Spiritual and
Ethical Issues in the Historical Books of Tanach;
JOSHUA, JUDGES, SAMUEL, KINGS (Nevi’im Rishonim) These four
books ostensibly are merely the history of Israel from the entry into the
Promised Land until the destruction of the Temple and the temporary loss
of independent statehood. In fact they are actually, in a specifically
Jewish sense, the most deeply religious and spiritual books of the Bible.
One does not have to be specifically Jewish to see or feel the religion
and spirituality in the revelations of the prophetic writings or in the
words of the Tehillim. They speak to all people, as evidenced by the fact
that the Bible is still the world's bestseller and there are millions of
non-Jews who regularly recite the Psalms. However, it is specifically and
intrinsically Jewish to understand that G-d is revealed in the prosaic
material, in the political, social and military events in the lives of
ordinary men and women, kings and leaders that are described in the Nevim
Rishonim. Here are described the ideology and religious thoughts in
Judaism, while in Chronicles we have the purely historical. "Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel and the levy was 30,000 men. And these he sent to Lebanon [to cut the trees that Hiram, king of Tyre, gave him]; 10,000 a month in relays. A month they were in Lebanon and 2 months at home. And there were 70,000 that carried burdens and 80,000 quarrymen [to mine and carry stones]. In addition, there were 3,300 officials to oversee the work" (Kings 5:13-15). This was taxation, as these were workers compelled to serve the king in obtaining the wood and stones needed for the Temple. Yet they were not slaves or bondsmen, as they were paid and released when the work was completed. Jews are recognized as being the slaves of no one except G-d. However, the remnants of the idolatrous7 Nations who forfeited the Land of Israel to Israel in accordance with the Divine Promise to Avraham, these were truly enslaved (9:20-22). Then there were the gold, the precious stones, the ivory and the spices, that were paid to Solomon as his share [tax]. "And King Solomon made a navy in Etzion-Gever… brought in gold from Ophir, plenty of almog trees for the pillars of the house for G-d, and precious stones… besides what he [Solomon] had from the merchants, from the traffic of the spice merchants and from the kings of Arabia and his own governors (10:11-15). These 12 governors had the task of
supplying the food and supplies that Solomon needed for his own use and
that of his chariots and soldiers, his innumerable wives and concubines,
and the veritable army of servants and courtiers. "And Solomon's
provisions for one day were 30 kor of fine flour and 60 kor of meal, 10
specially fattened oxen, 20 oxen from the
pasture, and a hundred sheep. 40,000 stalls for his horses for his
chariots" (5:2-6). The whole gamut of taxes levied by Solomon was halakhically correct as part of the covenant reached between Israel and the Prophet Samuel when the people asked for a king. "He will take your sons… for his chariots… and he appoint them as captains over 1000s and over 50s, and will set them to plough his ground and reap his harvests… and he will take your fields and your vineyards… and a 10th of your seed and vineyards… and a 10th of your sheep, and you will be his servants" (Shmuel Alef 8:11-17). Rav said, everything in this 'parshat hamelekh' was only said to scare the people. Said Shmuel, 'everything in that parsha a king is entitled to'; halakhah is like Shmuel" (Sanhedrin). This ‘din hamelekh’ remained a characteristic fact of Jewish communal, political and social life from the days of the Tanach even until our own times. It, together with the concept of the rights of bnei ha'ir, formed the structure whereby the social, religious, and municipal services that Judaism demanded of the society, could be financed. The ancient Jewish states, the autonomous mini-states of communities after the loss of independence and the modern State of Israel, all were based on this structure. This was not based on the utilitarian concept whereby each individual member of a society relinquished some of their rights; the resultant reciprocity would enable the society to function. Rather, Judaism teaches that an individual bears responsibility for funding the costs of society's obligations for the physical, spiritual and aesthetic welfare of its members. This ‘din hamelekh’ made it possible for Solomon to finance the building of the Temple. However, the Temple was not all that he built. There were palaces for him and his wives, buildings for his army and princes, and other public works. Some were for the public good but others were for his own aggrandizement and pleasure. The Torah had written, "He shall not multiply gold and silver; neither multiply horses so that he not return the people to Egypt" (Dvarim 17:16-17. Abarbanel comments that if a king did this, then the people would believe that their salvation came from Egypt and not from G-d.) David brought a plague on Israel when he conducted a census, although such were permitted by halakha; however his had no other purpose but to magnify his own glory and honor (Shmuel bet 24). So too, Solomon brought the disaster of two separate Jewish kingdoms in the wake of his taxation for private and personal purposes. When his heir Rechavam, ruled after Solomon's death, the people came not to protest the king's right of taxation, but merely to alleviate their tax burden. The young king's reply was, "My father flayed you with whips, I'll flay you with scorpions" (Melachim Alef 12:11). The people's answer was similar to their descendants answer to the Hasmonean King Alexander Jannai, in the days of the 2nd Temple. He poured the water on to the ground to show his disdain for the Pharisaic halakha of ‘nisuch hamayim’ on Sukkot; and the people pelted him with their etrogim. To Rechavam, the answer was the first tax revolt in history. This revolt led by Yeravamben Nevat and supported by the prophet Achiya HaShiloni, led to the secession of the Ten Tribes from the kingdom of Solomon and the formation of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. This is the 26th installment in Dr. Tamari’s series on “Tanach and its messages for our times” [The
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