Biblical Views: God Save the Queen: The Political Origins of Salvation

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The summer of 2012 marked the 60th anniversary celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the British throne. The pomp and pageantry of her diamond julibee captivated not only her royal subjects but also people around world. Even journalists and broadcasters from the United States covering the festivities seemed enchanted by the rousing chords of “God Save the Queen.”^a

It’s a basic interpretive principle that words and texts only have meaning in context, literally that which is “with the text.” Often, we unconsciously import our own social, political and religious contexts, values and assumptions. When we encounter language of “salvation” and “redemption” in religious context, we often understand these words as referring to an individual’s spiritual status, but that is not how the words were used in the Biblical period. In the context of the British Commonwealth, we immediately recognize the strains of “God Save the Queen” as a celebration of British patriotism, a plea to protect the monarchy and preserve the political order, not a call for her conversion or spiritual salvation. Similarly in ancient Israel, talk of salvation and redemption had a physical/political meaning rather than a spiritual one.

In the Hebrew Bible, words related to “redeem” (root: גאל) and even “save” (root: ישע) often have political connotations. For example, in Psalm 106, the psalmist recalls God’s mighty deeds in liberating the people from Egypt despite their rebellion: “and [God] saved them from the hand of the ones hating [them], and redeemed them from the hand of [their] enemy” (verse 10). The psalmist’s remembrance is set in the context of a confession of sin (verse 6) and grounds God’s steadfast love in the covenant promises (verse 45). The nation’s political situation was often understood as the result of their sins; the forgiveness of sins was necessary for their political rescue. This is illustrated by Psalm 25, where the context of this request is the experience of affliction at the hands of the psalmist’s enemies (verses 2, 5–20). The psalmist asks God to “forgive all my sins” (verse 18b, cf. verses 7, 11). The descendants of those whose “sin” God “atones” (verse 11b) “will inherit the land” (verse 13b). Underlying the connection between political prosperity and forgiveness of sins is the connection between political prosperity and obeying God’s commandments: “If you diligently observe this entire commandment which I am commanding you to do … then the Lord will cast out all these nations from before you, and you will take possession of nations greater and mightier than you” (Deuteronomy 11:22–23).¹

Likewise in early Jewish literature, “salvation” usually referred to escape from physical danger, including the dangers of battle, along with political liberation.² In 1 Maccabees, for example, the narrator summarizes a Jewish victory in battle with the phrase “and there was a great salvation for Israel on that day” (1 Maccabees 4:25).³ In 1 Maccabees the military victory of the Jews is referred to by “salvation” (5:62) and Judas Maccabeus is mourned as “the savior of Israel” (1 Maccabees 9:21). In 2 Maccabees, God’s acts of political liberation are celebrated, especially the success of Judas Maccabeus: “God (is the one who) has saved all his people and has given back the inheritance to all, and the kingdom, and the priesthood, and sanctuary, as he promised through the law” (2:17–18; see also 2 Maccabees 1:11, 25).

Josephus, writing in the second half of the first century C.E., consistently used the words “redemption” or “redemption-money” to refer to the money offered to free political and war prisoners.⁴ In the Septuagint, the Greek word for “redeem” often translates forms of the Hebrew word גאל, as in Psalm 106:10. Significantly, coins of the fourth year of the First Jewish Revolt bore the inscription “For the Redemption of Zion.”⁵ The same slogan is used in the inscriptions on the coins of the first year of the Second Jewish Revolt: “Year One of the Redemption of Israel.”⁶

Many of us living in the United States have not experienced life under the rule of a monarch. Nor do we understand what it is like to live as a colony oppressed by an empire. This, however, was precisely the social and political context of Jesus and his earliest followers. For many Jews, living under the subjugation of the Roman Empire was not ideal; they wanted to have their own divinely appointed king. During the first century, political tensions were on the rise in Israel, culminating in the Jewish revolts against the Romans in 66–70 C.E and then again in 132–135 C.E., both of which were squashed by the Roman 074 army. Facing the disappointment of the failed Jewish revolts, the early Christian community postponed their expectations of political redemption and salvation until the second coming of the Son of Man (as demonstrated in Jesus’ speeches in Luke 21 and Acts 1:6–11) and focused on more spiritual matters.

The summer of 2012 marked the 60th anniversary celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the British throne. The pomp and pageantry of her diamond julibee captivated not only her royal subjects but also people around world. Even journalists and broadcasters from the United States covering the festivities seemed enchanted by the rousing chords of “God Save the Queen.”a It’s a basic interpretive principle that words and texts only have meaning in context, literally that which is “with the text.” Often, we unconsciously import our own social, political and religious contexts, values and assumptions. When we encounter language of […]