Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

OFFICE

An official position or responsibility. A clearly defined office means that authority and legitimation of leadership are secure and can be transferred from generation to generation. Three basic types of authority give legitimation to an office: legal authority (based on rules or precedent), traditional authority (based on sacral traditions and beliefs), and charismatic authority (based upon the extraordinary leadership skills of an individual).

In tribal Israel, offices were derived from a combination of traditional and charismatic authority. The “judges” came into temporary positions of leadership by uniting the tribes against a common enemy. Leadership on the local level was derived more from traditional authority. Samuel administered his authority as prophet and judge through a regular “circuit” of three cities: Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah (1 Sam. 7:16). In the same period, kings such as Abimelech of Shechem ruled their small city-states through the power of legal authority (Judg. 9).

A clear administration with offices based more upon legal authority began to appear at the time of the Israelite United Monarchy. The difficulty of the transition from the traditional administration of a prophet-priest to that of a king is demonstrated by the people’s having to plead with Samuel for a king. The king would have the authority for taxation, conscription for military and labor purposes, and organization of the economy into a “royal” economy (1 Sam. 8:10-17).

The Israelite United Monarchy and the monarchies of Judah and Samaria served in the institutionalization of various offices throughout ancient Israel. The uniqueness of Israelite religion within its ancient Near Eastern context is attested by the prophetic tradition that was able to bring a critique against the office of the king.

Bibliography. R. R. Hutton, Charisma and Authority in Israelite Society (Minneapolis, 1994).

Bruce W. Gentry

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

OFFICE

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)