It is clear that the Jerusalem establishment appeals to the old covenantal tradition chosenness. When that tradition is drawn close to the urban reality of Jerusalem with its economic advantage and its political domination of the peasant economy round about, it is clear that the claims of dynasty and temple have come to serve as legitimation for a socio-economic, political power arrangement. It is precisely that legitimation that insists that the present power arrangement not only had divine approval, but was guaranteed to perpetuity.
