Studies of The Old Testament make it evident that kingship is the ruling principle of leadership for a kingdom. There were no presidents with a democracy like The United States has today or communists making everyone equal. There was simply one king, specifically a male, his subordinates, and the kingdom he governed over. Hebrew culture was no different. This is seen through the great kings of the Bible, one of the most well known of them being King YHWH also called Yahweh. Kingship played a vital role in the progression and development of the kingdom of Israel throughout history from the time they first were freed by the mercy of Yahweh. The presentation of ancient Hebrew culture from kingship in the Old Testament reveals the tradition in …show more content…
It is defined by Professor Steven McKenzie of Rhodes College as, “rule by a single, male monarch was the nearly exclusive form of government in the ancient Near East. Female monarchs, such as Hatshepsut in Egypt and Athaliah in Judah (2Kgs 11:1-3), were by far the exception, as illustrated by Hatshepsut: she adopted the costume of Egyptian kings, including the false beard and bare chest.” Further explanation in McKenzie’s article tells us that other requirements included “hereditary and dynastic” and “succession by his oldest son, that son by his oldest son, and so on.” (McKenzie) They were the men responsible for much of what we have today that we see around us. These monuments include the pyramids of Egypt and fortified cities seen across the world. These kings dealt with war, organized strong armies, and even led their troops into battle for their nation. They treated their people with the same loving heart that God treats His people with. The people are willing to follow their king because they know of the love he has for his nation and his people. Similarly, this shows the Hebrew culture as being a nation willing to follow. They had structure and a set guideline of who would rule and keep their people in order. This kept the nation from being chaotic and having no design, thus resulting in a purpose for God to watch so closely over them. The “Holy City” is what Israel is consistently referred to …show more content…
Ancient Hebrew culture differs from what we see around the world today. The Hebrews, even their human king, prayed to their heavenly king YHWH. Today we do not pray to our President because none should pray to another human. But Christians do not refer to God as their “President” because it is a completely different level of what we have than what the Hebrews have. YHWH is their protector. He allows their nation to prosper as they have throughout time. He is their one, true God. In America we have several gods, in addition to our God as Christians. We worship athletes, actors, material items, and other distractions that forces God to take his hand of protection off of us. The Hebrews do not get distracted with worldly matters that could keep them from an eternity in Heaven with Yahweh in “hekal” which is Hebrew for “big house”. (Power) In this same article, Cian Power goes on to explain the genuine love the Hebrews, distinctively the human king, have for YHWH more in-depth. The following excerpt comes from his writing entitled Kingship in the Hebrew
Since people feared pharaohs, they respected them. For instance, the passage in Document 5 states that wokers built large pyramids to serve their pharaohs inside tombs. The text states, "Pharaohs were burried with their possessions." In addition, some people (Sumerians Akkadians) practiced polytheism, the worship of gods. Based on the document, "They believed that keeping the gods happy was the key to their own happiness and prosperity. On the other hand, if the gods were angry, they might bring suffering and disaster." In additon, previously stated, Egypt and Mesopotamia develoved into successful civilizations by effectively using the resources that surrounded them to solve problems and live happily. The text states, "Sumerians built huge temples called ziggurats. They believed these temples linked Earth with the heavens and linked people with the gods." This shows that they use dtheir resources to build ziggurats for their own goods so that the gods can give them happiness and prosperity instead of bringing them suffering and disaster. Therefore, Egyptians' religion and beliefs would help develop Egypt and Mesopotamia into successful
very strong Christian king and does what he has to do as a king. This
In Ancient Egypt, huge pyramids were created to serve as tombs for pharaohs. I believe that a temple was included for Egyptians to make offerings for their kings. Ancient Egyptians had a belief of Polytheism, meaning that they worshipped their gods, which led them to worship their Pharaohs very much. The Egyptians weren’t the only ones that had the belief of Polytheism. The Ancient Mesopotamia did too have the same belief. I mentioned earlier that the Sumerians and Akkadians rely on their gods. Well, by briefly examining the illustration on Document 6, the size of the temple tells me that the Sumerians placed high value on their gods that they look up to them for their own happiness and prosperity. Polytheism was very important for both civilizations. It contributes to how they govern their civilization.
This was the beginning of ?The New Kingdom,? characterized by god-like pharaohs who left immense temples and fortresses that still stand today. Until this time, the 12th Dynasty had represented Egypt?s ...
They believed in kingship, and it was an honor for a man by the gods. In contrast with other civilizations such as ancient Egypt, Mesopotamians consider a king to be a great man that was selected by the gods to represent them on earth and not divine. A king was expected to keep the gods informed of events in his land and could ask them for advice through the act of worship. This belief was reinforced through the wearing of the divine symbols of kingship, the rod and the ring.
