Land Tenure and the Biblical Idea of Social Justice

David Giesen

American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 2021, vol. 80, issue 5, 1323-1343

Abstract: The Bible should be read, first and foremost, as the history of the people of Israel as they developed a distinctive understanding of social justice. One way of making sense of the Hebrew concept of social justice is in terms of montheism, not as an abstract theological proposition, but rather as an experiential notion that was tied to the organization of Hebrew life. Monotheism was a social innovation that made all people equal. Egalitarian land tenure was the economic corollary. Since land was understood as a gift from God, its use was to serve as the basis of a rough degree of social equality. Monotheism remains an ideal that has not been achieved precisely because land tenure arrangements create a social hierarchy that legitimizes control by elites and undermines a universal system of values. The modern world has yet to resolve the problem of social inequality, but a better understanding of the Bible may help us find a way.

Date: 2021
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