The Image of the Ancient Jewish Ruler and Autocratic Power During the Formation of Statehood (Based on the Materials of the Hebrew Bible)

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Abstract

The relevance of the study lies in the fact that the ancient texts of the Hebrew Bible largely anticipated the political and legal achievements of the last centuries. The Tanakh, additions and commentaries to it determine the direction of modern international humanitarian law, ways of forming state administration, lay the foundations of a system of checks and balances, a system of separation of powers, contain the foundations of the contractual theory of the origin of the state by concluding an agreement between the people and the king. The purpose of this study is to analyze the ancient texts of the Hebrew Bible and update the obtained data in modern political and managerial relations. Some texts of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), authoritative commentaries on them and the results of research by domestic and foreign scientists were used as materials for the study. The research methods were comparison, analysis of documents, and the system method. The conducted research concluded that doubts about the historicity and practical reliability of the texts of the Hebrew Bible are not able to affect the indisputable value of the material contained in it. Even if the events described have never taken place in history, the views expressed in the Bible themselves should be recognized as far ahead of their time and of value for modern political science. The Hebrew Bible defines the representative of the autocratic power (the king) as “the first among equals”. This applies to rights, duties, and responsibilities. It is this postulate that should be embedded in the modern political and managerial system, in which there is always a manager and performers. And only continuous work (primarily on oneself), self-improvement, as the Hebrew Bible bequeathed, should become the criterion for selecting a leader, and not any preferences.

About the authors

Andrey A. Kovalev

North-Western Institute of Management of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration

Author for correspondence.
Email: kovalev-aa@ranepa.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7760-5732

Candidate of Political Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of State and Municipal Administration

57/43, Sredny ave. V.O., St. Petersburg, Russia, 199178

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