I figli di Israele censiti per volontà divina

Polivalenza di una istituzione politica sanzionata dall’alto

Abstract

First published in Censo, ceto, professione. Il censimento come problema teologico-politico («Politica e Religione», 2015), pp. 35-69. 

This essay analyses the institution of census in the Old Testament and aims to explain its predominantly negative connotation, expanding on the interpretations usually given by scholars. We examine the relevant biblical passages (especially the ones in which census has religious significance, i.e. Exodus 30:11-16 and 38:25-28, Numbers 1-4, Samuel 2:24, Chronicles 1:21) and certain texts from the Ancient Near East which shed further light on these passages. The military census, widely attested in our sources, is shown to be key to an appreciation of the religious meaning of census and, in particular, to demonstrating the existence of a necessary relationship between this institution generally and its religious hermeneutics.