Britannica 11th · 11th edition

Theocracy

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OCR text aligned to scanned pagesVol. 26, pp. 760-7601910–1911

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This entry is linked to Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition. The cited range is Vol. 26, pp. 760-760.

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THEOCRACY (Gr. OeoKparia, the rule of ~ God, from 0e6s, god, and -Kpa.ru>., Kpareiv, to rule), a term applied to a form of government or to a state ruled by such a form of government, in which God or the divine power is looked to as the source of all civil pov/er, and the divine commandments regarded as the laws of the community. The typical example of such a state is that of the Jews till the establishment of the kingship under Saul (see JEWS).