This presentation will review the recent discussion of warfare in the Hebrew
Bible or Old Testament. It will examine some key texts that the discuss the
role of God as Warrior, Israel at war, the question of the presentation of war
in the Bible, and the theological and ideological purposes that it may have
served. The role of Israel's God as warrior, while comparable with other ancient
Near Eastern countries and their deities, also provided a basis for the nation
to understand its roles of defensive and offensive military activities. At the
same time, the role of God at war against Israel itself relativized warfare
among the people and ascribed ultimate value elsewhere. The understanding of
the diverse reports of Israel at war have now moved away from a "holy war"
model, and consider multiple forms of warfare and their justification or condemnation
in the biblical text. The role of battle accounts in the context of the greater
question of the use of texts preserved in the Bible for propaganda is also addressed.
This considers some of the recent evaluations in light of the texts themselves
and especially in comparison with the current evidence from contemporary ancient
Near Eastern battle accounts. The emphasis on the defensive character of war
is found to be prominent in key biblical texts. In the end, the biblical portrayal
of war is argued to be primarily a "necessary evil" rather than a
"glorification of death".
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