Politics Of Ancient Israel

Gottwald (Old Testament, Pacific School of Religion) discusses the politics of ancient Israel at all levels of society. He begins with an overview of the biblical account of Israelite political history. Drawing upon materials from a variety of disciplines-including archaeology, political science, and sociology-he then describes the political situation during each period of ancient Israel’s history. Gottwald contends that although Yahwistic religion exerted great influence over the culture, it was unable to maintain control over the politics of the country.