SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF ANCIENT ISRAEL

The Source

The only source of information on Israelite society in ancient times is the Bible. Archaeological excavations have so far produced no significant additional material on this subject; nor have the few epigraphical sources of that period which have been discovered in Palestine added to our knowledge in this field. The information gleaned from the Bible is fragmentary, discontinuous, and sketchy. Moreover, it is difficult to obtain a general picture on the basis of biblical material, since this material was mostly written at a much later date than the period it describes, even though it may have contained ancient traditions. The realistic aspects of society and social problems were of incidental interest to the authors and editors, who were preoccupied with questions of morality and social justice. Thus it is only indirectly that the Bible permits us to view the social structure and its component parts, the social concepts and customs, of the ancient era.

Methods

Owing to the nature of the unique source, the student of ancient Israelite society must rely chiefly upon typological comparisons with other societies bearing a chronological, ethnic, geographic, and linguistic relationship to ancient Israelite society, as well as with later societies having the same social structure. Such a study will range from the tribal organization of pre-Islamic Arabia to that of Bedouin tribes in the 19^th century. The analysis of ancient or recent parallels is guided by the fragmentary information provided in the Bible, which reflects a very well defined social system and way of life.

Hebrew Society Prior to the Rise of Israel in Canaan

The information derived from the Bible and by analogy from relevant examples (most particularly from the archive tablets found in the Mesopotamian city of *Mari, which contain important details about Western Semitic tribal organization) indicates that in the pre-Israelite period the structure of the Hebrew tribes was patriarchal. Tribal structure would have been made up of variously sized units which were related to one another by blood, claimed descent from the same patriarchal ancestor, and shared a religious-cultic tradition.

The Pre-Monarchic Period

Most of the evidence concerning the tribal structure of Israel relates to what the Bible refers to as the period of the settlement in the Promised Land and thereafter. There is no unequivocal material concerning the time and nature of the formation of the tribes. The 12 tribes, as we know them from the Bible, are merely a schematic device, a fixed number whose components apparently changed in the course of time, as may be concluded from certain sparse but unmistakable references. Some of these component parts probably dated from earliest times, while others arose later. According to one theory, the duodecimal scheme was based upon an actual supra-tribal organization similar to the Greek and Etruscan amphictyonies. Another theory emphasises the "democratic" rather than ritualistic nature of the organization. Other scholars question the existence of any supra-tribal organization. It seems obvious, however, that whatever its nature, some super-tribal structure undoubtedly did exist.

Tribal and Sub-Tribal Units

The tribal framework contained two kinds of sub-tribal units (Josh. 7:13–14). This subdivision may also be schematic to some extent, as may be deduced from the variety of terms used to designate these subunits. It is, however, evident that the smallest unit was the household (bet-ha-'av), consisting of the sons of one father, with their wives and offspring. Several households made up a clan (mishpaḥah; Num. 2:34), which produced the military unit called "elef " (Judg. 6:15; i Sam. 17:18 and 22:7 et al.). The tribe consisted of several such clans. One tribe, Dan, supposedly consisted of a single clan. The "nuclear family," with which we are familiar nowadays, had no independent existence in those days, but was only a component of the larger household. The individual male enjoyed equality under the law and by tradition, but not within the family structure. The individual could participate in the large gatherings of his unit, which in turn gave him a voice in tribal and clan decisions, including the selection of tribal institution leaders.

