A Theocratic Yehud?: Issues of Government in a Persian Province

Among the variety of social—political reconstructions of Persian—period Yehud, one "consensus" stands out — one which states that the Jerusalem priesthood enjoyed a prominent level of authority, symbolized in the Jerusalem temple. Unfortunately, this leads easily into conclusions of a theocracy in Yehud. The problem, in part, is due to the immediate association of priests assumed to be authoritative with that of a theocratic governing structure.

To address this problem, at least three aspect...