FAST FOOD AD 2025: Twenty-Ninth Helping

FAST FOOD AD 2025: Twenty-Ninth Helping

WAR

Dictionary of the Bible

Rev. John L. McKenzie, Imprimatur, 1966

WAR:

War was a normal state in the ancient world of the Near East; there are few years of record without campaigns. The ancient war was a candid war of conquest or looting. Both of these ends were sanctified by the religious character of war, which was fought on behalf of the gods of the people and under the leadership and protection of the gods. The cruelty and barbarism of ancient war were equally candid; ancient war is shocking only because it involved the primitive means of personal effort, but could not achieve the vast mechanical horrors of modern warfare. Prisoners of war had no rights whatsoever; the entire population could be enslaved, unless the defeated army were regarded as a menace to the victor; if it were, the male population could be exterminated or mutilated. Destruction of conquered towns was a normal act of the victor.

The time for beginning a campaign was the spring (2 S 11:1), which afforded at least six months of killing and destruction before the rainy season. War could not be carried on actively in the winter.The ancient battle was often no more than a melee of confused fighting; indeed it could be no more than a rush of two shouting groups toward each other until one group yielded to panic; after that the battle was flight and slaughter. The war cry was intended to stimulate courage in those on god’s side and to inspire terror in the enemy (Nm 10:9; 1 S 17: 52).

In Israel, at least until the monarchy, war was the holy war. The wars of Israel were the wars of Yahweh (Ex 17:16; Nm 21:14; 1 S 25:28). Tho genocide by Israel of the  Amalekites was the execution of the anger of Yahweh (1 S 28:18).

The technical phrase for initiating war was to “sanctify” war and warriors i.e., to place them in a state of holiness for a holy activity (Je 6:4; Jl 4:9; Mi 3:5). Yahweh was present in the camp (Dt 23:15) through the symbolic presence of the ark (1 S 4:7;  2 S 11:11) A motto of Israel was “Yahweh is my standard [of war]” (Ex 17:15). Yahweh himself is called a warrior (Ex 15:3; Ps 24:8); he fights on behalf of Israel (Ex 14:14; Dt 1:30; 32:41; Jos 10:14, 42; 23:10; 24:12; Jgs 5:23), He sends panic among His enemies ( Ex 23:27 f) or hailstones (Jos 10:10 f) The theophany is often connected with war. Yahweh delivers the enemy into the hands of Israel (Jos 2: 24; 6:2, 16;  Jgs 3:28; 1 S 23:4; 1 K 20:28). Victory is not achieved by the strength or the numbers or the weapons of Israel, but by Yahweh (Jgs 7:2 ff; 1 S 14:6; 17:45, 47). It is Yahweh who leads the armies of Israel (Jgs 4:14; Dt 20:4; 2 S 5:24). He is Yahweh Sabaoth , God of Armies, God of Host who gives the victory (Ex 15:14-16; 23:27 f). The enemies of Israel are the enemies of Yahweh (Jgs 5:23, 31).

 Modern readers find the Israelite concept of the holy war a primitive type of morality; this it is, but it is doubtfully more primitive than the modern concept of war. Where the Bible relates the thought patterns of early Israel, it does not seem to rise above the thought of its time; and its conception of Yahweh as a warrior, Yahweh Sabaoth, was an imperfect apprehension of God’s reality and activity.