Social Architecture (9) 50s & 100s

The resources and capabilities of a Ten will be too limited to deal with many situations. A number of Tens will need to come together to deal with any larger threats to their community.

If all of the adults in a village came together for a specific purpose, they would be a Fifty. If a couple of villages got together, they might be a Hundred.

Fifties and Hundred derived their authority from the Tens that comprise them. They can only act, if the leaders of the Tens give permission.

Fifties and Hundreds can be used for four main purposes.

• Defence – sometimes several Tens will come together to deal with an external threat to their society.

• Welfare – Financial support might flow from one Ten to another. If a household or Ten was forced to sell their land, a senior member of a connected Ten would buy their land and hold it in trust until the next Jubilee.

The land must not be sold permanently... you must provide for the redemption of the land. if one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem what his countryman has sold (Lev 25:24,25).

• Justice – The relationships between the Tens that make up a Hundred will be important for resolving issues of justice.

• Marriage – A young man will generally need to go outside his Ten to find a wife. He will have a better chance of finding a wife in his Hundred or neighbouring one.