Institutions

Tribal leadership and institutions arose from among the elders, as the heads of clans and households were known. They wielded political and judicial authority. This was a leadership elected by the units on the basis of lineage, experience, and wisdom, as well as the size of the bloc which supported the person in question. It is difficult to determine to what extent this representative and governing body known as the elders had a consistent nature and whether it had exclusive power in the spheres of its authority. It seems likely that it was not a rigidly consistent institution, in view of the variety of terms applied to various leaders who may or may not have been elders – nagid (i Sam. 9:16); nadiv (Num. 21:18; i Sam. 2:8 et al.); ḥoqeq, meḥoqeq (Judg. 5:9, 14); and qaẓin (Judg. 11:11). There was moreover a term which was applied to a more identifiable kind of leader – shofeṭ moshiʿa, literally, a "savior judge." These were temporary leaders who emerged in times of crisis to save the tribe from its enemies, and their authority was charismatic and outside the traditional leadership. It is, nonetheless, apparent that the term "judge" was frequently applied to important individuals whose authority derived from their lineage and property, and who were thus similar to the traditional elders. The so-called "minor judges" (Judg. 10:1–4 and 12:8–15) belonged to this category. It is not entirely clear what was the highest rank in the tribal hierarchy. Certain biblical texts suggest that the term nasi designated this highest authority. It seems likely that the nasi was elected from among the elders (Num. 1:44 and 2:7).

Social Changes

The tribal structure with its subunits was always adapting to new circumstances and needs, so that institutions and functions acquired new meanings. Time witnessed the rise in power of private property and enhanced proprietary awareness. The social distinctions between sub-tribal units also increased, as did the differences between the tribes, resulting from the varied geographic and geopolitical conditions they encountered in their settlements. All this in turn served to weaken the intertribal association and the supra-tribal organization. The economic basis of the clans and households also changed. Sheep and cattle raising, previously the exclusive resource of the tribe, was being replaced by the cultivation of fruit and grain crops. At the same time, crafts necessary to the settled way of life and to agriculture were also on the increase. One phenomenon known already in the second millennium (see *Habiru) was the appearance of a marginal society of unintegrated, nonproductive elements without property, who became mercenaries and followers of revolutionary leaders (Judg. 9:4, "worthless and reckless fellows"; and 11:3, "worthless fellows").

Urbanization

Urbanization accelerated social and economic processes. The qualitative changes which took place among the Israelites who became urbanized is clearly seen in various biblical texts. Such texts deal largely with the institutions of leadership, although there were no doubt corresponding changes in the personal and judicial spheres as well, as evidenced by the laws in Deuteronomy, which are clearly associated with an urban existence (Deut. 19, 21, etc.). Tribal traditions and customs began to weaken, although they did not entirely disappear. The elders, an institution with tribal-patriarchal roots, became the established authority in the Israelite city (i Sam. 11:3). At the same time, the congregation of all free citizens emerged as a broader-based institution (ibid. v. 1). It becomes evident that urban life produced new criteria for the selection of elders, economic power replacing hereditary status. Thus of the ancient tribal institution only the title and framework remained, while the content underwent complete change. Urban life also affected the status of the sub-tribal units – the clan and the household grew in importance while the status of the tribe declined. This must have been so, despite the biblical emphasis on the tribe as the chief organization of Israelite society.

Changes in the Tribal System

The most basic changes were those which affected the tribal system. This large entity did not disappear entirely during the period under discussion. The tribe and its leadership remained very powerful. The Bible gives us a picture of a tribal framework which did not disintegrate even while it changed from being a group related by blood to a typical territory-based unit. There have been theories that the tribe originated with the settlement. Be that as it may, the criteria which determine membership in a nomadic tribe, i.e., blood ties and a common patriarchal ancestor, were obviously unsuited to the new way of life, in which geographic consideration took precedence over genealogy. In other words, membership in a tribe became predicated upon residence within its territory. In this way the tribes were able to absorb alien ethnic elements, as well as migrant groups from other tribes who either became absorbed in the tribe or retained a form of dual-tribal affiliation. Thus the city with its inhabitants became a new component of the tribal system, to which a person could be related in the same way that he was related to a clan or household, and which appeared in genealogical lists as a descendant of the ancient ancestor of the tribe. There are numerous examples of this concept in the early chapters of i Chronicles. The picture which emerges in this late source is, no doubt, highly simplified, but it must have had its basis in reality, since in many cases an entire clan must have settled together in one city and formed the bulk of its population.

