MembersThe Problem of Power and Biblical Law

In Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu’s power is either praised or hated. Some say he has been in power for too long and has become corrupt, while others see him as a blessing from God. Of course, popular leaders, kings and heads of state have the power to determine our lives. But the problem is that most of them are abusing their power.

The Bible lays down clear rules for kings on how to use power. Much of the Bible was written at a time when peoples were serving numerous idols and gods. Among ancient pagan peoples, the concept of a single, all-powerful God did not exist. In this world, surrounded by pagan cultures, the Scriptures were composed. Torah scholars and philosophers wonder what new ideas and thoughts the Bible brought with it. One of them was the Israeli religious philosopher and biblical scholar Yehezkel Koifmann, who in his work History of the Biblical Israeli Faith (תולדות האמונה הישראלית-מקראית) describes the religious development of the children of Israel. In his view, the Word of God proclaimed a philosophical revolution and at...