Relazioni di patronato e la storia dell’antica Palestina: dal modello concettuale alle interpretazioni socio-politiche

Abstract

Patron-client relationships have been well known in the field of social anthropology and political
sociology since the middle of the 20th century. What can the model of patronage or clientelistic bonds
tell us about the political articulation and dynamics of ancient Palestine’s societies and political
organizations? This paper, originating in a lecture at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”,
demonstrates the heuristic interpretative utility of this model of asymmetrical and reciprocal
connections in two periods of Palestinian history, the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age, drawing
largely on their epigraphic evidence, but also exploring its validity for analysing certain aspects of the
Hebrew Bible/the Old Testament.