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Old Testament

The Jewish Experience of Oppression as Portrayed in the Old Testament: Leadership and Survival Strategies

The Jewish Experience of Oppression as Portrayed in the Old Testament: Leadership and Survival Strategies

April 2, 1991 | Shirley Castelnuovo
This article examines two bargaining (accommodationist) types of leaders, the shtadlan and the court Jew, using Hebrew Bible and post Biblical stories. Its focus is the notion of obligation as a way of under standing how leadership types can maximize the survival strategies of an oppressed group. Leaders organize, articulate, propose strategies, represent their group to the oppressor, and in general are critical to the survival and identity of the group. Different types of leaders differently affect a group's sense of its identity and sense of efficacy. This difference relates to the way obligation ties between members and between members and leaders are reconfirmed and validated.