Interpretation of the Hebrew Word םע (People) in Samuel-Kings

This study of the word people in the biblical context touches one of the central issues of biblical literature. The author addresses the semantic and literary-critical problems involved in interpreting the Hebrew word םע within the complex texts of 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings. While the word is often rendered by the English word people and its cognates in the modern languages, it is also shown that the idea of people, together with its semantic range in the modern usage, is not identical to the ancient Hebrew. Concerted effort is thus made to identify the basic factors and patterns that explain its meaning in various Hebrew contexts. The study explains how םע expresses both Israel's identity as a secular polity as well as its identity as a religious entity. The discussion is carried out in the light of a number of chosen texts, and these are analyzed both synchronically and diachronically.