The Ancient Origins of Modern Public Administration (Based on the Materials of the Hebrew Bible)

Abstract

Currently, there is a certain discrepancy between the theory of public administration and declarations in this area to the real state of affairs in the modern state. The purpose of the study is to search for the origins of public administration in the texts of the Hebrew Bible, as well as to compare modern principles of public administration with biblical ones in order to demonstrate the relevance of politically oriented texts of an ancient religious monument. Comparative analysis, retrospective analysis, as well as the system method were used as scientific methods in this study. The work used the texts of the Holy Scriptures, as well as the approaches of domestic and foreign scientists to understanding these texts in the context of studying the basics of public administration. A comparative study of modern principles of public administration and those foundations of statehood, which were described in the Hebrew Bible, allows us to demonstrate their continuity. The authors come to the conclusion that, if we do not take into account the divine version of the cessation of the existence of the statehood of the ancient Jews for a long time, it can be stated that it was the violation of the principles of state organization that destroyed the ancient state. But the politically well-developed mentality of the people and political culture allowed this statehood to resume after millennia. Thus, the organization of public administration, according to the Hebrew Bible, with proper adaptation to modern realities, can at least partially solve problems in this area.