Ep. 23 Coronation Special: Kingship in Ancient Israel

When  Charles III is anointed with Holy Oil and enthroned as the God-appointed King of the UK, he'll take part of a tradition that dates back to Old Testament times. Ancient Israelite kings weren't gods like their neighbors in the ancient Near East and the prophets  blamed them for the Babylonian invasion and exile. But as our guest Madhavi Nevader explains, the Hebrew Bible presents many competing versions of Israelite kingship, some that are downright anti-monarchy and others that present the king as a shadow of a future messiah.