This is not to suggest that the urban citizen was subject to the authority of the tribal elders, for the city was a fairly independent entity. Rather, the city as an autonomous whole participated in the overall tribal organization which, by then, had some of the characteristics of a political alliance, where previously it had been an association of clans. All these changes took place over a long period of time and in a complicated manner. The process of settlement varied in its phases from tribe to tribe and from clan to clan. The story of the migration of the tribe of Dan from the south to the north (Judg. 17, 18) illustrates this fact.

The Monarchy and the Tribal System

The monarchy in Israel emerged as an antithesis to the tribal system (see *King). By its very nature and in this specific instance, the monarchy acted as a catalyst upon certain social processes, of which some were ancient and others new. It is hardly surprising that the advent of the monarchy in Israel became the decisive factor in the disintegration of the tribal system. In the beginning the monarchy apparently attempted to coexist with the tribal authority, and probably strove to incorporate it into the administration of the kingdom. However, the growing strength of the centralized royal authority inevitably led to clashes with the separatist interests of the tribal leaders, who naturally struggled to preserve their autonomy, even though they had previously concurred with the creation of the monarchy in order to meet certain exigencies. The activities of the monarchy, especially the division of the land into administrative regions (i Kings 4), also served to weaken and restrict the traditional, tribal-rooted authority. Thus, in the course of the monarchical era, tribal membership became largely a traditional symbol lacking any real function. The monarchy also undermined the tribal leadership by creating a whole new class of functionaries – "royal employees" dependent on the king, from the highest ministers (i Sam. 8:18–26; i Chron. 18:15–17; ii Sam. 20:23–26; etc.) to officials, professional soldiers (i Kings 9:22 et al.), managers, and laborers on the royal estates (i Sam. 8:12). Concurrently, the appointed priesthood and probably the Levite administration, as well as an emergent mercantile community, thrived under the influence of the monarchy. The monarchical economy encouraged the rapid development of specialized skills and enhanced crafts and the status of artisans. The elders were rapidly losing power in the urban centers, and authority became increasingly vested in the ministers who governed the affairs of the city. Nevertheless, these changes did not seriously affect the customs and way of life within the framework of the clan and the household, which continued to derive their inspiration from the patriarchal tradition and the ancient social institutions. The kings took care not to destroy the accepted way of life. In any event, the clan was still a vital and effective factor during the period of the Return to Zion (Ezra 2; Neh. 4:7).

National Class Structure

The decline of the tribal system and the reorganization of the population, first in terms of territory and then as a kingdom, led to the emergence and crystallization of a nationwide class structure. The main stratum consisted of landowners, large and small. A class of artisans arose beside it. Additional strata emerged in the course of the monarchical period: royal functionaries, merchants, and government officials. It remains, however, impossible to reconstruct a satisfactory picture of the overall social stratification of ancient Israel. The Bible refers to various social classes whenever the narrative requires it, and apparently recognizes the existence of social stratification, although it emphasizes chiefly the division between the free and the enslaved, the poor and the rich. It would, therefore, be a mistake to attempt to reconstruct a complete model of the stratification of that society. A broad outline which includes an upper, a middle, and a lower class, together with the marginal elements and the slaves, will have to suffice. The priesthood and the Levites are not included in the aforementioned division, because of their special status and ritualistic functions, although in part they may have been considered as officers of the government (ii Sam. 8:17 et al.).

