Kingship

In a striking departure from prevailing notions of kingship in both the ancient Near East and early Israel, Deuteronomy introduces the separation of powers among distinct branches of government and subjects all political actors—including the monarch—to the rule of Torah. In effect, Deuteronomy provides a blueprint for the modern concept of the rule of law. These principles rest on an even more revolutionary idea: the establishment of an independent judiciary.

After Saul’s failed reign, David might seem like Israel’s salvation. Yet the biblical narrative offers a subtle but pointed critique—signaling that David’s impending rule will be no better than Saul’s.

In verses 2–31, YHWH is a mythic warrior, with smoke coming from his nostrils, riding a cherub and wielding weapons of lightning and thunder against the enemy. In contrast, in verses 32–51, YHWH strengthens and equips the psalmist to fight his own battles. The combined psalm celebrates YHWH’s complex involvement in human affairs.

God grants the young Solomon divine wisdom in a dream at Gibeon. This account, which reads like an ancient Near Eastern royal novella, was an apologia for Solomon’s accession and his style of kingship.

YHWH declares to the Davidic king, “You are my son; today I have begotten you” (Psalm 2:7). For the New Testament, this verse is a prooftext for Jesus’s divinity, but what did it mean in its original context, and how did Jewish interpreters understand it?

Genesis 36:31 introduces a list of kings who ruled “before a king ruled in Israel,” ostensibly a reference to Saul. Traditional commentators, committed to the Mosaic authorship of the Torah, have long struggled to reinterpret this phrase against its plain meaning, though some accepted its implications.

Despite the negative evaluations of Herod found in traditional Jewish sources, archaeological evidence suggests that, with some notable exceptions, Herod viewed himself as connected to the Jewish religion and made efforts to adhere to its laws, even in his personal lifestyle.

Leviticus allows priests and their families to enjoy the donations and sacrifices to YHWH. This differs from Hittite practice of forbidding priests access to holy objects outside of limited ritual contexts. What is the reason for the difference between these two priestly systems?

Several biblical passages imply that God was ritually enthroned as king during the new year celebrations. In the Torah itself, however, this is suppressed. God as king appears only in three ancient poetic passages, never in the Torah’s prose or laws, including in its description of Rosh Hashanah.

Why is the Benjaminite city of Gibeah portrayed as another Sodom—and who is the anonymous Levite from Ephraim who arrives there with his concubine?

The anomalous and paradoxical nature of the twelfth curse – Deuteronomy 27:26.

Deuteronomy envisions a king constantly reading torah and limiting his wealth and resources. Is this how kings are described in the rest of the Bible? What was kingship like in the ancient Near East?

Malchuyot is a prayer for the coming of God’s exclusive kingship over Israel. In contrast, the psalm of the shofar (Ps 47) offers an alternative approach, to stop waiting for God’s eschatological intervention and start building rapport with other religious groups, all of whom are the “Am Elohei Avraham,” the retinue of the God of Abraham.

What light can archaeology shed on the significance and location of the vineyard?

The Book of Chronicles updates and reinterprets Deuteronomy’s court system.

Throughout the Torah, Israel is warned not to imitate the surrounding nations. Yet Deuteronomy speaks of the people appointing a king if they want to be “like all the nations” around them. Is YHWH commanding Israel to appoint a king or just reluctantly permitting it?

Reading the Succession Narrative as anti-monarchic Greek tragedy.

The books of Samuel and Kings portray monarchs—specifically, David, Solomon, and Ahab—as Israel’s chief judicial authority, hearing cases and dispensing justice. Deuteronomy, however, leaves the king out of its justice system, assigning authority instead to local elders and judges, or else to a central court. Does this system reflect how justice actually worked in ancient Israel—or an ideal meant to replace royal justice?

Psalm 47 makes no explicit mention of Rosh Hashana. Its reference to the shofar and royal imagery point not to God’s judgment of Israel’s deeds, but to the post-exilic hope that God vindicate Israel and reign over all the earth.

What kind of king?

In the Priestly Torah and the Holiness School

What is the meaning of the literary parallels in Genesis 34–38 and 1 Samuel?