What is authority? a. power that is recognized as legitimate b. the ability to control the actions of others c. supreme authority within a specified territory

The correct answer is A) Power that is recognized as legitimate

Authority is the power that is recognized as legitimate.

It is the right to give orders and enforce them. It is the faculty to make decisions and enforce action. Authority can be exerted by the people who have gained the right to do so. Legitimately. If that is not the case, then authority turns into tyranny that oppresses. A leader always has to exert its authority by example, not by coercion.

on the succession of solomon's son, rehoboam, around 930 bce, the biblical account reports that the country split into two kingdoms: the kingdom of israel (including the cities of shechem and samaria) in the north and the kingdom of judah (containing jerusalem) in the south.