Doug Mason

There comes a time to each of us when we are confronted with the fragility of life and acknowledging the reality of our mortality. For these reasons, I have listed Papers that I have uploaded to Academia.edu. These are in alphabetical order.

From the time of the communities at Qumran through to the time of our present day, each generation of believers has been absolutely convinced they were living in “The last of God’s ‘Last Days’”. Each generation has been fully convinced that their generation would witness God’s personal, dramatic intervention into history.
This conviction was held by authors of the New Testament and has been held repeatedly since then by Christians of every era. Every time, eager excitement and anticipation resulted in unbelievable disappointment. From the heights of excitement, each generation of Christians experienced depths of utter despair. God did not fulfil their expectations, and each time, Christians failed to witness the Coming of their Lord Jesus Christ. And yet, Christians – and Muslims – are today following the same fraught path trod by their predecessors.
This Paper summarizes experiences of believers across the swathe of history, with the wish that some today, hopefully many, will heed the lesson that History teaches.

Recently, at (99+) There is no 70th week in Daniel | Doug Mason - Academia.edu I provided the Presentation, “There is no ‘70th week’ in Daniel”
I am concerned that in my endeavor to keep the message simple and straightforward, that I left room for an incomplete understanding of the objectives.
This “Fuller Explanation” of the Presentation is designed to rectify this and hence to make the messages clear.

During the latter part of the Second Temple period, a community isolated, in the wilderness region of Qumran, stored its precious literature in caves. Remnants of their scrolls were discovered in 1947. These scrolls reveal the legacy left by the Qumran community that has influenced the major religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

This is an update to Version 1 of my Paper.
Our exegesis must govern our theology, not the other way around. If our exegesis is at odds with our theology-and if we are confident in our exegesisthen maybe we should begin making changes to our theology rather than searching for solace in the likes of Paul, John, or Acts. … Surely it is our duty to allow the results of our exegesis to reshape and even change, if necessary, our theology.-Did Jesus Teach Salvation by Works?, 317, 13, Alan P. Stanley. Biblical scholarship proper is not about the reader's beliefs or non-beliefs, not about finding our beliefs or scientific truths in these ancient documents, but about understanding and faithfully reproducing their beliefs.

Biblical literature, from its inception and thereafter, is human. Human hands molded the Bibles. Claims that a Bible is “The Word of God” are human opinions based on tradition. Any claim that a Bible was “divinely inspired” is just a human opinion. Sola Scriptura is a human tradition. Understanding relies on human interpretation.

Yes, indeed Daniel, please do tell us: Why Daniel, Why? Why do you exist? What forces caused you to be formed? What was happening at the time you were brought forth? What were you meant to achieve? This Paper is about the Book of Daniel. It addresses the nature of the Book, its time, the people, and its intended message. As with everything that is created, the Book of Daniel was driven by and shaped by its contexts. These environments were dominated by the religious and political pressures imposed by gentile overlords and by opposing sects, including their temples. The Book of Daniel had a local, immediate purpose, focused on the sect's constituents. This Paper accepts the Antiochene Crisis as the genesis of the Book's formation, along with the pressures exerted by opposing temples, as at Mount Gerizim and at Leontopolis. The sect at Mount Zion responsible for the Book of Daniel was also politically opposed by communities at Qumran. Contemporary religious concepts, traditional and emerging, external to Judaism and within, along with the sect's political aspirations, drove the Book of Daniel. Add to these their myths and legends, idioms, the way they employed numbers, and so forth, and Daniel's dynamism emerges full of colour and action. Welcome to Daniel.

The renowned Christian preacher and Bible scholar Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916) is known to many as the founder of Jehovah's Witnesses. But few realize that Pastor Russell was an early advocate of Zionism and that he predicted the imminent return of the Jewish people to Israel. This collection of relevant articles and letters discloses some previously unknown facts about Russell, such as his anticipation of Theodor Herzl's call for a return of the Jews to the Holy Land.

The July 2012 issue of Awake! states that the narratives of Jesus’ birth show that the Bible is “A Book of Accurate Prophecy.” The aim of this Study is to find out what the birth narratives do reveal about the nature of the Bible. What does investigation of the writings of Micah, Matthew, and Luke reveal about the way that the Bible should be read and applied? Does this investigation open the door to a better comprehension of the nature of Scripture?

