Semănătorul (The Sower)
September 2023, Volume 4, Number 1
THE DISTINCTIVE SHAPE OF KINGSHIP IN ANCIENT ISRAEL: A CONSIDERATION OF KINGSHIP IN THE PENTATEUCH
S. D. ELLISON
ABSRTACT
This article explores the shape of kingship in ancient Israel with reference to the Pentateuch and particularly Deuteronomy 17:14–20. It demonstrates that Israel’s kingship is distinctive from that of the surrounding nations. The distinctive nature is linked, in the first place, to the creation of the nation and, secondly, to the stipulations for kings contained in Deuteronomy 17. It concludes that although there is some similarity between kingship in Israel and the surrounding nations, at root kingship in Israel is fundamentally distinctive. Whereas in the ancient Near East the king was god, in Israel God was king.
KEY WORDS: Kingship; Deuteronomy; Israel; Pentateuch; Ancient Near East.