Theocracy - Dictionary Definition and Overview

Theocracy :  (noun)
1: a political unit governed by a deity (or by officials thought to be divinely guided)
2: the belief in government by divine guidance

Based on WordNet 2.0

Theocracy : \The*oc"ra*cy\, n. [Gr. ?; ? God _ ? to be strong, to rule, fr. ? strength: cf. F. th['e]ocratie. See Theism, and cf. Democracy.] 1. Government of a state by the immediate direction or administration of God; hence, the exercise of political authority by priests as representing the Deity.

2. The state thus governed, as the Hebrew commonwealth before it became a kingdom.

Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

Theocracy :  a word first used by Josephus to denote that the Jews were under the direct government of God himself. The nation was in all things subject to the will of their invisible King. All the people were the servants of Jehovah, who ruled over their public and private affairs, communicating to them his will through the medium of the prophets. They were the subjects of a heavenly, not of an earthly, king. They were Jehovah's own subjects, ruled directly by him (comp. 1 Sam. 8:6-9).



Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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