The REAL reason JWs refuse some blood products and some medical procedures involving blood. The WTS, which is not a "No Blood" organization, says it is ok to withhold the truth and to be evasive with the truth. The WTS expects JWs to break the law by passing on confidential patient information to their Elders. Help a JW patient make their own decision on the medical use of blood. Manage the information available to the WTS's Hospital Liaison Committees. Information to help formulate laws on managing JW patients. Difficulties that thinking JWs have with the WTS's teachings on blood.

In 1977, the Watchtower Society produced a definitive booklet “Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Question of Blood”. It covered religious, moral and medical issues. These three documents relate to that WTS booklet. I wrote this Paper in the 1980s. It addresses each point raised in the Society’s booklet.
In April 1989, I received a personal letter from an impeccable source, who wrote:
“While the booklet on Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Question of Blood was written primarily by Gene Smalley, I know that Dr. [Lowell] Dixon reviewed it with him and made suggestions.”

The Watchtower Society (WTS) says that Christianity quickly plunged into apostasy as soon as the first Apostles died. According to the WTS, this apostasy is highlighted by the 4th century adoption of The Trinity. However, at the same time the WTS accepts the Scriptures that were adopted by that same 4th century body of men. Why is the WTS so inconsistent?

Through the 14 chapters of its book “The Bible - God’s Word or Man’s?”, the WTS endeavours to provide evidences that the Bible is “the Word of God”.
The book says that one evidence of the Bible’s divine source is given through the precise fulfilment of prophecy.
For its example of fulfilled prophecy, the WTS refers to Daniel 9, saying that it predicted the exact year when Jesus would be anointed. Is its claim justified?

The New Testament of the NWT is noted for its use of the word “Jehovah” within its text. But the NWT is not consistent. It omits “Jehovah” from some verses in its NT where the OT being quoted does use the Tetragram (YHWH). And some of its “J” sources use YHWH at some interesting places.

I wrote this during the latter 1970s and early 1980s, when personal computers were little more than glorified typewriters.
My intention was to consider the use of the name “Jehovah” in the Watchtower Society’s translation of the Greek Scriptures (“New Testament”).

Brilliant minds of creative geniuses have influenced more people than any other for millennia. Billions have had their lives influenced by them. But we do not know their names.
Great innovators who set in motion movements that sweep history, directly influencing great and small, powerful and the needy.
Magnificent cathedrals, breathtaking places of worship, stand testimony to the ongoing power of those who conceived ideas that capture the hopes and aspirations, that inspire great art, music, and literature.
Could these conceivers have ever imagined their legacy, their ongoing impact upon people of all ages and races?
Historians recognise them, although no one knows their names. Historians only know that they lived in the third century BCE. Some call them the first true Jews. Their ideas became fundamental to the ideas that underscore Judaism, Christianity and Islam, at least.
It was they who set in motion the ideas, who absorbed ideas, who molded ideas – ideas that capture and captivate. Whether it be the idea of the imminent Divine Intervention; a promised last-days Messiah; an evil empire with an evil Leader; a single supreme deity; resurrection; and more – all come from that group of anonymous conceivers 2200 years ago.

In the middle of the bloodiest, most destructive persecution Roman officials had ever inflicted on the Christian Church, the new young emperor Constantine, son of Constantius, decided to appeal to the Christian God for supernatural protection in his civil war against Maxentius. That audacious decision must rank as one of the most ironic, consequence-laden events in western history.

