Review article

WAR AND WAR IDEOLOGIES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

Darko Tomašević ; Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The theme of the God of violence in the OT from the perspective of war and war ideologies, presented in this article, is structurally and thematically relying on the book of Susan Niditch, War in the Hebrew Bible. A Study in the Ethics Violence (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.). It starts with the ideology of herem as sacrifice, according to which the complete destruction of the enemy is considered a sacrifice to God, confessing his Lordship over the victory. Since God allegedly demands this kind of sacrifice, the warriors are freed from responsibility. It continues with the ideology of herem as the justice of God, which reflects the attempt of considering the act of killing in the light of good and evil. The enemy must be destroyed completely because they are sinners – and this is demanded by the justice of God. The Israelites are merely an instrument of the justice of God. The third ideology is the Priestly one, visible in Num 31, very similar to the previous one. The enemy must be killed because it deserves the vengeance of God, and only the pure can survive (i.e. virgins). According to this ideology, the killing in war defiles the warriors which subsequently must perform the ritual purification. The Bible contains the hero traditions of war which glorify the warrior, his courage, capability, leadership qualities. This tradition understands war as a kind of sport with strict rules (fair play). The ideology of tricksterism in war does not respect any rule, and is used by the weaker, which can overcome only by deception. Such a war is justified by the right motive and finality of the war. The powerful “players” use the ideology of calculation according to which in war everything is permitted, unlike the weaker, which enter war to defend, by justifying their aggression with the “permission” of God. The author outlines the prophetic ideology of nonparticipation, according to which there is no need of going into war, because the victory is given by God, not by man. God loves the helpless that rely on him, because He is their only helper. All these ideologies are used in the Old Testament, sometimes even simultaneously. In conclusion: all ideologies, except the last one, have the same goal: justify the war and lower the human responsibility. In any case: the attitude towards war in the Old Testament is very complex including variety, overlapping and contradictions.

Keywords

God and violence; war in the Old Testament; herem; war ideologies

Hrčak ID:

205880

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/205880

Publication date:

23.3.2018.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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