Holy War in Ancient IsraelFrom the earliest days of Israel's existence as a people, holy war was a sacred institution, undertaken as a cultic act of a religious community. The concept of holy war, an intriguing and sometimes disturbing theme in the Old Testament, is given its most articulate expression in this classic study by the distinguished German scholar Gerhard von Rad. For Israel, the most important feature of holy war was the demand for faith in Yahweh's saving acts. However, von Rad argues, it was not Yahweh alone who acted; rather, because they envisioned Yahweh fighting on their behalf the Israelites themselves were inspired - and obliged - to fight even harder. In this regard, the actual events differed vastly from the picture given by the biblical narratives, which downplay and often exclude the human factor and stress the exclusive warlike action of Yahweh, thus equating holy war with absolute miracle. |
Contents
The Theory of Holy War | 41 |
Holy War in the History of Ancient Israel | 52 |
Holy War in me PostSolomonic Novella | 74 |
Holy War in the Prophets | 94 |
Deuteronomy and Holy War | 115 |
Conclusion and Prospect | 128 |
A Representative Bibliography | 135 |
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Common terms and phrases
actual Albrecht Alt already Alten Testament amphictyony Ancient Israel Argues army battle Canaanite certainly chariots charismatic Christian conception of holy concerning confederacy Conquest covenant criticism cultic institution David Deborah Deut Deuteronomistic history Divine Warrior enemies especially Essays event Exod faith in Yahweh fear form-critical Fortress Gerhard von Rad God's Gottwald Hebrew Bible Hexateuch historical historiography holy war holy war tradition human ideology institution of holy interpretation Isaiah Israelite Jerusalem Jerusalem cult Josh Joshua JSOT Judah Judg Justice king kingship Krieg land literary literature LORD Martin Noth means Mennonite military militia miracle monarchy motif narrative narrator Old Testament original Peace political portrayal prophets question reflection religion religious repr ritual royal Samuel Saul Scholars Press Schwally Sisera Sitz im Leben Smend Solomon song Song of Deborah speak spiritual Stolz story theologian theory of holy tion tribal tribes understanding victory warfare Weber Weippert word Zion