Articles
The Characteristics of the Socio-Political Structure and the Internal Political Life in Ancient Israel during David’s and Solomon’s Reigns (1010–931 BC)
Anatoly Gorokhov
Vostok/Oriens '2014, №3
The paper analyses characteristics of socio-political structure and internal political life in ancient Israel during David’s and Solomon’s reigns (1010–931 BC). The main result of their rule was a consolidation of Judea and Israel in a single state but this process was not monolithic. David’s and Solomon’s early state was characterized by concentration of central power in Jerusalem but it was very specific in other places. First of all, various regions of the state, cities and tribes were united by the person of the king; therefore his personal authority was very important for political life as well as his ability to trim opposite interests of different tribes and social groups. At David’s time the tribal and serving kinds of nobility have already begun integration into the sociopolitical structure of the state. This structure included army, administrative apparatus and clergy. In the days of David and Solomon the statehood of Israel was a developed centralized state as many other ancient eastern states were. This tendency was evident especially in time of Solomon’s reign. But this process met with strong opposition of some representatives of tribal nobility and clergy and most of peasants who were dissatisfied with the labor service (mas) on the king Solomon’s civil works. These dissatisfactions were expressed in the revolts of Absalom, Sheba (in the period of David’s) and Jeroboam (in the period of Solomon’s).
Keywords: early state, David, Solomon, labor service, districts system, prefects
Pages: С. 20–27