Initially, the Hebrew “Messiah” spoke only of a living, anointed person, such as a current monarch or high priest, maybe even a prophet.
Changed circumstances, most notably the cessation of the monarchs and more particularly the power grab by the Hasmoneans and the oppression under Rome, witnessed a hope arising for divine intervention in their affairs. They envisaged one or more powerful liberators would remove the oppression and restore the nation to its rightful state. God would be the active driving force during this period, the Last Days. Included in this eschatological scenario was one or more messiahs, which represented a distinct revolution from the nature of Messiahs in the biblical period of the Davidic Dynasty.
Jews arose claiming to be the anticipated Liberator, and the followers of Yeshua of Nazareth in Galilee held him up as The Liberator, even attaching the title “Christ” to his name, but instead of removing the power of Rome and liberating God’s people, Yeshua was executed by Rome.
Just as the earlier Judahites had amended their understanding of Messiah when the Davidic Dynasty ended, in similar fashion the followers of Yeshua changed their meaning of the title. Paul and his followers employed the Merkebah tradition of transportations to the Throne Room of God, thereby creating the revolution where Yeshua Christ sat on God’s throne. This was another unprecedented revolution of Messiahship. The action moved from restitution at a national level to cosmic action focused on the throne of God.
The Merkebah Messiahship of Yeshua shaped the imagery of their literature, notably at Ephesians and Hebrews as well as the apocalyptic Book of Revelation. Instead of the Liberator freeing Israel from the nation’s oppressors, Yeshua provided liberty from the oppressor Sin, and the victory was not a literal national rescue but it became a spiritual victory over the Evil One.
Exalting Yeshua to the Throne of God and casting him as heaven’s eternal, sinless High Priest provided the foundation for future Messianic revolutions by followers of Paul which saw Yeshua later designated as God the Son, and as Christ the Saviour.

Completely revised Study on the Mysticisms and Mysteries during the Second-Temple period and their ongoing impact.
The information is structured thematically:
1. Celestial Ascents
2. Mysticisms
3. The Mysteries
4. Descent from Heaven
Plus two Appendices.
3.

The Governing Body (GB) of Jehovah's Witnesses derives its authority through its claim that it was appointed in 1919 by Jehovah God and Jesus to be the sole voice on Earth of God's heavenly government. JW's thus heed the GB because of that claim. This Paper critiques the bases of the GB's claims and structures.

In 2010, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society published a 32-page brochure, "The Origin of Life", with the intention of supporting its view that life was created by a divine source, as declared in the Hebrew Scriptures. The purpose of this Critique is to examine the manner in which the brochure employs information from scientists to support the Watchtower's position. Their brochure does not claim that any of the cited scientists supports its stance on Creation and indeed makes it very clear that the scientists are evolutionists. When the brochure provides information from a scientist, it appeals to the reader's subjective opinion, asking whether it is possible that unaided Nature could have resulted in the outcomes witnessed by scientists. This is the brochure's strategy and agenda. Truth would thus be determined through subjective opinion. However, this very same information is used by scientists in their support for evolution.

Writing in 68 CE, 85 CE, and 90 CE respectively, the Authors of the Gospels according to Saints Mark, Matthew, and Luke say that immediately following his baptism and acceptance by Heaven, Jesus experienced a period of testing. Matthew is the earliest account that presents details of the tests and their outcomes. This Study examines the cultural and lexical contexts of that account to identify the messages that were intended by the Authors and understood by their immediate community. To achieve this objective, this Study first presents the situations that the authors of Matthew encountered.

(1) Daniel chapters 8 through 12 focus only on the second century BCE. (2) The city and the sanctuary lay desolate for 2300 evenings and mornings. (3) Judas issued the word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. (4) The people and the city were given 70 ‘sevens’ to rectify their evil ways

People living in the latter part of the post-biblical Second Temple period introduced and nurtured novel beliefs that became fundamental to rabbinic Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

This Paper introduces key people who were responsible, who lived and fought for their beliefs.

Daniel Chapter 8 provides the setup for the message of Chapter 9. Although these passages are set in the 6th century BCE physical desecration of the Jerusalem temple by the Babylonians, they related to the 2nd century spiritual desecration of the Temple by Antiochus Epiphanes. The authors wrote historical stories solely for the purpose of influencing their own times. Their histories provided lessons for their communities that were intended solely for the purpose of directly and immediately affecting them.

In Appendices of translations of the Greek Scriptures (“New Testament”) the WTS provides a picture of a man attached to a single pole. This, they explain is the manner of Christ’s execution. This picture, they explain, comes from the book De Cruce Liber Primus: “This is the manner in which Jesus was impaled” (Kingdom Interliner, page 1155).
This is not impalement, in which the instrument of death is forced up through the victim’s body.
Most important is the fact that the WTS totally misrepresents what Justus Lipsius wrote. He actually provided a number of illustrations, showing several such methods of execution. Lipsius concluded his research by saying that the conventional cross, in which a crosspiece is attached to a pole, was the implement used in Christ’s death.
It does not matter if Lipsius was right or wrong. What matters is that the WTS deliberately misreported Lipsius and that it hides factual evidence from its followers. If it does this with an non-essential matter, how does it behave with critically important matters?

