The head of the house, owing to his position and experience, was the supreme ruler and judge, in fact the only permanent official. He had undisputed authority within his family group (Ge 22; 38:24; De 21:13; Jg 11:34). Heads of families make agreements with one another and settle quarrels among their dependents (Ge 21:22; 31:45); the only sanction to which they can appeal is the Divine justice which 'watches' between them (Ge 31:49,53; 49:7). Their hold over the individual lay in the fact that to disobey was to become an outlaw; and to be an outcast from the tribe was to be without protector or avenger. The heads of families combined form, in a somewhat more advanced stage, the 'elders' (Ex 3:15; 18:21; Nu 22:7); and sometimes, particularly in time of war, there is a single chief for the whole tribe. Moses is an extreme instance of this, and we can see that his position was felt to be unusual (Ex 2:14; 4:1; Nu 16). It was undefined, and rested on his personal influence, backed by the Divine sanction, which, as his followers realized, had marked him out. This enables him to nominate Joshua as his successor.
2. The period of the 'Judges' marks a higher stage; at the same time, as a period of transition it appeared rightly to later generations as a time of lawlessness. The name 'Judges,' though including the notion of champion or deliverer, points to the fact that their chief function was judicial. The position was not hereditary, thus differing from that of king (Jg 9 ff. Gideon and Abimelech), though Samuel is able to delegate his authority to his sons (1Sa 8:1). Their status was gained by personal exploits, implying Divine sanction, which was sometimes expressed in other ways; e.g. gift of prophecy (Deborah, Samuel). Their power rested on the moral authority of the strong man, and, though sometimes extending over several tribes, was probably never national. During this period the nomadic tribe gives way to the local; ties of place are more important than ties of birth. A town holds together its neighbouring villages ('daughters'), as able to give them protection (Nu 21:25,32; Jos 17:11). The elders become the 'elders of the city'; Jg 8:6,14,18 mentions officials (s
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At that time Abimelech, with Phicol the commander of his army, said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do.
So Jacob picked out a stone and set it up as a marker.
and [also] Mizpah, for he said, "May the Lord watch between you and me when we are out of each other's sight.
The God of Abraham, and the gods of Nahor-the gods of their father-will judge between us." And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.
Their anger is cursed, for it is strong, and their fury, for it is cruel! I will disperse them throughout Jacob and scatter them throughout Israel.
"Who made you a leader and judge over us?" the man replied. "Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses became afraid and thought: What I did is certainly known.
God also said to Moses, "Say this to the Israelites: Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.
Then Moses answered, "What if they won't believe me and will not obey me but say, 'The Lord did not appear to you'?"
Moses said to Joshua, "Select some men for us, and go fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with God's staff in my hand."
Moses replied to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God.
Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and God be with you. You be the one to represent the people before God and bring their cases to Him.
But you should select from all the people able men, God-fearing, trustworthy, and hating bribes. Place [them] over the people as officials of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.
Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
his master is to bring him to the judges and then bring him to the door or doorpost. His master must pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve his master for life.
If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house must present himself to the judges to determine whether or not he has taken his neighbor's property.
Israel took all the cities and lived in all these Amorite cities, including Heshbon and all its villages.
After Moses sent spies to Jazer, Israel captured its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.
The elders of Moab and Midian departed with fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and reported Balak's words to him.
"Appoint judges and officials for your tribes in all your towns the Lord your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.
"If a case is too difficult for you-concerning bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults-cases disputed at your gates, you must go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Ask, and they will give you a verdict in the case. read more. You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place the Lord chooses. Be careful to do exactly as they instruct you. You must abide by the instruction they give you and the verdict they announce to you. Do not turn to the right or the left from the decision they declare to you. The person who acts arrogantly, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there serving the Lord your God or to the judge, must die. You must purge the evil from Israel. Then all the people will hear [about it], be afraid, and no longer behave arrogantly. "When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, take possession of it, live in it, and say, 'We want to appoint a king over us like all the nations around us,'
the elders of his city must send [for him], take him from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood and he will die.
You must not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.
remove the clothes she was wearing when she was taken prisoner, live in your house, and mourn for her father and mother a full month. After that, you may have sexual relations with her and be her husband, and she will be your wife.
the young woman's father and mother will take the evidence of her virginity and bring [it] to the city elders at the gate.
Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean with its towns, Ibleam with its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor with its towns; the inhabitants of En-dor with its towns, the inhabitants of Taanach with its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo with its towns-the three [cities] of Naphath.
But the princes of Succoth asked, "Are Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hands that we should give bread to your army?"
He captured a youth from the men of Succoth and interrogated him. The youth wrote down for him the [names of the] 77 princes and elders of Succoth.
He asked Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?" "They were like you," they said. "Each resembled the son of a king."
When the Ammonites made war with Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.
When Jephthah went to his home in Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no other son or daughter besides her.
Then we'll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us, and fight our battles."
