Mosaic of War Philosophies

A Mosaic of War Philosohies

War in the Hebrew Bible: A Study in the Ethics of Violence
By Susan Niditch
New York: Oxford University Press

A Review Essay
by Walter Chalkley

War plays a vivid and important role in the Hebrew Scriptures. Some of the most compelling and recognizable stories concern particular battles, war heroes and critical moments within a campaign. The conquering of the Promised Land, the walls of Jericho, David and Goliath, and Joshua making the sun stand still in the sky are all stories that give us some insight into the varied perceptions of war held by the Scriptural writers.

The tales usually are meant to inspire in some way. They either show the results of faith in God or serve to give warning of the results of certain types of behavior. However, the stories may be derived from very different rituals and traditions. While some of of the stories show mercy and honor in the course of the battle, others, indeed the most memorable passages, show instances of mass destruction and the killing of the loser's populace down to the last man, woman, child and, sometimes, even livestock.

In Susan Niditch's book, War in the Hebrew Bible, the author attempts to put into perspective the different wartime traditions within the Hebrew Scriptures. As the author herself states:

"This ongoing identification between contemporary situations and the warring scenes in the Hebrew Bible is a burden the tradition must guiltily bear. The particular violence of the Hebrew Scriptures has inspired violence, has served as a model of and a model for persecution, subjugation and extermination for millennia beyond is own reality."

She not only attempts to place the philosophies of war found in the Hebrew Scriptures into the proper relation to current users but also attempts to place them in proper relation to each other. She points out that there are several war philosophies present within the Scriptures in question, some closely derivative, some almost diametrically opposed. The differences in philosophy are more often borne out in the telling of the tale than in its subject. That is, the writer's own personal interpretation of the events of a legendary battle reflects not only the writer's philosophy but the ideas prevalent at the time of its initial recording.

To support her thesis, the author very effectively uses the methods of literary criticism and illustrates the subtle differences in the telling of the same war tales in different places within the Scriptures. A slight change here, an omission there leaves the basis of the story virtually unchanged yet drastically alters the story's feel and its ultimate meaning. Therefore, the Biblical writers pass on not only the "seed" of the story but also something that is at least as important. They pass on clues that help flesh out the history of an idea over time and the ability of the people of one era to rationalize the actions of those of another.

Dr. Niditch's examination begins with the in-depth analysis of the "ban" and its two uses within the war texts of the Hebrew Scriptures (indeed, a full third of the book deals with this subject). The ban, the systematic killing of all men, women, children and even livestock, seems to be the most troubling of the Biblical war philosophies covered by the author. Also, it seems to be the most popular. The citing of Biblical instances of total annihilation coupled with divine support or approval has been used by everyone from Cotton Mather to Bernard of Clairvaux to agitate and inspire the populace during times of war or social conflict.

While extremely effective in a military sense, it does not seem to correspond with other beliefs found within the Scriptures, sometimes within the same passage. How does the all-encompassing and quite violent ban fit in with the life-affirming rules found elsewhere? In her study, the author attempts to show the relation of not only the two ban philosophies but also of the place these and other war traditions held in early Hebrew society as a whole.

The initial manifestation of the ban that is examined is that of the ban as "God's Portion." That is, the lives of the conquered populace are God's "spoil" from the battle and, therefore, they are dispatched in His honor. The author believes that the ban grows from the blood sacrifice tradition and is meant to thank Yahweh for His favors in battle.

This philosophy grants to those slain a certain dignity and value as one does not sacrifice the worst item or weakest livestock to God; one sacrifices the best and the most important. Therefore, the sacrifice under the ban is acknowledging the victim's worth. In this way, the Biblical writers were able to justify such mass killing with an ideology that affirmed the importance of human life.

The second interpretation of the ban arose, according to the author, as later writers were uncomfortable with the idea of a God that would demand such mass killing as a sacrifice. The details of the ban were almost identical: the loser's populace, every man, woman and child, was killed. The ideology behind the killing was altered, however, and the ban was reinterpreted as God's justice and punishment for sin. Those killed under this interpretation of the ban deserved their fate through their transgressions.

The other war philosophies discussed in the book are handled in a concise and thorough manner that makes for some interesting reading. From this point, the author compares each new ideology with the previously covered ban traditions, something that the reader, after spending so much time learning about the ban, does as well. With the ban traditions established as the most familiar war philosophy in the Hebrew Scriptures, the remaining ideologies are better viewed when placed against it.