The objective of this Paper is to examine each key element of the Coming of Messiah and trace its origin and journey. When every element is seen to be sound, this could validate a belief in a Coming.
It is not the purpose of this Paper to identify, formulate or describe any sequence of Last-day events. It does not propose, suggest, recommend, or critique any of the wide range of proposed models. The wide and diverse range of models bears witness to the fact that none is literally mapped out in any Scripture.
By considering the sources and the journeys of each key element – such as: Messiah, Temple, and Resurrection, this Paper considers their origins and the influences on them.
For many fundamentalist Christians and Muslims, belief in the imminent Coming of the Messiah impacts their daily lives and their interpretation of the world. Each believes their actions and their influences determine how soon Messiah’s cataclysmic cosmic earth-shattering Coming is able to be manifest to the world.
The influences of these commitments spread into the political arenas of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The religious views of the Coming of Messiah underscore conflicts throughout history, resulting in human impacts ranging from individual suicide attacks to multi-national wars.
A soon-coming Messiah is not an academic, intellectual exercise. It has real-life consequences.

Understanding some of the history of the Fourth Gospel assists understanding While the Fourth Gospel must be read and treated as a completed document, understanding something of the history of its development assists the reader in understanding its meaning. 2 The Johannine community started out as a group of Jews J. L. Martyn detects in 1:35-51 that the Johannine community began among Jews who came to Jesus and with relatively little difficulty found him to be the Messiah they expected. I [Raymond Brown] think he is perfectly right. 3 Significant polemical situation within the synagogue and with the Johannine community One may begin, in agreement with Louis Martyn and others, with a recognition that a polemical situation within the synagogue and later between the Johannine community and the synagogue is almost certainly a significant, if not the central, milieu of the Johannine material, particularly the Fourth 8 Understanding the Fourth Gospel, page 23 9 Johannine Community, (page number not provided; see the source as given in the Bibliography) 10 Community of the Beloved Disciple, page 71

A Bible is a library of books. Each Christian community makes its selection on which books it includes and which it will exclude. These selection processes covered centuries, and longer as each Church created its Bible. This situation remains, with the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Ethiopian, Syrian, Protestants and others producing its own Bible.
The situation was fluid at the time when the New Testament writers plied their craft. Literature was available to them that in later centuries would no longer be included in some Bibles. But the New Testament writers did not know this would happen, and they alluded to literature that many today do not accept as Scripture.
This Paper tabulates lists of books proposed during the selection process. This Paper also tabulates the books alluded to by New Testament authors that were later not included in most Bibles.

The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society [WTS] is about 135 years old. From the time of its creation, the organization has produced books, magazines and tracts, and later it ventured into audio and visual media. The organization thus provides a vast array of detailed documentation. This Study uses some of the written material to help provide an insight into the organization.
The current leadership endeavours to link itself to its origins while at the same time distancing itself, using euphemisms such as “increased light”. Previous statements shine a light on the present. Whether the current leadership uses a new name for an old teaching or whether it openly contradicts a previous belief, it all helps to reveal the thinking of the current leadership.

None of Russell's predictions came to pass, so words in his books were altered and they continued to sell them. Today, Witnesses are told that 1914 was a year "marked" by Russell, but they are not told that Russell expected an outbreak of enduring PEACE with 1914, under the auspices of fleshly Jews. The following pages demonstrate key alterations that the Watchtower Society made at the time to Charles Taze Russell's books "Millennial Dawn" [MD], subsequently renamed "Studies in the Scriptures" [SS]. The original title reflected Russell's teaching that the Millennium had already dawned.

If we relied on the canonical Hebrew Bible alone, without subsequent writing and commentary, our religious heritage would be Devil-free. By the time of 1 Enoch, however, we have entered a different religious universe in which very potent evil forces exist and form part of a rival kingdom set against that of God. (Jenkins, Philip. Crucible of Faith: The Ancient Revolution that made our Modern Religious World, page 62)

This is my account of my first encounter into the world of CPAP, apnoeas and so forth. I am documenting my four-week APAP/CPAP trial, which has been an interesting, enlightening, challenging, and at times frustrating start to a journey. I have been introduced to an industry that operates at every level, from medical to consumerism. I provide graphical representations of data and a diary of my experiences and observations. I am in no way suggesting I have any degree of expertise in the subject. This is all new, a big learning leap that millions have traversed. I am simply hoping that my account might provide a model for recording.