Landowning Class

The broad base of the kingdom – and later of the separate kingdoms of Israel and Judah – was the landowners and the peasantry, who together comprised the bulk of the population. The sources frequently mention the landowners ("the great men," ii Sam. 19:33), both on account of their political activities and in connection with the bitter denunciations hurled at them by the prophets. Large estates had begun to appear even before the monarchy, as may be seen in the case of prominent individuals like Barzillai the Gileadite (ii Sam. 19:32) and Nabal the Carmelite (i Sam. 25:2) in David's time. However, on the whole, great estates were a product of the political-economic policies of the kings, who rewarded their supporters and followers with land grants of conquered, annexed, or purchased territories (ii Sam. 9:7–10; 19:30). There seems to have been a concentration of such latifundia in Trans-jordan. The economic power wielded by the estate owners soon turned into a massive political weapon in times of crisis and royal weakness, such as toward the end of the Kingdom of Israel – a period during which the Transjordanian nobles apparently exercised a decisive influence in the affairs of the capital, Samaria. In the Kingdom of Judah the landowning class does not seem to have played such a major role, perhaps because it was a small class – in view of the territorial limitations and the topography of the kingdom – and perhaps also because the Davidic dynasty was a strong one. From about the middle of the ninth century b.c.e., a section of the population described as "the people of the land" (am ha-areẓ) became increasingly prominent. There has been a great deal of speculation and research concerning this group, whose nature is not entirely clear. "The people of the land" played an activerole in events of the highest political significance, such as the crowning of a new king, especially following revolutions and regicides (ii Kings 11:14; ii Chron. 33:25, et al.). From these sparse references it may be deduced that "the people of the land" was a broadly representative class in Judah and that its power rested in its ownership of the land, although it seems unlikely that this class included the major landowners. Apparently "the people of the land" succeeded the ancient "democratic" concept of the "congregation," which had more or less vanished shortly after the establishment of the monarchy. It has been suggested that the Northern Kingdom's equivalent of "the people of the land" were the "mighty men of wealth" (gibbore ha-ḥayil) mentioned in ii Kings 15:20 and Ruth 2:1, upon whom the Israelite king Menahem imposed a special levy in order to pay the tribute to King Tiglath Pileser iii of Assyria. There were 60,000 of them at that time. Some scholars have suggested that the term designated a landowning warrior who supplied his own as well as his men's military equipment.

Lower on the social scale stood the class of the small landowners, the tenant farmers of the great estates and of the royal estates. The origins of this group may have been in peasantry which had lost its own land through poverty or expropriation (Isa. 5:8). Some may have been settled on the land by the kings who wanted to strengthen the border regions or prevent social unrest. Thus the kings were able to enjoy larger revenues from the land than if it had been cultivated by slave labor.

Merchant Class

The mercantile community was of great social and economic importance. As we have seen, this class emerged and grew thanks to the royal initiative in international commerce, which the Bible traces to King Solomon (i Kings 9:26–28; 10:14–15; ii Chron. 20:35–36), and which reached its peak in the golden age of the two kingdoms, i.e., the ninth century b.c.e., under Ahab and probably somewhat later in Judah. While there is little data on this matter also, it would seem that there was a broad spectrum of mercantile activity, both on the international level and within the realm, both as part of the royal administration and as private enterprise. The Bible is not explicit in these matters, but it seems that the higher echelons of the merchant class exercised a considerable influence in the royal court, even in political affairs. There are indications that the Israelite merchants, like others in the Ancient Near East, invested in areas which did not have a direct bearing upon their main trade – finance, real estate, the slave trade, etc. (cf. Ex. 22:24; Lev. 25:36–37; Isa. 24:2; Jer. 15:10; et al.). It is not inconceivable that the merchants, through their commerce with neighboring and distant lands, served as the channel through which outside cultural and material influence penetrated Palestine. Moreover, it is likely that this class, together with the great landlords, intensified the class distinctions among the free population of Israel.