Kingship plays an important role in The Epic of Gilgamesh. Their are many characteristics of kingship such as being a leader, ruling and protecting over their people, and last but not least, being ready to sacrifice themselves if need be. A great example of someone who exemplifies the qualities of kingship is Jesus Christ. He obviously was a strong leader considering people still not only talk about him, but worship him to this day. He also protected his people during his time such as the apostles or disciples. And lastly, He sacrificed himself. Not only for his apostles or himself, but for everyones salvation.
“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own sight” (Judg. 21:25). This quote at the end of Judges sets up an optimistic view of kings for the rest of the Deuteronomistic History. King David is considered perhaps the greatest king over all of Israel, whereas King Hezekiah is praised for never turning away from God and being the greatest king among all the kings of Judah (2 Kgs. 5). However, despite the high need for a praise of kings throughout the Deuteronomistic history, Solomon is viewed with a skeptical eye and is the cause of the demise of Israel. Unlike the positive view of kings portrayed throughout the Deuteronomistic history, King Solomon is framed in a negative light in 1 Kings 11: 1-13, which
How did people revere their gods differently among three civilizations? Did they worship with the same general intent? What were gods’ role(s) in people’s lives? A brief exploration into the religions of Egypt, Greece, and the Hebrew people may bring insight to these questions. Although the main idea of higher beings remains constant throughout societies’ religion, their form of presence in people’s lives varies. I will present the relationship between the leaders and the gods, as well as resemblance to monotheism and systems of government.
He remains this way to serve as a check for each god's involvement in the
What makes somebody a hero? According to Campbell there are only four things that every hero needs to occur in a story: a special birth, early recognition, a great deed, and a loss of power. Hamlet is a hero that follows this basic outline. “King Arthur and the Tales of the Round Table” is another one of the most fitting tales for this archetype.
Leadership is something that has been around since civilization. You would think that an idea so old would be straight forward but, we can see completely different ideas of what a leader, good or bad, should look like. While some of these stories may be fictional, they line up with a historical timeline of expectations. We can also see how the role of a king and how their duties have evolved in real life. The Epic of Gilgamesh shows us how to control your power. In 1 & 2 Samuel, we see what makes a ruler great and obstacles they have to over come. When we read The Theban Plays we saw how smart a ruler had to be to please his people. While all of these leaders may seem great there are plenty of reason that makes them not great. They
...f the divine world but the kings were in charge of vocalizing god’s wishes on earth. The most famous of these law codes was Hammurabi’s law code. The Hebrews tried to establish order by using Yahweh’s Ten Commandments and the Torah. Mesopotamian deities were hard to please and easily angered. The Mesopotamians constantly felt they were letting their gods down and usually didn’t even know the reason behind it. Hebrews had a much more forgiving god. Through texts like “The Book of Job”, it is apparent that Yahweh was a tough god but always forgiving and fair in the end. He had few demands of his people and all of them were ethical and easy to adhere to. As long as his devotees followed Yahweh’s laws, they were all capable of receiving his blessings. Through it all, it seemed that God and religion was at the center of every aspect of life in the ancient civilization.
Religion was a major part of Ancient Egyptians’ lives. Their faith was so engrained in them that it was more of a lifestyle than a set of beliefs. The Egyptians practiced polytheism, or the worship of many gods, and they believed that their pharaoh was a god on Earth (Doc 3). The people worshipped the pharaoh and gave him all respect and power. They believed that their two main goals in life were to keep the pharaoh and the other gods happy and to live a good life so that they may enjoy a happy life after death. Their shared faith strengthened their society because everyone was working toward the same goal. Groups were not divided based on what god they worshipped. Instead, the fact that every person lived to please the same gods and wished to go to the same afterlife gave them something in common and brought them together as a community. Sumerians also practiced polytheism and believed that their priests were connected to the gods. The people thought it was their responsibility to keep the gods happy, and believed that if the gods were pleased, they would allow their people to be content as well (Doc 6). Because of their desire to please the gods, Sumerians performed every task to the best of their ability. For example, they invested lots of time and money into their ziggurats, or temples, because they only wanted to give their best to the gods. The Sumerians’ devotion to every task ensured that everything was done well and helped their civilization
Through his time being a pharaoh Ramses II experienced many things and was an extraordinary leader. Some of the things he was praised for was the structures and especially his temples that he had built. Not only was he a great leader and had an interesting family but he had a couple strengths and weaknesses during his life.
Ancient Egypt’s stability was the reason for the great civilization that lasted for more than 3000 years. Therefore, the ancient Egyptians created a sign for the stability which is the Djed Pillar . The ancient Egyptian artisans were very keen on representing the importance of stability. Therefore, many scenes represented the kings raising the Djed pillar “symbol of stability” in fornt of the gods as a metaphor for the stability of the monarch. The ancient Egyptian Kings were very keen on securing the stability of the country on all the aspects: the administrative system, the religion, the economical status, and the army. The Ptolemaic Kings followed the steps of the Pharaohs in maintaining the stability of the regime. They adopted the same