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Proclaim Liberty: How the Hebrew Bible Molded Revolutionary America

(Boston Globe) Jeff Jacoby - The Continental Congress in Philadelphia approved the final text of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776. From the tower at Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell rang out, summoning citizens to hear the new nation's proclamation of sovereignty. On the bell was written: "Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants Thereof." Those words hadn't been drafted by the Founding Fathers. They came from the Hebrew Bible - Leviticus 25:10. At the time of the Revolution, Jews were a minuscule fragment of the American population, perhaps 1,000 of the colonies' 2.5 million residents, and were often called "Hebrews." Yet the Hebrew influence on revolutionary America's ideas was immense. Woven into the warp and woof of life in the New World were the tales and teachings of the Old Testament. Benjamin Franklin proposed the design of a "great seal" for the new nation: Moses lifting up his wand, and dividing the Red Sea, and Pharaoh in his chariot overwhelmed with the waters - with the motto: "Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God." Thomas Jefferson proposed: The children of Israel in the wilderness, led by a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. Both scenes are from Exodus 13-14. Thomas Paine's revolutionary pamphlet "Common Sense," a blistering attack on kingship, focuses on Gideon and Samuel in the Hebrew Bible.
2019-07-12 00:00:00
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