Evolution of Ancient Israel’s Politics Tribes, Monarchies, and Foreign Empires Three Significant Eras • In his writings on the Politics of Ancient Israel sourced from the U of A website, Norman Gottwald suggests ancient Israel moved through three main ‘zones’ (or eras) of political structure. • Tribal Era (1,200 BCE – 1,000 BCE) • Monarchic Era (1,000 BCE – 586 BCE) • Colonial Era (586 BCE – 135 CE) • Brief revival of the monarchy under the Hasmonean Dynasty, 140 - 63 B.C.E • He notes that these eras did not totally displace one another, but overlapped and aspects of each period can be seen in future eras. - https://bibleinterp.arizona.edu/articles/2001/politics Tribal Era (1,200 BCE – 1,000 BCE) • Jacob (renamed Israel) had 12 sons known for 12 tribes of Israel. • No tribe for Joseph but tribes for his sons Ephraim and Manasseh • Tribe of Levi owned no property. They were the Priestly tribe supported by the other tribes. • “The Lord said to Aaron (Levite), ‘You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.” Numbers 18:20 From Tribes to Nation-building • In Ancient Israel’s history up to the Exodus, leadership was Tribal. • Leadership within the tribe was inherited similarly to everything else, emphasis on the oldest living son. • Beginning with the Exodus, we have our first example of ‘national unity’. Moses was God’s chosen leader to bring the Hebrew people out of slavery to the Holy Land, where they are referenced as Israelites. He is like a ‘Prime Minister’, the spokesperson for God to whom tribal leaders report. • Joshua takes over after Moses’ death in this loosely defined national leader role. He is the spokesperson for ‘international’ affairs and leads the military. Tribal elders are main leaders, along with Priests. Judges as Leaders • It is believed Joshua died around 1,375 BCE • After the death of Joshua and his generation, Yahweh was no longer only God. • The Israelites believed in multiple gods and rebelled. • The Book of Judges in the Old Testament references 12 Judges who led from approximately 1,400 BCE – 1050 BCE • Judges 2:16, “Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders.” • “Each judge functioned as a deliverer/liberator, who rescued the Israelites from outside oppressors. None of these persons is portrayed specifically as exercising judicial function. The expression should therefore be interpreted more broadly to mean govern, administer, exercise leadership—either in internal or external affairs (p. 409, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible).” What was a Hebrew ‘Judge’? • The Hebrew word here is špṭ, which has a much broader meaning. • “The Hebrew root of špṭ had a much wider meaning than the idea of simply “administering justice to,” or “to pass sentence,” “settle a case,” “do justice,” and “mete out justice.” Based on the usages of this same root in Ugaritic, Phoenician, and texts at Mari, the basic meaning could now successfully be established as meaning “to rule,” or “to command.” Especially significant was the Ugaritic cognate root tpṭ, with its meanings of “to do justice” and “to rule.’” —Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary Judges as Leaders • Othniel became the first judge (Judges 3:7-11) • But every time a judge died, Israel would again return to sinful practices and idolatry. It was a constant cycle of sin and deliverance. Israel rebels. God disciplines them. Israel repents. God delivers them. • Deborah – the only female judge. Highly respected. The Song of Deborah (Judges 5) is considered one of the oldest passages of Scripture. • Samson was the final judge – ‘miraculous birth’ (Judges 13) Monarchic Era (1,000 BCE – 586 BCE) • ‘Golden Age’ under Kings Saul, David, and Solomon • Growth and wealth • Kings of Israel • Saul is anointed as the first King of Israel (1050-1010 BCE) 1 Samuel 9 • Samuel remains as a Prophet and religious balance to Saul • Saul becomes corrupt in his power and Samuel regularly rebukes him • “The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king (1 Sam 16:1).” • David is anointed to be the future King. Kings David and Solomon • King David ruled from 1010 – 970 BCE • According to the biblical account, David was proclaimed king in Hebron. He struggled for a few years against the contending claim and forces of Ishbaal, Saul’s surviving son, who had also been crowned king, but the civil war ended with the murder of Ishbaal by his own courtiers and the anointing of David as king over all of Israel. He conquered the