No where in the Old Testament is a republic ever outlined or taught
Jim Davis
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While this is technically true, what I intended to say was that Spinoza derived a republic from the OT. He rationally constructed a governmental system similar to what the Dutch Republic was at the time. This had a political agenda. First of all you couldn't publish theological work without religious authority's check for heresy. The Talmud Torah synagogue had just excommunicated Spinoza for heresy. So he develop his political views as secular philosophy. Spinoza use the OT as a textural source to logically deduce what he wanted from it.
There was only government censorship to worry about with philosophy, and he was designing a theory of republic nearly identical to the one in power under Jan de Witt. Jan de Witt was rumored to be his unacknowledged sponsor.
The Calvinist sects meanwhile were vying for power because some wanted to re-install a monarchy under Wm of Orange who was more sympathic to their cause and was camped out in England. (This was tought history to unravel. Some of is probably wrong.)
Even if there is no republic in the bible, it sure didn't stop the Mormons from inventing one.
I can't remember all the weird justifications the early Zionists went through. They were struggling with the Orthodox who were opposed to the WZO at first. Then they changed their minds and started demanding representation at the conferences.
CG