Editing Theocracy (section)

== Etymology ==
The word theocracy originates from the {{langx|grc|θεοκρατία}} ({{lang|grc-latn|theocratia}}) meaning "the rule of God". This, in turn, derives from [[:wikt:θεός|θεός]] (theos), meaning "god", and [[:wikt:κρατέω|κρατέω]] (''krateo''), meaning "to rule". Thus the meaning of the word in Greek was "rule by god(s)" or human [[incarnation]](s) of god(s).

The term was initially coined by [[Flavius Josephus]] in the first century AD to describe the characteristic government of the [[Jew]]s. Josephus argued that while mankind had developed many forms of rule, most could be subsumed under the following three types: [[monarchy]], [[oligarchy]], and [[democracy]]. However, according to Josephus, the government of the Jews was unique. Josephus offered the term ''theocracy'' to describe this polity in which a god was sovereign and the god's word was law.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2849/2849-h/2849-h.htm |title=Against Apion by Flavius Josephus, Book II, Chapter 17 |via=gutenberg.org |date=October 2001 |access-date=2015-03-20 |archive-date=2020-02-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215025705/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2849/2849-h/2849-h.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Josephus' definition was widely accepted until the [[The Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] era, when the term took on negative [[connotation]]s and was barely salvaged by [[Hegel]]'s commentary.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Moked |first=Oran |date=2004 |title=The Relationship between Religion and State in Hegel's Thought |journal=Hegel Bulletin |language=en |volume=25 |issue=1–2 |pages=96–112 |doi=10.1017/S0263523200002032 |issn=2051-5367 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The first recorded English use was in 1622, with the meaning "[[sacerdotal]] government under divine inspiration" (as in [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|ancient Israel and Judah]]); the meaning "priestly or religious body wielding political and civil power" was first recorded in 1825.