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
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And it happened [that] at that time, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, "God [is] with you, in all that you do.
And Jacob took a stone and set it up [as] a stone pillar.
and Mizpah, because he said, "Yahweh watch between me and you when {we are out of sight of each other}.
May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father judge between us." Then Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.
Cursed be their anger, for [it is] fierce, and their wrath, for [it is] cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and I will scatter them in Israel.
And he said, "Who {appointed you as a commander} and a judge over us? [Are] you intending to kill me like you killed the Egyptian?" And Moses was afraid, and he said, "Surely the matter has become known."
And God said again to Moses, "So you must say to the {Israelites}, 'Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This [is] my name forever, and this [is] my remembrance from generation [to] generation.'
And Moses answered, and he said, "And if they do not believe me and they do not listen to my voice, but they say, 'Yahweh did not appear to you?'"
And Moses said to Joshua, "Choose men for us, and go out, fight against Amalek tomorrow. I [will be] standing on the top of the hill, and the staff of God [will be] in my hand."
Now listen to my voice; I will advise you, and may God be with you. You be for the people before God, and you bring the issues to God.
And you will select from all the people men of ability, fearers of God, trustworthy men, haters of [dishonest] gain, and you will appoint [such men] over them [as] commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, and commanders of tens.
And Moses brought the people out from the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.
his master will present him to God and bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve him forever.
If the thief is not found, the owner of the house will be brought {to the sanctuary} [to learn] whether or not he reached out his hand to his neighbor's possession.
Israel took all these cities, and Israel inhabited all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its environs.
Moses sent to explore Jaazer; they captured {its environs} and dispossessed the Amorites who [were] there.
So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian went [with] a fee for divination in their hand; they came to Balaam and spoke the words of Balak to him.
"You shall appoint judges and officials for you in all your {towns} that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you throughout your tribes, and you shall render [for] the people {righteous judgments}.
"{If a matter is too difficult for you}, [for example disputes] between blood and blood, between legal claim and legal claim and between assault and assault [and between] matters of discernment in your {towns}, then you shall get up and you shall go to the place that Yahweh your God will choose; then you shall go to the priests and the Levites and to the judge who will be [in office] in those days, and you shall enquire, and they shall announce to you {the verdict}. read more. "And {you shall carry out exactly the decision} that they announced to you from that place that Yahweh will choose, and {you shall diligently observe} according to all that they instruct you. [And so] according to {the instruction of the law} that they teach you and according to the decisions that they say to you, you shall do; you shall not turn from the word that they tell you to the right or [to the] left. And the man who treats with contempt [so as] not to listen to the priest [who] [is] standing to minister on behalf of Yahweh your God or to the judge, that man shall die; so you shall purge the evil from Israel. And all the people will hear and will be afraid, and they will not behave presumptuously again. "When you have come to that land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you and you have taken possession of it and you have settled in it, and you say, 'I will set over me a king like all the nations that [are] around me,'
then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there, and they shall give him into the hand of the avenger of blood, and he shall be put to death.
{You must show no pity}: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."
And she shall remove the clothing of her captivity from her, and she shall remain in your house, and she shall mourn her father and her mother {a full month}, and after this {you may have sex with her}, and you may marry her, and she may {become your wife}.
then [in defense] the father of the young woman shall take, along with her mother, and [together] they must bring out the [evidence of] the virginity of the young woman [to display it] to the elders of the city {at the city gate}.
In Issachar and Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean and its villages, Ibleam and its villages, the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, the inhabitants of En-dor and its villages, the inhabitants of Taanach and its villages, the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; the third is Napheth.
The officials of Succoth said, "Is the hand of Zebah and Zalmunna in your hand now, that we should give bread to your army?"
He captured a young man {from Succoth} and questioned him. [The young man] listed for him the commanders of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.
And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "What type [were] the men whom you killed at Tabor?" And they said, "{They were like you}; each [one of them] had the appearance of the sons of the king."
When the {Ammonites} made war with Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob.
Jephthah came to Mizpah, to his house, and behold his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and dancing. She [was] his only child; he did not have a son or daughter except her.
so that we {also} may be like all the nations, and our king may rule us and go out before us and fight our battles."
However, some {worthless men} said, "How can this [man] deliver us?" So they despised him and brought no gift to him, but he kept silent.
So the king said to the runners [who were] stationed around him, "Turn and kill the priests of Yahweh, because {they also support David} and because they knew that he was fleeing and {did not disclose it to me}." But the servants of the king [were] not willing to raise their hand to attack the priests of Yahweh.
Joab the son of Zeruiah [was] over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud [was] secretary.
And it happened in the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab, and he sent it by the hand of Uriah.
Absalom used to rise early in the morning, and he stood {beside} the road [at] the gate; {anyone} who had a legal dispute to bring to the king for judgment Absalom would call to him and say, "{Where are you from?}" And he would say, "Your servant [is] from one of the tribes of Israel."
Then King David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, "Speak to the elders of Judah: 'Why [are] you last to bring back the king to his house? The talk of all Israel has come to the king in his house.
