The tension between king & people in ancient Israel

Duncan, Gordon A (1966) The tension between king & people in ancient Israel. MTh(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

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Abstract

The thesis attempts to trace the tension that existed between the kings and the people in ancient Israel. In the first section there is a survey of the normative events which moulded the people into a religious community and the factors that strengthened this unity so that the people were conscious of their covenant relationship to Yahweh. The development of leadership is discussed in the second section, touching briefly upon the social structure of society prior to settlement Canaan, the charismatic role of the judges and the transfer from reliance upon these judges to the demand for a monarchy. The causes for the tension between constituted monarchy and the covenanted people, the clash between charismatic and non-charismatic leadership, and the clash between dynamic Yahwism and static institutionalism are developed in this section. In a third section, entitled the United kingdom, an examination is made of the implications of becoming a nation and the effect of establishing the monarchy in the daily lives of the people during the reigns of David and Solomon. David illustrates the possibility of incorporating the monarchy into osaic Yahwism even though there are examples of the and rlying tension. Solomon's reign, however, demonstrates that even though a king is ideally under covenant to Yahweh, he is also liable to disregard his responsibilities to protect the rights of the people and become a despot, not unlike the kings of other nations. The final section is concerned with the tension between the king and the people from the division of the nation until its fall. After briefly noting some of the internal and external factors which impinge upon the clash, the tension is arranged under two main headings, royal successions and foreign involvement in both Judah and phraim. It is in these two areas that the open conflict between king and people can be traced.

Item Type: Thesis (MTh(R))
Qualification Level: Masters
Keywords: Ancient history, Judaic studies, Religious history
Date of Award: 1966
Depositing User: Enlighten Team
Unique ID: glathesis:1966-72182
Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
Date Deposited: 17 May 2019 12:38
Last Modified: 17 May 2019 12:38
URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/72182

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