For instance, an ideology found in Numbers 31, which the author defines as the priestly ideology, so called because of the number of rituals administered by the priests both before and after the battle, is easily compared to the ban tradition. The events recorded there are so similar to the ban text that it is often seen as just that. However, there are important differences that show a world view quite apart from that of the traditional ban stories.

The passage deals with God's command to Moses to "avenge the Israelites upon the Midianites." When the battle is won, Moses puts everyone under the ban except the virgin girls. The author believes it is this exception that separates this text from the traditional ban text. This view of sexually active women as temptresses who lead men of Israel into sin and idolatry and, therefore, are worthy of their fate while virgin women are no threat and treated as war spoils is a vastly different world vision than the ban tradition relates.

Another of the "lesser" war traditions discussed is that which the author calls the bardic tradition. This is a new tradition entirely, different in almost all respects from the ban texts. This ideology is derived from an oral and courtly story-telling tradition concerning the exploits of "mighty men" who engage in a highly codified battle undertaken as sport among warriors of equal ability. The stories originally served to glorify a young nation state, its king and the heroes of its prior generations.

There is a most chivalric aspect to the proceedings. Instances of the tradition usually begin with a "taunt," a challenge of sorts that results in a meeting of the warriors, followed by the "duel." In almost all cases, the rewards for challenging a taunt and besting the taunter is glory, fame and, perhaps, some material reward. By far the best known example of this tradition is that of David and Goliath. David is taunted by Goliath, he goes forth to meet the challenge, wins and is forever remembered as a hero.

The next ideology discussed is the exact opposite of the bardic tradition. The author calls it the ideology of tricksterism. The solutions are pragmatic and realistic ways of elimination the roots of the problems that could lead to war. The chapter details four similar stories, one from Genesis and three from Judges, dealing with victory through various methods of deception.

Unlike the bardic tales, there is no ritual and no honor. Unlike the ban texts, there is no holy cause. The rape of Dinah, the story of Jael, Samson and Timnites, and the story of Ehund and Eglon are the four examples given in this tradition. All of these stories depict the "hero" as the underdog and the party disposed through deceit as the "established power." The killing commonly eliminates what could eventually be a major problem while it is still a minor one.

The similarities in these stories do not stop at their method of dispatch. Within each of the tales are elements of extreme violence (usually impalement) and overt sexuality (usually implied gender reversal). These basic aspects serve to bring them to a human level; that is, one that is much more of the flesh than of the spirit. There is little holy here; it is more realistic in its portrayal of a violent, bloody death through decption than the previous "glorious" battle scenes discussed earlier.

The final ideology Dr. Niditch covers is one that she calls the ideology of expediency. This philosophy basically states that while it is best not to engage in war, if it must be done, do whatever is necessary to win as decisively and quickly as possible. If innocents must be killed or a campaign of terror must be waged, so be it. This coupled with the idea of the necessity of a just cause for the war, is an ideology adopted by those powerful enough to use professional force to impose their will on those perceived as the enemy. The best example of this ideology is Jepthah's battle with the Ammonites as described in Judges 11.

This mosaic of war philosophies, some quite different from others, yet existing side by side, points to a long and quite complex history of the issue. As the author notes:

"There is more than over variety of ban ideology, and various war ideologies co-exist during any one period in the History of Israel. The priestly ideology of war has much in common with the ideology of the ban as God's justice while the violent pragmatism of the ideology of expediency is reflected also in the ideology of tricksterism. Those whose courts produced the ennobling bardic tradition may well have practiced the brutal ideology of expediency."

What the author attempts to clarify , and succeeds to do, in my opinion, is the way in which the Hebrews, in particular, but humans, in general, deal with the death of a great number of people during war. As a rule, the death of a vast number of people, either by our own hands or by the hands of our ancestors, has an affect on our perception of ourselves. It is something that is seen, in most cases, as wrong and, as such, it must be justified or rationalized so that we are able to deal with whatever guilt may be involved.

The attitudes uncovered in this book show the attempts of the Hebrew Scripture writers to do just that. More, they show how the Scripture writers reflected the society around the and, at the same time, molded the self-perception of the society. This valuable resource allowed the reader then and allows the modern reader to better relate to his cultural foundations and their continuing influence.

Dr. Niditch allows the reader to discover these ideas while guiding him or her through the various texts and pointing out the subtleties. Her frequent noting of Biblical citations of events allows one to follow along with the investigation of the ideologies smoothly. Stopping at each citation to read the corresponding Scriptural passage is time-consuming but, like her book, quite illuminating.