The decision to terminate a pregnancy is deeply traumatic. Its impact lasts a lifetime, affecting her husband, her other children, her parents, her in-laws, the wider family circle and her associates. This decision must never be taken lightly, frivolously. A termination must be conducted only after comprehensive medical and psychological assessments.

Breath by James Nestor has opened my eyes. Its influence will remain with me and continue to grow. I am genuinely pleased it was recommended to me as it has opened my life to an important area of living. The evidence is absolutely clear on the need to breathe with the mouth firmly closed.
It is my wish that Mr Nestor considers consolidating his nose-breathing message by revisiting his sources, eliminating those which diminish his credibility.

The Bible depicts King David as a deeply flawed, unsavory character, the perpetrator of evil acts including: murder, insurrection, adultery, banditry, and extortion. The sanitizing of David’s character during the following centuries and millennia created an image that idolizes him as the paragon of virtue, closely associated with the promised Messiah. This Study identifies the Davidic sanitizing process.

So much has been written about David, King of Judah and Israel, but there was one question I needed to have answered:
How could such a murderous, loathsome, hated, adulterous, tyrant represent the Messianic ruler of God’s eternal Kingdom?
David had been a powerful warlord leading a Habiru-like gang of bandits who lived outside the law as extortionists, wife-stealers, and more. I was personally very distressed as I uncovered David as he murdered, stole wives, fathered many children with many wives and concubines. This was not the image I had of him before I conducted my research.
How was it possible that this person, who fought against the King of Israel, even taking that king’s wife as his own, how could he be the same David who is revered and became so intimately associated with the promised Messiah? How could this transformation have taken place? What took place that enabled this most amazing transformation?
This Study is not an inquiry into David. This is about the people who achieved David’s transformation. I wanted to know if it were possible to trace the processes that brought about this most amazing transformation, this stunning change of image. At the start we have a murdering tyrant and at the finish we have the messianic king. What made this possible?

Death is the inevitable outcome of being alive. Death does not discriminate, coming to Pharaoh, Imam, Pope, Rabbi, and Commoner alike.
Western religions in their various forms offer messages that find their genesis in the period of Judaism’s Second temple, when Persia’s Zoroastrianism, Hellenist philosophies, the Mystery religions and Judaisms interacted and intermingled, influencing one another and their successors.
How did each of those dynamic groups face Death and its consequences? What promises did they give? What warnings did they make?
Reading their thoughts provides insights into their times and their cultures. At the same time, these insights provide lessons that help each person as they face the inevitable and be better able to respond to modern religion’s attempts.

In 2010, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society released the brochures, "The Origin of Life: Five Questions Worth Asking" and "Was Life Created?" While the focus of this Critique is dominantly on the former brochure, at times reference is made to the latter. The science is complex and well beyond most to comprehend. This Critique, "The Origin of Life: Five Questions Worth Asking" FAILS TO DELIVER, does not venture deeply into the technicalities of the science-it examines how the brochure handles and presents information. Does the brochure do this fairly and openly? Are its conclusions valid? Does the brochure provide the information in the manner that enables its readers to make a genuinely informed decision? This Critique considers information that the brochure did not present but should have.

People ignore the warnings provided by Earth's previous mass extinctions of life, hence they deny the present Holocene extinction phase, saying that "God will not allow his Earth to be destroyed". The outcome is that Man is speeding the extinction process as it raids Earth's finite resources and the relentless search for growth. ====== False assumptions emanating from Evolution and Creation include: • Life was inevitable • Changes were improvements • Homo Sapiens is the purpose and objective of the process. Hence there was an intended design (with Creationists and their fellow travellers ignoring the issue of Theodicy).

