Editing Divine right of kings (section)

===Christianity ===
The Christian notion of a divine right of kings is traced to a story found in [[1 Samuel]], where the prophet [[Samuel]] anoints [[Saul]] and then [[King David|David]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=1 Samuel 16 |url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Samuel+16&version=KJ21 |access-date=18 September 2022 |website=Biblegateway}}</ref> as ''[[Messiah]]'' ("anointed one")—king over [[Israelites|Israel]]. In Jewish traditions, the lack of a divine leadership represented by an [[Anointing|anointed]] king, beginning shortly after the death of [[Joshua]], left the people of Israel vulnerable, and the promise of the "promised land" was not fully fulfilled until a king was anointed by a prophet on behalf of God.

The effect of anointing was seen to be that the monarch became inviolable, so that even when Saul sought to kill David, David would not raise his hand against him because "he was the Lord's anointed". Raising a hand to a king was therefore considered to be as sacrilegious as raising a hand against God and stood on equal footing as blasphemy. In essence, the king stood in place of God and was never to be challenged "without the challenger being accused of blasphemy" &ndash; except by a prophet, which under Christianity was replaced by the church.