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Responsibility

The term responsibility is defined differently from one discussion platform to another.

There are numerous definitions that have been attached to this term and they are all birthed out

of contextual analysis of the various elements shaping up the term. One of the definitions of

responsibility presents it as the ability and or opportunity presented to an individual to fashion

their own decisions and thus act independently. Another definition of responsibility presents it as

a factual state where an individual is expected – through duty – to deal with someone or

something. For instance, when mothers bear young ones, it is expected that they will have

responsibility over their young ones. Some of the common contexts through which responsibility

is discussed and analyzed include duty, collective responsibility, obligation, moral responsibility,

professional responsibility, legal liability, and responsibility assumption. The Biblical arena is

one of the richest grounds through which the concept of responsibility is analyzed, discussed,

and developed. Through the Bible, moral constituents of responsibility are being presented,

expounded, and analyzed in light of the concept of responsibility (Fisch).

In the Bible, God is presented as having entrusted human beings with responsibility of

varying nature and levels. God is presented as having invested in teaching human beings both

corporate and individual responsibility. There were numerous occasions within the course of the

Bible where God held the entire nation of Israel or even the world accountable for individual and
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corporate actions relating to responsibility. It is evident to note that throughout the course of the

Bible, human beings have been responsible for their actions to God. Responsibility is such an

important topic within the Bible that it has been dealt with in the first chapter of the first book.

Responsibility is presented in God’s command to Adam and Eve when He told them to not only

multiply, but subdue the earth and have absolute dominion over the various creatures shaping up

God’s creation. The Bible shows that the responsibility bestowed on man was directly linked to

the nature and level of God’s revelation. Initially, God had not revealed Himself to the world in

substantial proportions. During these times, the responsibility bestowed on human beings was

less. However, when God began presenting and revealing His nature and power to man more, the

nature and level of responsibility was not only enhanced, but also increased. Throughout the

relationship between man and God, the level of accountability bestowed on man to God has been

constantly increasing (Fisch).

Responsibility in the analysis of Samuel’s life begins way back before he was even born.

Samuel was conceived by Hannah who had been barren for a long time. Hannah is presented as a

woman who understood her relationship with God and this is evident in her attachment to

responsibility. Hannah remained responsible even in the face of despair and this is one of the

most important qualities presented throughout the course of her life. Before she conceived

Samuel, Hannah had already made a promise to God with regards to her first child. The

importance of accountability as one of the facets of responsibilities is elaborated in Hannah’s

promise when she gives birth to Samuel. After Samuel was old enough to be weaned, Hannah

not only took Samuel to the temple, she also dedicated her son to God and ensured that Samuel

was well equipped in undertaking the various responsibilities he was bestowed with (Fox).
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In the Israelite community, it was tradition for the priest to be chosen from one of his

sons. In the case of Eli, there was need to abandon this traditions as his sons had not only

become corrupt, but also refused to repent from their sinful ways. This is presented as gross

refusal to embrace family and priesthood responsibilities by the sons of Eli. They were later to be

held accountable for their sinful lifestyles and this affected even the fate of their own father.

The character of Samuel as well as his influence on the entire nation of Israel is one of

the richest grounds through which the element of responsibility can be analyzed. Samuel was

such an important figure in Israel that he could be compared as second to Moses. God is

presented as having bestowed such great responsibility on Samuel that he would preside and

advise on every element of the Israelite society. Samuel is presented as not only being

responsible for the religious well being of the nation, but also for ensuring the political

temperatures in the country were maintained at effective levels. Throughout his leadership,

Samuel is presented as being bestowed with the responsibility of not only ensuring the Israelite

community was reminded of the various discourses birthed out of Deuteronomy, but also

monitor the response of the people and continually guide them in the ways that they were being

instructed by God through Samuel (Fisch).

The responsibility bestowed on Samuel to ensure that the nation of Israel was politically

stable is presented in the demand for a king and election of Saul. When the people of Israel

demanded that they be provided with a king who would rule over them, Samuel was responsible

for not only listening to the people, but also presenting their petitions to God. The Israelite

community had longed for a king, not necessarily because they understood the implications

therein, but because they admired the political setting of the Philistines and other nations who

lived around them and had adopted this political structure. After Samuel was through with
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presenting the Israelites’ petitions before God, he was bestowed with the responsibility of not

only communicating what God had warned about the demand for a king, but also granting the

people their desires (Fox).

Saul was anointed as king of Israel under some of the most mysterious circumstances.

Unlike in democratic political systems where people have to choose a king out of their own

interests, Saul was divinely appointed and anointed. God not only spoke to Samuel about how

Samuel was to anoint Saul as king, but also provided Samuel with the responsibility of ensuring

Saul’s reign was constantly kept on check. This is evident in the numerous times when Samuel

visited Saul to not only make him conscience of his mistakes, but also reiterate the importance of

repenting and turning away from sinful behaviors (Fisch).

King Saul has been presented as being irresponsible for the better part of the end of his

reign to his death. Although he was provided with numerous chances through which he would

have repented and averted judgment, he chose to remain irresponsible and this affected not only

his life, but his generation as well. Although most of David’s life under the reign of king Saul

has been presented as being exceptionally responsible, the same cannot be said for his life when

he became king of Israel. David was victorious in battle and took it upon himself to ensure that

Israel was not only triumphant in battle, but also came up with strategies through which the

entire Israelite kingdom would be constantly expanded (Fox).

