The King and the Land : A Geography of Royal Power in the Biblical World

Abstract

The King and the Land offers a history of space and power in the world of the Hebrew Bible. It shows how the monarchies in ancient Israel and Judah asserted their legitimacy in relation to strategically important spaces: privately held lands, religious buildings, collectively governed towns, and urban water supply systems. Case studies in the book treat Solomon’s use of foreign architecture (1 Kings 5–8), David’s dedication of land to Yahweh (2 Samuel 24), Jehu’s decommissioning of Baal’s temple (2 Kings 10), Absalom’s navigation of the collective politics of Levantine towns (2 Samuel 15), and Hezekiah’s reshaping of the channels that supplied Jerusalem with water (2 Kings 20; 2 Chronicles 32). By treating the full range of archaeological and textual evidence available for the Iron Age Levant, this book sets Israelite and Judahite royal and tribal power within broader patterns of ancient Near Eastern spatial politics. The book also offers fresh literary readings of the Old Testament texts in the books of Samuel and Kings that anchor its theses.