With the idea in Genesis 1 that all human beings are created in the image of God - instead of just the king - the Bible formulates an early conceptual prerequisite of egalitarianism, which forms the anthropological foundation of any democracy. Genesis 1 democratizes the traditional ideology of kingship and renders every human capable of (king-like) responsible rule. Important factors in the intellectual history of ancient Israel that prepared the way for the idea of the likeness of all human beings to God can be found: (1) in the subversive reception of Assyrian treaty theology and its transfer to the relationship between God and people; (2) in the criticism of kings within biblical prophecy, which was confirmed as factual by the fall of Judah and Jerusalem in 587 BCE; and (3) in the increasingly critical stance toward slavery in the Torah, which ideally brought the position of slaves ever closer to that of free people.

Enthalten in:
Evangelische Theologie; 2022/1 Zweimonatsschrift (2022)

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Serie / Reihe: Evangelische Theologie

Personen: Schmid, Konrad

Schlagwörter: Gottebenbildlichkeit Anthropologie Demokratie Herrschaft Gen 1 Israel (Altertum) Königtum