Artisan Class

The development of crafts was also accelerated by the advent of the monarchy. Archaeological finds in Israel have shown that the monarchical age brought about an expansion of crafts and increased productivity to sustain the economy and commerce of the realm (i Chron. 4:23). Throughout that age, crafts remained within the family and were not open to all comers. Skills were passed on from father to son (i Chron. 2:55 and 4:21). Though there may have been some pressure upon the artisans to widen their ranks in order to provide for the expanding economy of the kingdom, the familial pattern remained in effect. This is not to suggest that there were proper guilds, or guild-like organizations, as one scholar proposed. Craft guilds are based upon different principles and have a different organizational structure. Certain texts superficially seem to suggest the existence of guilds – the mention of streets devoted to a certain craft (Jer. 37:21), artisan quarters (Neh. 3:32), industrial centers (Neh. 11:35 and compare Isa. 44:13, et al.), as well as craft nomenclature for families (Neh. 3:8, 12, 15, 31). However, this conclusion is misleading; there were no commercial guilds in existence. It appears that only at a relatively late date did the artisans entirely sever their ties with the land and it may be assumed that in small communities artisans owned land. It is not possible to determine the exact relationship of the artisan class to the other strata of society, but it is most likely that it represented one of the chief components of the middle stratum and the marginal elements.

Marginal Elements

Lower still on the social scale were the laborers without property or skill, who were hired by the day or by the season (Lev.19:13; Deut. 24:14–15; Isa. 16:14). They were employed on the great estates, by the craftsmen, and in the service of the king or private individuals. In addition to these, there were also the remnants of the autochthonous elements which for some reason had failed or been unable to assimilate among the Israelites (Deut. 29:10). They were called "aliens" or "resident aliens" (see *Strangers and Gentiles) and they existed on the fringes of Israelite society. Their status determined the nature of their relationship to society. Legally and socially their status fell between that of the wholly disfranchised slaves and the free populace (ii Chron. 2:16). It is likely that later on other alien elements were added to the authochthonous group. Their status apparently improved with time, and this may account for the apparent contradictions concerning their way of life and privileges in biblical texts. The aliens generally enjoyed the status of protected dependents (Deut. 1:16; 5:14; 29:10), and were more than once cited together with the poor and the helpless (Lev. 19:10 and 25:6), who were entitled to partake of a special tithe and other poor dues (Deut. 14:28–29 and 24:19, et al). Conversely, mention is also made of propertied aliens (Lev. 25:47; Deut. 28:43). A distinction must be made between the marginal, indigenous alien residents and a certain limited group of autochthonous families who allied themselves with royal families and the highest officialdom and kept their ancient exalted status. This was the outcome of moves made by the early kings, who had to establish a new administration at a time when there were no Israelites with the necessary qualifications.

Slaves

Lowliest of all were the slaves, who were deprived of all rights. They were of various origins – some had been captives taken in battle (cf. Deut. 21:10–14, ii Chron. 28:8ff., et al.), and some were descendents of the aboriginal inhabitants of the land (i Kings 9:21; cf. Ezra 2:43–54; Neh. 7:46ff.). Finally, there were Israelites who were so improverished as to submit, voluntarily or under duress, to bondage to their creditors (ii Kings 4:1–17; Isa. 50:1; Neh. 5:1–5). Biblical law endows the Israelite slave with certain rights (though these may fall within the bounds of a social-legal utopia), entitling them to their freedom after a limited time in bondage (Ex. 21:2–11; Lev. 25:40; Deut. 15:12–18). However, there is little evidence that slaves were in reality granted their freedom on a regular basis. There does appear to have been some distinction between the status of a purchased slave and one who was born in the household (Gen. 17:12; Lev. 25:41). Private persons as well as the king owned slaves (ii Sam. 12:31). There are also some hints suggesting the existence of temple slaves, the "Nethinim" (Ezra 8:20, cf. Ezek. 44:7; Neh. 3:31 and 11:21), who were drawn from among the alien elements. There are no available data concerning the number and economic importance of slaves in ancient Israel. By analogy with other ancient societies in the Near East it may be assumed that during periods of territorial expansion and conquest they were numerous and of some economic importance.

[Hanoch Reviv /

S. David Sperling (2^nd ed.)]