III. When the Is'ra-el-ites went out of E'gypt a nation was born, and
the family became a state, with all the institutions of government.
Therefore we call this the =Period of the Is'ra-el-ite People=.
1. It opens with the =Exodus from E'gypt=, B. C. 1270? (Exod. 12.
40-42), and closes with the =Coronation of Saul=, B. C. 1050?.
2. During this period the government of the Is'ra-el-ites was peculiar.
The Lord was their only King (Judg. 8. 23), but there was a priestly
order for religious service (Exod. 28. 1), and from time to time men
were raised up by a divine appointment to rule, who were called judges
(Judg. 2. 16). This constituted the =Theocratic Administration=, or a
government by God.