Jebusite-held town of Jerusalem, which he made the capital of the new united kingdom and to which he moved the sacred Ark of the Covenant, the supreme symbol of Israelite religion. • https://www.britannica.com/biography/David • David’s son Solomon ruled from 970-930 BCE • “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.” – 1 Kings 4:29-30 • Responsible for building the First Temple in Jerusalem Divided Kingdom at Solomon’s Death • “It only took a few years after the death of Solomon (I Kings 11:43) for the Jewish kingdom to divide and become two irrevocably separate kingdoms. The ten northern tribes made their own government and were called Israel with their capital the city of Samaria. The two southern tribes, Judah and Benjamin, remained loyal to the House of David centered in Jerusalem. They became known and the kingdom of Judea (from whence the word “Jew” was eventually derived).” • “This division continued for approximately 160 years until the Assyrians defeated the kingdom of Israel, sending it into exile. That left only the kingdom of Judea, which itself existed just another 160 years until the Babylonians conquered them and drove them into exile.” - https://www.jewishhistory.org/the-divided-kingdom/ Divided Kingdom Two Kings • Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, became King of the Southern Kingdom of Judah from 930-913 BCE. • Jeroboam I was one of Solomon’s former officials and ruled the Northern Kingdom of Israel from 930 – 909 BCE. • There is a long list of rulers on the next page before the Northern Kingdom falls to the Assyrians in 722 BCE. Fall of Northern Kingdom to Assyrians (722 BCE) • In 722 BCE the kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians under Sargon II (r.722- 705 BCE) and, as per Assyrian policy, the population was relocated to other regions (resulting in the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel). • Israel ceased to exist as an independent kingdom quite early in the period of Assyrian domination. Its capital at Samaria was captured in 722 BCE, and Israelite territory was incorporated subsequently into the Assyrian provincial system. Judah maintained its national identity throughout this period but was almost completely dominated by Assyria. - https://www.ancient.eu/israel/ Judah Survived, But Weakened • The city of Jerusalem withstood Assyrian aggression. • King Hezekiah (ruled from 715-686 BCE), according to the Bible, witnessed the fall of Samaria and focused on preparations to protect his capital city of Jerusalem. • He prepared Jerusalem to withstand the Assyrian siege of 703 BCE through the construction of the Siloam Tunnel and Broad Wall, which can still be seen today but, even so, afterwards paid the Assyrians tribute as a vassal state. - https://www.ancient.eu/israel/ (Ancient History Encyclopedia) • “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook (2 Kings 18:5-7).” The Southern Kingdom Falls • Assyrian Empire fell in 612 BCE to a coalition led by the Babylonians and Medes • The Babylonians took the region, sacked Jerusalem, and destroyed the temple in 586 BCE. • The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II (r.634-562 BCE) then deported the aristocracy, scribes, and skilled craftsmen back to Babylon, an event known as the Babylonian Captivity. • Babylonian military campaigns from 589-582 BCE destroyed the Kingdom of Judah. • 2 Kings 25 describes the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem and the Temple - https://www.ancient.eu/israel/ Colonial Era (586 BCE – 135 CE) • Based on 2 Chr 36:20-21 and the information in 2 Kgs 24-25, which states that all Judah was lead into exile (Babylonian Captivity), a myth of the empty land was constructed: during the exile the land of Judah was seen as uninhabited. • Archaeological evidence, however, has made clear that, although the area around Jerusalem was sparsely inhabited, there remained a not insignificant group in Judah to till the land and to pay the yearly tribute to Babylon. - https://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/places/main-articles/babylonian-exile Babylonian Exile • A group of cuneiform inscriptions from al Ya-hu-du (“the city of Judah/Yehud”) and some other places in southern Mesopotamia, indicate that exiled Judaeans were working as pioneers in newly reclaimed agricultural areas. • Their role was to supply food for the population in the urban nucleus of Babylon. The documents make clear that the Judaeans lived together in an ethnic group.