In God's shadow: politics in the Hebrew Bible

257 Pages·2012·1.057 MB·English

by  Walzer, Michael

In God’s Shadow
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God’s
In
Shadow
Politics in the
Hebrew Bible
MICHAEL WALZER
New Haven and London
“Biblical Politics: Where Were the Elders?” Hebraic Political Studies 3, no. 3 (Summer 2008):
225–238. Reprinted by permission of Shalem Press.
Exilpolitik in der Hebräischen Bibel (The Politics of Exile in the Hebrew Bible) (Tübingen:
Mohr Siebeck, 2001). Reprinted by permission of Mohr Siebeck Tübingen.
“The Idea of Holy War in Ancient Israel,” The Journal of Religious Ethics 20, no. 2 (Fall
1992): 215–228. Reprinted with permission.
“The Legal Codes of Ancient Israel,” Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities 4, no. 2 (1992):
335–349. Reprinted by permission of the Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities.
“Prophecy and International Politics,” Hebraic Political Studies 4, no. 4 (Fall 2009):
319–328. Reprinted by permission of Shalem Press.
Copyright © 2012 by Michael Walzer.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form
(beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and
except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers.
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Designed by Sonia Shannon.
Set in Bulmer type by Integrated Publishing Solutions, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Walzer, Michael.
In God’s shadow : politics in the Hebrew Bible / Michael Walzer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 978-0-300-18044-2 (alk. paper)
1. Politics in the Bible. 2. Bible. O.T.—Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title.
BS1199.P6W35 2012
221.8(cid:2)32—dc23
2011044471
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992 (Permanence of Paper).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Joseph, Katya, Jules, and Stefan
and for their children and grandchildren
l’dor v’dor
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contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xix
1. The Covenants 1
2. The Legal Codes 16
3. Conquest and Holy War 34
4. The Rule of Kings 50
5. Prophets and Their Audience 72
6. Prophecy and International Politics 89
7. Exile 109
8. The Priestly Kingdom 126
9. The Politics of Wisdom 144
10. Messianism 169
11. Where Were the Elders? 185
12. Politics in the Shadow 199
Notes 213
Index 227
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preface
My aim in this book is to examine the ideas about politics, the under-
standings of government and law, that are expressed in the Hebrew
Bible. What did the biblical writers think about political life? I won’t
pretend to answer this question as a biblical scholar; I don’t know the
ancient languages; I have only a schoolboy’s knowledge of biblical He-
brew and a layman’s understanding of the history and archaeology of
the ancient world. I will be writing as an ordinary reader of the biblical
text as it has come down to us, in its various English translations.
More accurately, I will be writing as a political theorist, reading the
Bible in much the same way as I read John Locke, or The Federalist Pa-
pers, or Rousseau, or Hegel—and asking the same kinds of questions.
How is political society conceived? How should political power be
used? How is authority described, defended, and challenged? When is
it right to go to war? What is the implicit or explicit understanding of
hierarchy? What are the obligations/duties/tasks of ordinary citizens or
subjects? How is political space delineated? How is time understood,
the past used, the future imagined? And, of course, a last question, ex-
actly as I would ask it if I were reading any political text: What can we
learn from this book, these writers?
Given the way the Bible is often studied in the academy, and the way
it fi gures in religious and political discourse, I need to be very clear
ix