But some wicked men said, "How can this guy save us?" They despised him and did not bring him a gift, but Saul said nothing.
Then the king ordered the guards standing by him, "Turn and kill the priests of the Lord because they sided with David. For they knew he was fleeing, but they didn't tell me." But the king's servants would not lift a hand to execute the priests of the Lord.
Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was court historian;
He would get up early and stand beside the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone had a grievance to bring before the king for settlement, Absalom called out to him and asked, "What city are you from?" If he replied, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel,"
King David sent word to the priests, Zadok and Abiathar: "Say to the elders of Judah, 'Why should you be the last to restore the king to his palace? The talk of all Israel has reached the king at his house.
Then King Solomon drafted forced laborers from all Israel; the labor force numbered 30,000 men.
besides what came from merchants, traders' merchandise, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land.
Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and Kue. The king's traders bought them from Kue at the going price. A chariot was imported from Egypt for 15 pounds [of silver], and a horse for about four pounds. In the same way, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram through their agents.
Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon when he was alive, asking, "How do you advise me to respond to these people?"
So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal. She sent the letters to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city.
The men of his city, the elders and nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had commanded them, as was written in the letters she had sent them.
So the king said to Hazael, "Take a gift with you and go meet the man of God. Inquire of the Lord through him, 'Will I recover from this sickness?' "
Then, in the seventh year, Jehoiada sent [messengers] and brought in the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, and the guards. He had them come to him in the Lord's temple, where he made a covenant with them and put them under oath. He showed them the king's son
Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord, the king, and the people that they would be the Lord's people and [another one] between the king and the people.
Then all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was 16 years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.
So Hezekiah gave [him] all the silver found in the Lord's temple and in the treasuries of the king's palace.
Then the common people executed all those who had conspired against King Amon and made his son Josiah king in his place.
"Of these," [David said], "24,000 are to be in charge of the work on the Lord's temple, 6,000 are to be officers and judges
From the Izrahites: Chenaniah and his sons had the outside duties as officers and judges over Israel.
He appointed judges in all the fortified cities of the land of Judah, city by city. Then he said to the judges, "Consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the matter of judgment. read more. And now, may the terror of the Lord be on you. Watch what you do, for there is no injustice or partiality or taking bribes with the Lord our God." Jehoshaphat also appointed in Jerusalem some of the Levites and priests and some of the heads of the Israelite families for [rendering] the Lord's judgments and for [settling] disputes of the residents of Jerusalem. He commanded them, saying, "In the fear of the Lord, with integrity, and with a whole heart, you are to do the following: for every dispute that comes to you from your brothers who dwell in their cities-whether it regards differences of bloodguilt, law, commandment, statutes, or judgments-you are to warn them, so they will not incur guilt before the Lord and wrath will not come on you and your brothers. Do this, and you will not incur guilt. "Note that Amariah, the chief priest, is over you in all matters related to the Lord, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all matters related to the king, and the Levites are officers in your presence. Be strong; may the Lord be with those who do what is good."
At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues came to the Jews and asked, "Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure?"
So we questioned the elders and asked, "Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure?"
Leave the construction of this house of God alone. Let the governor and elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its [original] site.
Whoever did not come within three days would forfeit all his possessions, according to the decision of the leaders and elders, and would be excluded from the assembly of the exiles.
Let our leaders represent the entire assembly. Then let all those in our towns who have married foreign women come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of each town, in order to avert the fierce anger of our God concerning this matter."
The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, for I had not yet told the Jews, priests, nobles, officials, or the rest of those who would be doing the work.
Furthermore, from the day King Artaxerxes appointed me to be their governor in the land of Judah-from the twentieth year until his thirty-second year, 12 years-I and my associates never ate from the food allotted to the governor.
Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, of the descendants of Zerah son of Judah, was the king's agent in every matter concerning the people.
These also stagger because of wine and stumble under the influence of beer: priest and prophet stagger because of beer, they are confused by wine. They stumble because of beer, they are muddled in [their] visions, they stumble in [their] judgments.
Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah had urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.
In the sixth year, in the sixth [month], on the fifth [day] of the month, I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting in front of me, and there the hand of the Lord God came down on me.
In the seventh year, in the fifth [month], on the tenth [day] of the month, some of Israel's elders came to consult the Lord, and they sat down in front of me.
"In a dispute, they will officiate as judges and decide the case according to My ordinances. They must observe My laws and statutes regarding all My appointed festivals, and keep My Sabbaths holy.
A lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who will not prophesy?
Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan who are on the hill of Samaria, women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to their husbands, "Bring us something to drink."
I gave you absolutely nothing to eat in all your cities, a shortage of food in all your communities, yet you did not return to Me- the Lord's declaration.
The Lord God showed me this: He was forming a swarm of locusts at the time the spring crop first began to sprout-after the cutting of the king's hay.
But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Fool!' will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, 'You moron!' will be subject to hellfire.
And God has placed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, next, miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, managing, various kinds of languages.