Customer Reviews

Created Equal: How the Bible Broke with Ancient Political Thought

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Professor (Rabbi) Berman's book presents a very strong case for the revolutionary political, social and economic ideas in the Pentateuch - but without constituting an Orthodox polemic. Indeed, the author's conclusion that the Pentateuch is very modern in its approach to society is all the more powerful because it does not demand a declaration of faith as a precondition to appreciation of the Pentateuch.

Joshua A. Berman answers a question that bothered Bible readers - Jews, Christians, and Muslims - for centuries, and answers it in an interesting, eye opening, and engaging way. Why was the Bible written? The author is a lecturer in Bible at Bar-Ilan University and Associate Fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem, Israel.

The common misconception is that the Five Books of Moses, the Pentateuch, was composed to teach people how to relate to God. Dr. Berman shows by a clear reading of the biblical texts, comparisons with ancient cultures, and analyses of many rather interesting biblical details that the Bible ventures far beyond that. Indeed, it is the precursor of modern ideas about the purpose of society and the dignity of the individual.

The Bible asserts the equality of all people in its statement that everyone, without distinction, is created in the image of God. This was remarkable for the period in which it was written. Later, Thomas Jefferson captured, actually copied, this biblical teaching when he wrote "all men are created equal and are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights."

In contrast to the ancients, all Israelites are equal citizens because all were liberated from Egyptian bondage, all stood at Mount Sinai to receive the law, and all entered into a covenant with God; in a word, all participated in the past and have a right and duty to be involved in the present and future. This scriptural individual responsibility - highlighted by the oft-repeated biblical use of the singular "you," an address to each Israelite separately - is unfortunately still underemphasized in modern societies.

Dr. Berman shows in 175 pages, followed by notes, bibliography and index, how in ancient societies the common person was a servant, the lowest rung in a self-serving hierarchy, a non-entity, a being without self-worth, a creation designed to enhance the comfort of arrogant despots. Ancient leaders justified their worldview with theological writings that declared that the state exists solely to carry out a will and whim of the gods, whose earthly representative was the king, and not the protection of humans.

The Bible countered this notion. Biblical checks and balances were instituted to curb the powers of authority, of kings, priests, judges, and even of prophets. Berman shows how the Torah innovations, its teaching of equality, spawned the great political theorists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and served as the basis for modern ideas of human rights, civic duties, egalitarianism and democratic government.

Josephus wrote to his Roman audience in the first century - where only about twenty percent of the population had citizen rights - informing them that the ideas of government that they and the Greeks before them extolled are found in the Bible. In June 1788, one of the constitutional delegates addressing the issues facing the new American nation, referred to the lessons of the book of Deuteronomy, and said, "If I am not mistaken, instead of the twelve tribes of Israel we may substitute the thirteen States of the American union." These men understood what Berman highlights, that the Bible was teaching that rather than working as servants for leaders, a perfect society is one where everyone joins together to help and improve each individual.

Dr. Berman offers a host of enlightening examples of the biblical innovations and a newer and deeper understanding of the biblical laws than contained in many Bible commentaries. He shows how Deuteronomy 4:8 was correct in stating: "what nation is there so great that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law!" Readers will find it fascinating to see how the Torah poor laws contributed to equality, as did the rules regarding the sale of land, and many others such as the laws concerning non-Israelites.

Rather than tokens of respect and honor being a one-way streak, from inferior to superior, as required in ancient societies, the Bible portrays the relationship between humans and God as a marriage requiring intimate reciprocal acts of affection.

Like the restrictions placed on the executive branch of government in the United States today, the Bible strips the king of many of the powers that he had in other cultures. He was not responsible for religion, nor the author of legislation, and did not appoint judges. The judges, in turn, could be from every class of society.

Thus, with these and many more examples, Dr. Berman dramatizes the Torah in a new light, a lght focused on an enlightened future, the forerunner of societies based on the equality. One has to agree with Sir Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, that "Jonathan Berman has written a superb, scholarly, and paradigm shifting work on the Hebrew Bible as perhaps the first attempt to create a truly egalitarian society. I can think of no better way of renewing our encounter with the biblical text, and I recommend it highly."

Berman offers a very convincing case for God in this book, postulating (and methodically proving) that the Hebrew Bible provides the first prescription for egalitarian society.

A fascinating new look at a familiar text. One need not be a biblical scholar to approach this book and, thankfully, readers need not be fluent in political philosophy to understand Berman's argument.

All in all, CREATED EQUAL is an important read for anyone wishing to understand and intelligently discuss the basis for and the notion of faith-based politics.

Professor Berman examines the text of the Hebrew Bible for the ideas it contains about the organization of society. He contrasts the Biblical vision of what a society ought to look like with the governments of the surrounding cultures of the ancient Middle East, and convincingly demonstrates that the Hebrew Bible was concerned to ameliorate extremes in economic inequality and concerned also with the dignity of all the members of society.
This book is quite readable, and although it will surely be of interest to scholars in the field of political thought and Bible, it is very accessible and does not require advanced degrees to understand and absorb it's ideas.
Although the ideas expressed by Professor Berman have profound implications for modern society, his enterprise is not to comment directly on modern political issues, but to show that the Bible contains not only a clear break from the political ideas of the surrounding cultures, but also, to encourage the reader to encounter the text of the Bible.
This book is a gem.

This is an important gem of a work. The author's close and deeply insightful read of the biblical text is matched by a sophisticated understanding of comparative religion, ancient near east history (with a healthy dose of political theory) and literary technique. One gains a new understanding and appreciation for the bible as (modern) political manifesto -- which of course began well before liberation theology. While the Exodus narrative has been well-trodden and heavily-mined by others, Berman's thesis is, ironically, much more revolutionary - that the very warp and weave of the Hebrew Bible, literally from its opening verses, bespeaks a conception of humanity and political equality that should resonate with the sophisticated modern (and even liberal) thinker. It is also beautifully written, and a relatively "easy read" -- which is to be commended given a subject matter that easily could have tended toward the abstruse and impenetrable. Bravo.

The book delivers on its promise: to explore the Old Testament in search of egalitarian motifs, with a serious emphasis on comparing the messages arising from the Bible to those that were expressed by cultures that came before the Bible. As someone who knows the Bible fairly well, I nevertheless found some of the main thrusts in the book to be enlightening.

We need to read this important book to see how the ancient Israelites dealt with their social and economic problems using ideas that we Americans today can greatly benefit by studying and thinking about. Here are some quotes.

"Western tradition's first prescription for an economic order that seeks to minimize extreme advantage and the distinctions of class based on wealth." The Israelites were able to create a dynamic free society, upon which the American Revolution based itself, without the dangers of extreme socialism that is characteristic of Democrats.

"Unafraid of educating the masses." Today's society focuses national education on justifying current politics, instead of focusing on understanding the principles and empirical justification of the principles. This is discussed in Rational Thinking, Government Policies, Science, and Living.

"The relationship between God and man in the [Hebrew] Bible is founded on gratitude not on His power." This means that the Jew lives in happiness not fear. Religions based upon fear are quick to engage in military conflicts.

I give it 5 stars because we Americans need to understand our humanistic roots, and be aware of the dangers from lack of understandings that can lead to extreme socialistic experiments that endanger our society.