Between Polis and Imperium: The Early Rabbinic Concept of Mĕdînâ
Long before Jewish political philosophers adopted mĕdînâ as their term for polis and state , this Hebrew word referred to an integrated district understood as the subject of social and economic welfare. Though the biblical meanings of mĕdînâ as city and as imperial province persisted in attenuated f...
| Published in: | Journal of Semitic studies |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
[2016]
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| In: |
Journal of Semitic studies
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy BH Judaism HB Old Testament |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Long before Jewish political philosophers adopted mĕdînâ as their term for polis and state , this Hebrew word referred to an integrated district understood as the subject of social and economic welfare. Though the biblical meanings of mĕdînâ as city and as imperial province persisted in attenuated form, Rabbinic Hebrew mostly elided the perspective of the administrative centre. Instead, new usages emphasized the view ‘from below’ so that mĕdînâ referred to a locality identified by its agricultural products and geographic distinctiveness, by its local ‘form of life’ expressed in social and economic customs and by its common fate, for good and ill. The needs, development and welfare of this sort of mĕdînâ became a compelling concern of humanity and of God and point to a rabbinic understanding of our shared life and common good. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-8556 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Semitic studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jss/fgw031 |