Long live the king? The anti-monarchist ideologies rising in the polls again in England are nothing new - some 2,600 years ago, the Judean editors of the Hebrew Bible included some voices that rejected dynastic monarchs and preferred other governing structures directly managed not by humans - but by God. The Book of Judges describes the period in Israel’s history, partially fact and partially historical fiction, in which the formation of a nation goes from rogue tribes battling each other and the larger regional forces - to two rival kingdoms, and eventually, just one. The process will also eventually procure not one royal dynasty - but at least two. Gideon, at the height of his career in this chapter, is the most suitable candidate for the beginning of this monarchic journey - and the people are ready for a king. So why is he so opposed to the idea of becoming a king even though he lives like one? Who’s really telling this story and why?
Chapter 8 describes his continued battle against Midian, as he chases the remaining leaders across the Jordan river, dealing harshly with some local cities and elders that refuse to help with the war efforts and handling dissent with the neighboring tribe of Ephraim with diplomacy that prevents bloodshed. For all these successes, the people gather at his doorstep with a specific request. They don’t mention the word ‘King’ but the demand for centralized political leadership that is dynastic shows up in the Bible for the very first time:
וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ אִֽישׁ־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ אֶל־גִּדְע֔וֹן מְשָׁל־בָּ֙נוּ֙ גַּם־אַתָּ֔ה גַּם־בִּנְךָ֖ גַּ֣ם בֶּן־בְּנֶ֑ךָ כִּ֥י הוֹשַׁעְתָּ֖נוּ מִיַּ֥ד מִדְיָֽן׃ וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ גִּדְע֔וֹן לֹֽא־אֶמְשֹׁ֤ל אֲנִי֙ בָּכֶ֔ם וְלֹא־יִמְשֹׁ֥ל בְּנִ֖י בָּכֶ֑ם יְהֹוָ֖ה יִמְשֹׁ֥ל בָּכֶֽם׃
“ Then the people of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son, and your grandson as well; for you have saved us from the Midianites. But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you myself, nor shall my son rule over you; the Adonai alone shall rule over you.”
The word used here is ‘Moshel’ - ruler, not explicitly a king, But there is a demand for dynastic structures, familiar from other nations in the region. But while Gideon refuses and talks this non-king talk, he takes some steps that walk in the footsteps of local leaders from that time: He raises seventy sons from several wives, all living at his court in Ophra, in the now ancestral lands of Menashe, soon to start squabbling among themselves over succession. And in an act that will cause him to lose popularity among many, he gathers the looted gold from his recent skirmishes, molten into a singular ritual object, an Ephod, that is housed at his headquarters, as some sort of a shrine or sacred center. This is considered a step too far, at least by the latter editors of this text. Not a king nor a high priest, Gideon and his quasi regal household are described in this chapter as a ‘landmine’ undermining the eventual unity and continuity of the people of Israel. Towards the end of this chapter he dies in peace - an old rich man surrounded by his family. But the squabbles over his legacy and legitimate heir only get started.
The Gideon sagas, right at the center of Judges, illustrate the largely anti-monarchist view of its authors, who want YHWH to be the sole king of the nation, with temporary leaders appointed by God and not amass too much power. Whoever wrote these chapters perhaps tries to emphasize that the creation of a royal dynasty will bring the people, eventually, to all the ills of greed and power, and destroy the nation. If this is indeed written by the authors of Judea in the latter years of the Davidic kingdom - this might even be a coded critique of that dynasty. If it’s written even later, as some suggest, this is a lament against all royal lineages that lead Israel away from the righteous path, as well as a warning story for the future generations.
Gideon’s zealous wars lead to forty years of quiet, a generation of peace. But as soon as he dies the people once again turn to the local gods and goddesses, as one of his sons, aptly named ‘my father is the king’ turns this book, in the next chapter, into a gruesome episode right from the ‘Game of Thrones’.
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