It is known to people that the previous prophets are inclusive of six books namely:

Judges, Joshua, the books of Samuel, and the two book of kings. Despite the fact that the

complete above mentioned thought about as prophetic books, because they were redacted or

made up by the prophetic institution, one thing that is for the fact is that they deal ordinarily with
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civil leadership based in the Israelite polity. It stated categorically that an analysis that is

considered as ‘put up the shutters’ gives the impression that among their other aims each

becomes a sign of and scrutinizes a particular regime as comprehended by the prophets, that is

the domain of God teachings to humans or keter torah of that particular time. Put together, they

make available a very hard-headed review of the boundaries and responsibilities of political

pecking order in light of the teaching of the Torah itself to us. The torah is famously known as

Pentateuch or five Books of Moses (Young, , Danielle & Truman).

It is accurate and evident to point out that, the conversation of Judges is set surrounded

by the construction of the Jewish political tradition. As it was initially expressed in the Holy

Bible and then gotten rid of impurities by the post-biblical medieval halakhists, perceptive,

current statesmen, polemicists and last but not least contemporary investigations. As the paper

unwinds and continues to note one of the main components of that experience which is the Edah,

or what it can pass on to in general political terminology as Jewish regional republicanism. It is

also accurate to look into the other one with the configuration of the segregation Domain in the

area is similar to western segregation of authority in certain respects. But overpoweringly they

appear to be dissimilar, especially in some crucial one for the understanding of the

comprehensive of the Jewish manner of life as well as it does religious, civil and spiritual aspects

put together in one all-inclusive configuration. All this is section and parcel of the derivation of a

powerful environment of constitutionalism based on an alternative of the notions of earliest

constitutionalism which held in its arms far more than the constitution as structure of

government, the fundamental nature of up to date constitutionalism (Munk).

It put into plain words that, in the Jewish political convention, these elements are made

out as a result of particular classic expressions that go on with to be in use as well as edah. The
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congregation or legislative body of Israelite that grasped in its arms contained by it the guiding

principles of in cooperation stuck between federalism and republicanism. A turn of phrase of

biblical starting point in the area as the people got together in its total sum or by the means of its

representatives at set times. A subsequent terminological construction is that of the Ketarim,

(which accurately puts the finishing touch to or wreaths, able to be seen symbols of ‘last word’).

It is a language that was brought into play and used in the duration of the Second

Commonwealth soon after the Babylonian exile with an intention to define the authoritative

spheres of power Into which rule was broken up in the edah (by that point in time famously

known by means of a synonym, Knesset, a Hebrew conversion of the Aramaic kenishta, which in

turn is a transfer of the biblical edah). In Pirkei Avot, which means the chapter of the Fathers. It

states that three public ketarim found out the following terminology, keter kuhunah which

means to the authority of a particular class of people who are entrusted with exchanging few

words in regards to God’s message and strength of character to His people that is the erudite,

prophets, and rabbis; keter kehunah, a little priesthood, those given permission to exchange a few

words about the needs of the populacee and would like God namely: , the synagogue officers

earlier known as priest who set back the priest soon after the Temple was wiped out and brought

down. The paper also outline the little kingship who was famously known as Keter Malkhut,

which for clarification purpose does not refer to kingship per se but to municipal authority of the

kind that inhered in king, but which also inhered in magistrates by the name nesiim, elders were

called zekenim, judges went by the name shofetim, while officials were shotrim, and later on

numerous other offices of civil authority that is parnassim, or the community leaders (Young, ,

Danielle & Truman).

In view of the fact that moment in time immemorial (long earlier than these names came

to be brought into play), power and supremacy in the Jewish polity have been carved up into

these three spheres of power. Which in point of fact pave the way for the kind of taking apart of

authorities into the senior manager, legislative, and legal. It became on familiar terms with as up

to date and of which the Bible was conscious ( it written in Isaiah 33:32) as such but which was

taken care of as ‘taking apart’ less important to the separation into domains. In other words,

domains could come together or break up to put into effect administrative, lawmaking and legal

authority or supremacies depending on the state of affairs (Boren).

Works Cited

Fox, Everett. Give Us a King!: Samuel, Saul, and David : a New Translation of Samuel I and Ii.

New York: Schocken Books, 1999. Print.

Boren, Maxie B. Gleanings from the Holy Bible: Joshua Through Samuel. Pulaski, Tenn: Sain

Pub, 2004. Print.

Fisch, Harold. The Five Books of the Tora and the Haftarot: Masoretic Hebrew Text with Rev.

English Translation. Jerusalem: Koren, 1967. Print.

Munk, Elie. The Call of the Torah: An Anthology of Interpretation and Commentary on the Five

Books of Moses. Jerusalem: Feldheim Publishers, 1980. Print.

Young, Joel B, Danielle Young, and Truman Blocker. Behold Yeshua!: Come and See.

Richardson, Tex: For His Glory, 1997. Print.