The authority and claims that the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society [WTS] makes for itself relies on the significance it gives to the year 1914 CE. This is the year of Christ's Parousia when he took up his position in the kingdom set up by Jehovah God. To arrive at 1914 CE, along with its significance, the WTS begins with a dream. Is the WTS's interpretation of that dream solid? Are its arguments along the way to 1914 CE grounded in verifiable facts? Are its explanations reasonable?

In 2010, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society published a 32-page brochure, "The Origin of Life", with the intention of supporting its view that life was created by a divine source, as declared in the Hebrew Scriptures. The purpose of this Critique is to examine the manner in which the brochure employs information from scientists to support the Watchtower's position. Their brochure does not claim that any of the cited scientists supports its stance on Creation and indeed makes it very clear that the scientists are evolutionists. When the brochure provides information from a scientist, it appeals to the reader's subjective opinion, asking whether it is possible that unaided Nature could have resulted in the outcomes witnessed by scientists. This is the brochure's strategy and agenda. Truth would thus be determined through subjective opinion. However, this very same information is used by scientists in their support for evolution.

In 2010, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society published a 32-page brochure, "The Origin of Life", with the intention of supporting its view that life was created by a divine source, as declared in the Hebrew Scriptures. The purpose of this Critique is to examine the manner in which the brochure employs information from scientists to support the Watchtower's position. Their brochure does not claim that any of the cited scientists supports its stance on Creation and indeed makes it very clear that the scientists are evolutionists. When the brochure provides information from a scientist, it appeals to the reader's subjective opinion, asking whether it is possible that unaided Nature could have resulted in the outcomes witnessed by scientists. This is the brochure's strategy and agenda. Truth would thus be determined through subjective opinion. However, this very same information is used by scientists in their support for evolution. The brochure's focus is on the source of life and should thus be titled: "The Originator of Life", leading to its ultimate objective: join us. This Critique reports examines each of the brochure's 51 references to scientists. Are they accurately and honestly reported and cited? Is the brochure completely honest with its reader? The brochure claims that the reader needs to make their own decision and be open to all sides of the argument for and against its views: Examine the evidence for evolution and for creation and then decide for themselves which they will believe. 1

The book, “His Glorious Appearing: An Exposition of Matthew Twenty-Four” was published by Echo Publishing Company, North Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia, with a (worldwide) production run of 300,000 copies.
It was difficult to scan. Published in 1902, the dry, brittle pages of this little book (11.5 cm by17 cm, 125 pages) fractures, shredding numerous small flakes. One corner appears to have been singed, while the two rusty staples made it difficult to open the book on the scanner. But I was determined to preserve it for its historical value and for the perspective that a 120 year book provides. The authors mentioned in the advertisements at the rear were still living.

Mr. Lafitte describes the treatment of German and Austrian refugees in Britain from the outbreak of war down to August, 1940, and particularly when the Government adopted a policy of wholesale internment in May. He analyses the reasons for the official attitude to "enemy aliens", and suggests a better attitude which would be at once less wasteful for our war effort, more reasonable and more humane.
As a history, this book tells a lamentable story of muddle and stupidity. As a critique it attempts to show that the "refugee problem" now facing us in war-time is really a British problem, a problem of justice and personal freedom in which the reputation of Britain is involved. (Front cover – 1940)

Scholars of comparative religions often use the term canon to refer to any traditional assemblage of sacred texts. One sees references, for example, to the “Vedic Canon,” the “Taoist Canon,” the “Canon of the Five Confucian Classics”, and so on. But as we shall see, the term canon is properly restricted to a much more specific phenomenon that is not the same as the gradual accumulation, over time, of a set of sacred scriptures. However popular and widespread, using the terms canon and scripture as if they were roughly synonymous involves a comprehensive misunderstanding. When comparative religions scholars use the term canon to refer to any collection of scriptures, the result is widespread confusion.

“The Emergence of Israel in Canaan” by Baruch Halpern is divided into four parts. Part I deals with the textual sources which can be utilized for a discussion of Israel's emergence, namely: the Book of Judges, the Patriarchal Narratives, and the Early Poetry of Israel.
Part II discusses the three main models for the Israelite phenomenon—conquest, settlement and peasants' revolt.
Part III works towards an examination of the components of pre-monarchic Israel and how Israel grew from a peoplehood to a centralized government that included a monarchy.
Part IV discusses how pre-monarchic Israel was organized and whether there was any central authority during that period.