Rabbinic Views on Kingship – A Study in Jewish Sovereignty: A Precis

The debate over the nature and authority of Jewish governance did not first emerge with the creation of the State of Israel. It has its earliest roots in the Book of Deuteronomy and continues through the centuries in Rabbinic literature. The basis for the debate was the issue of whether kingship was divinely ordained (a mitzvah), and whether the people could have a king and still remain different from "all the nations."