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Holy War in Ancient Israel, by Gerhard von Rad

Posted Thursday, October 25, 2007 by Charlie Trimm
Categories: Military Issues
This is the classic book on holy war in Ancient Israel, although I am frankly somewhat mystified as to why it has achieved classic status. But I do not mind, since it has been translated into English due to its popularity. Von Rad presents his somewhat complicated view of how holy war functioned in ancient Israel. His view is highly indebted to form criticism, since he views holy war as an institution and desires to see how it functioned in various places.
1. The ancient form of holy war was conducted by the 12 tribe confederation (amphictyony is the technical term), and the key aspects to holy war were that it was undertaken under a confederation obligation (an obligation which was from God, and so the war was a holy war) and that it was a defensive war. The wars were conducted with a high level of ritual and were fought by militias. Charismatic leaders (prophets) led them. The people actually fought, but they fought with a psychological strength gained from believing this was the war of God.
2. With the monarchy everything changes. Saul raises a professional army, which replaces the militia. Solomon adds military technology such as the chariot. Holy war is replaced by government war done by professionals, who are not interested in ritual, although the change is gradual.
3. The prophets react against this eventually and raise the idea of holy war again, especially seen in Isaiah. Israel does not need to fight, they need to trust God. But the ritual aspect of holy war is left behind and not developed. Eschatological holy war is found in the prophets. Prophets take the place of holy war in a certain sense.
4. After 701, when the professional army is crushed by the Assyrians, everything changes again. With no viable economy the only way to defend the nation is through a militia. This is the age of the Deuteronomist, who brings back many of the ideas of holy war, which we can see in the book of Deuteronomy as well as the stories of the Deuteronomic History (Joshua through 2 Kings).
5. By the time of Josiah, a professional army is raised again, but after it is defeated by Egypt, war in Israel ends.

While von Rad does have a fascinating way to tie all the loose threads together, his work is highly based on critical methodologies. There have been several reactions to his work which remove some part of the construction he made, such as doubting the existence of the 12 tribe confederation or not seeing holy war as an institution. While he does have some helpful ideas along the way, I'm not sure von Rad is all that helpful for evangelicals who are more highly committed to the text than von Rad. But it is still the classic work, so you have to read it.

Series: Book Reviews
The Gods of the Nations, by Daniel Block
Hebrew Poetry and Robert Alter
Creation According to Sailhamer
The Rise of Evangelicalism	Random book reviews from Charlie
Old Testament Theology Devotionals
The Dominance of Evangelicalism: The Age of Spurgeon and Moody
Rethinking Missions with Steve Saint
Neither Poverty nor Riches
The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind
The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind II
Going Places with God
A God Entranced Vision of All Things
The Meaning of Jesus: Borg versus Wright
Military History and Christianity: Do they mix?
Wright and Borg, Part 3
The Mosaic of Christian Belief
Cambridge Companion to Evangelical Theology
The Problem of War in the Old Testament
God is a Warrior
Holy War in Ancient Israel, by Gerhard von Rad
Yahweh is a Warrior
Is There A Meaning in This Text
Faithful Intepretation: Reading the Bible in a Postmodern World
Engaging Scripture
Does the Bible Justify Violence?
Reading Scripture with the Church
A History of Christian Thought, Volume 1
The Darker Side of Samuel, Saul and David
War in the Hebrew Bible: A Study in the Ethics of Violence
Golden Compass Trilogy
Israelite Religions, Richard Hess
The Mission of God
Biblical Interpretation: Then and Now
Life in Biblical Israel
Biblical Theology
Reading and Preaching the Bible in the Worship of the Church 3
Theological Introduction to the Psalms
The Tree of Life: An Exploration of Biblical Wisdom Literature