Between Polis and Imperium : The Early Rabbinic Concept of Mĕdînâ*

منو

" Between Polis and Imperium : The Early Rabbinic Concept of Mĕdînâ* "
J. I. Weinstein

Document Type	:	AL
Language of Document	:	English
Record Number	:	182812
Doc. NO	:	LA39201
Call No	:	‭10.1093/jss/fgw031‬
Main Entry	:	J. I. Weinstein
Title & Author	:	Between Polis and Imperium : The Early Rabbinic Concept of Mĕdînâ*\ J. I. Weinstein
Title of Periodical	:	Journal of Semitic Studies
Date	:	2016
Volume/Isuee Number	:	61/2
Page Number	:	431-448
Abstract	:	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.
electronic file name	:	10.1093-jss-fgw031.pdf