Then King Solomon conscripted a forced labor from all Israel, and the forced labor [numbered] thirty thousand men.
apart from [that of] the men of the traders and the profits of the traders, and all the kings of the Arabs and the governors of the land.
The import of the horses which were Solomon's [was] from Egypt and from Kue; the traders of the king received [horses] from Kue at a price. A chariot went up and went out from Egypt at six hundred silver [shekels] and a horse at a hundred and fifty. So it was for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of Aram; by their hand they were exported.
Then King Rehoboam consulted with the old men who had been {serving} before Solomon his father when he was alive, saying, "How [are] you advising [me] {to answer this people}?"
So she wrote letters in the name of Ahab and sealed them with his seal. She sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who [were] dwelling with Naboth in his city.
The men of his city and the elders and nobles who were living in his city did according to what Jezebel had sent to them, as [was] written in the letters which she had sent to them.
Then the king said to Hazael, "Take a gift in your hand and go meet the man of God. Inquire of Yahweh from him, saying, 'Shall I recover from this illness?'"
But in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and took the commanders of the hundreds of the Carites and the runners, and he brought them to himself to the temple of Yahweh. Then he {made} a covenant with them and made them swear in the house of Yahweh and showed them the son of the king.
Then Jehoiada {made} a covenant between Yahweh and the king and the people, that the people should be as a people for Yahweh, and [also a covenant] between the king and the people.
All of the people of Judah took sixteen-year-old Azariah and made him king in place of this father Amaziah.
Then Hezekiah gave all of the silver found [in] the temple of Yahweh and in the storerooms of the house of the king.
But the people of the land killed all who conspired against the king and made Josiah his son king in his place.
Of these, [David said,] "Twenty-four thousand [are] to direct the work of the house of Yahweh, along with six thousand judges and officials
For the Izharites: Kenaniah and his sons [were appointed] to the duties outside of Israel as officials and as judges.
And he appointed judges in the land and in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city. And he said to the judges, "Consider what you are doing, for you are not judging for a man but for Yahweh. Now [he is] with you in speaking justice. read more. So now, let the fear of Yahweh be upon you all. {Be careful what you do}, for there is neither wickedness nor {showing partiality} and taking bribes with Yahweh our God." Moreover, Jehoshaphat appointed in Jerusalem some of the Levites and the priests and heads of the {families} of Israel as judges and to decide legal disputes for Yahweh. And they sat [in] Jerusalem. And he commanded them, saying, "Thus you must do in the fear of Yahweh in faithfulness and with a whole heart. Any legal dispute that comes before you from your brothers who live in their cities concerning bloodguilt, law, commandment, statutes, and justice, you must warn them, so that they do not incur guilt before Yahweh, and that wrath may not come upon you and your brothers. Thus you must do that you do not incur guilt. And behold, Amariah the chief priest [is] over you in all matters of the word of Yahweh, and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all matters of the king, and the Levites [shall be] before you [as] officials. Be strong and do [well]! May Yahweh be with the upright."
At the same time Tattenai, governor of [the province] Beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai, and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: "Who issued you all a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?"
Then we asked those elders and said this to them, 'Who issued forth to you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?'
Leave this work of the house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site.
Anyone who did not come within three days, by decision of the officials and elders, all of his possessions would be devoted to God, and he himself would be excluded from the assembly of exiles.
Please let our leaders stand for the whole assembly, and let all that are in our cities who have married foreign women come at set times, and with them the elders of and judges of each city, until the fierce wrath of our God because of this matter is averted from us."
The prefects did not know where I had gone and what I was doing. I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the prefects, and the rest of the workers.
Moreover, from the appointed day I was made their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes--twelve years. My brothers and I did not eat the food [allowance] of the governor.
And Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, from the descendants of Zerah the son of Judah, [was] at the hand of the king in all matters concerning the people.
And these also stagger because of wine and stagger because of strong drink; priest and prophet stagger because of strong drink; they are confused because of wine. They stagger because of strong drink; they err in vision. They stagger [in the] rendering of a decision,
And even [when] Elnathan, and Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.
{And then} 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 {before me}. And the hand of the Lord Yahweh fell on me there,
And then in the seventh year, in the fifth [month], on the tenth [day] of the month, men from the elders of Israel came to consult Yahweh, and they sat {before me}.
And at a legal dispute they themselves shall stand to judge; employing my judgments they shall judge it, and [with respect to] my laws and my statutes. All my festivals they shall keep and my Sabbaths they shall consecrate.
A lion has roared! Who is not afraid? My Lord Yahweh has spoken, who will not prophesy?
Hear this word, [you] cows of Bashan who [live] on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the powerless, who crush the poor, who say to their husbands, "Bring [something] so that we may drink!"
"And I in turn gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities and lack of bread in all your places. Yet you did not return to me," [is] the declaration of Yahweh.
This is what my Lord Yahweh showed me, and look, [he] is going to form locusts at the beginning of the sprouting of the second crop, and look, after the mowings of the king.
But I say to you that everyone who is angry at his brother will be subject to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Stupid fool!' will be subject to the council, and whoever says, 'Obstinate fool!' will be subject to fiery hell.
and whom God has appointed in the church: first, apostles, second, prophets, third, teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, kinds of tongues.