holy war in joshua

The War-Prince of God. And I particularly was interested in how Coogan continued – “In the frequent oversimplification of the biblical writers, non-Israelites were the enemy, and they fully deserved the punishments that were divinely imposed upon them.” (169).Modern scholars, according to Coogan, have suggested that this destruction of all the previous inhabitants of the land could have been in the attempt to avoid contracting their diseases, as the Israelites would not have been previously exposed to these strains of illness and would therefore be particularly susceptible to them.I’m not sure that explanation is really any more comforting to me, though. It baffles my understanding of God to think that God not only sat by while Joshua led the Israelites to slaughter one group after another, but actually also supported and aided in this destruction.

So I agree on your point that we should not see these scriptures as being 100% true but rather read them with a watchful eye and a knowledgeable mind.Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Joshua 6 Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. The Lord is a man of war.

You may notice that I put the words “holy war” in scare quotes throughout this essay. They were consecrated to the Lord ( Joshua 3:5). That’s abhorrent for us today, but I don’t think we should try to explain it away from the Bible, or even apply softening reasoning (disease?). Now that is what of course is happening in Joshua 9. Holy War in Joshua: Texts of Terror? For me, that strengthens the idea that they were on a mission to kill every last living thing. He teacheth my hands to war. Even the books themselves are confusing because Yahweh commands the people of Israel to destroy various groups of people to keep themselves “pure” but then the Israelites not only save these people but interact with them on a day to day basis.

Sometimes he commands us to commit complete genocide on our enemies. Psalm 144:1. c. Joshua 5:13–15. This includes the practice of herem where neighboring groups of people would also consecrate the spoils of any war to their god.As pointed out in class and in Dr. Lester’s podcast – there are many disagreements to as if Joshua did try to destroy everything in his path and if he ever did really try to destroy whole peoples.

גלֶיךָQuod filii non circumcidermtur, pœnœ species fuisse videtur qua Deus non tam ipsos plectebat filios quam impiorum parentum urebat animos, quum viderent liberos suos sacrosancti fœderis symbolo carere.

The concept of “just war,” meaning justifiable war waged by a legitimate government, is not the same as a “holy war.” Critics sometimes claim that holy war is encouraged in the Old Testament. proved to be over and over and over again… According to Coogan, “Preservation of Israel’s religious and cultural identity was essential”. Like the spies Joshua sent into Jericho, the apostles were an advance force for the conquering purposes of God. The Lord must not see anything indecent among them ( Deut 23:9-14). The people purify themselves for a campaign that is to be a holy war marked by the sounding of seven trumpets followed by a shout. No one went out and no one came in. As the people receive the consecration to the holy war through circumcision and the Passover, so Joshua, their leader, receives his through the appearance of the prince over Jehovah’s army, who commands him, as was done to Moses (Ex. I think I like what Coogan had suggested earlier in the chapter, that perhaps “the account of the conquest in Joshua 1-12 is not to be taken at face value.” It seems likely that this massive wave of militaristic conquest would have been a part of Joshua and the Israelite’s entry into the Promised Land – after all, I can’t seem to think of a time in history has a group of people taken over the land of another group of people but by power and force… But it also seems to me as though there must have been some groups of people who gradually assimilated with the Israelites.In yesterday’s class discussion of the fall of Jericho I came across a pertinent phrase, in Joshua 6:18, “keep away from the things devoted to destruction, so as not to covet and take any of the devoted things.” I was interested in the idea of coveting, and I take it to mean here that the invading Israelites shouldn’t get rich over this divine mission. It baffles my understanding of God to think that God not only sat by while Joshua led the Israelites to slaughter one group after another, but actually also supported and aided in this destruction. {1} Especially singled out for censure by critics is the conquest of Canaan, the land promised to Abraham, by Joshua …

Psalm 18:34. We must note, too that Joshua’s practices were also used by the other people in the area at the time and so what they did may have been considered standard.

It does make Joshua and his people look totally merciless and cruel. Read verse in New International Version I’ve never known quite what to make of the intense destruction of all these groups of people in Joshua. Their mission was to preach the gospel of Christ’s kingdom.