Before the monarchy
The earliest known extra-biblical source in which Israel is mentioned is the Egyptian Merneptah Stele of the thirteenth century, and it is with this date that most contemporary scholars feel confident in beginning the history of Israel. Archaeological evidence reveals settlement activity in the central frontier highlands of Israel including sites such as Ai, Bethel, and Shiloh. Hilltop villages were small in size and arranged in clusters of small pillared, multi-room houses, probably reflecting kinship ties (Stager 1985: 11-23). Water was stored in bell-shaped cisterns carved into the bedrock and the villagers engaged in subsistence agriculture, growing grapes, figs, cereals, legumes and other foodstuffs on terraced plots, with some variation depending upon the climate in each eco-niche (Meyers 1997: 10-11). They were also engaged in pastoral activities, raising sheep, cows, and goats. Archaeologists picture an essentially pre-state, nonurban culture having much in common with the lifestyles of other Northwest Semitic peoples of the area. Many scholars suggest, in fact, that it is difficult to identify houses, communities, or villages that are specifically Israelite. We can assume the existence of a lively oral culture, the political role of certain local chieftains, and the presence of traders. Additional archaeological finds that are intriguing but difficult to interpret include religious artifacts such as an eighteen centimeter bronze bull or a perhaps sacred circle of stones (see Mazar 1992: 350-51). We can also imagine the likelihood of the need for defense and the possible disputes that may have arisen between groups vying for control of land or water rights.
Certain features of war in ancient Israel pertain to this early period and all subsequent times. In Israel as in any traditional, pre-modern culture, wars, as T. R. Hobbs notes (1989: 18), were “close order affairs” in which warriors “smelled their opponents as they fought.” The fighting took place largely “on foot,” while “weapons were simple, thrown or pulled by the human arm.” “The quality of materials was poor” and “firepower notoriously inaccurate.” Such physical realities inevitably are going to affect not only images of war but also attitudes to fighting, one’s views of the enemy. Many cameo scenes in the Hebrew Bible such as the confrontation between David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17), the deadly wrestling match between young men of opposing sides in the civil war between forces of David and Saul (2 Sam 2:12-17), and the confrontation between Asael and Abner (2 Sam 2:18-23) invoke the flavor of such war-making up-close, while some of the ideologies of war, which I will argue evidence guilt and inner-conflict about killing in war, may be rooted in the realities of face-to-face combat in which one’s enemy dies before one’s eyes and at one’s hand.
Another ongoing feature of war throughout the ancient Near East involves the role of the deity. Not only is the deity himself a warrior who fights with or without human supporters, but he decides the outcome of battles and may use defeat in war as a means of punishing an unfaithful people. The deity is usually consulted before battle via oracle or another method to help leaders decide whether or how to engage in battle (see Kang 1989: 56-72, 98-107, 215-22; Niditch 1993: 125). The integral, physical presence of the deity in battles fought by humans as well as the bigger-than-life cosmogonic pattern in which worlds are created, lead to a particularly macho divine portrait. God marches to battle, he confronts the enemy, and his sword devours unmercifully. This personification of the deity poses an ethical dilemma to many within the latter traditions for whom the Hebrew Bible is sacred literature. What sort of model is here offered? Should we imitate God in dealing with those we perceive to be the ungodly, the forces of evil, or should we wait for that all powerful warrior to finish them off himself? While the former can lead to extremely agonistic behavior by human beings, the latter can actually encourage a kind of de facto pacifism. Before exploring these varying ideologies of war, we complete our historical overview.
The monarchy
While essential aspects of pre-monarchic culture continue for all biblical times, the late tenth century evidenced the existence of a new urban culture as well, characterized by monumental architecture with fortifications, casement wall systems, six chambered gateways, streets, drainage canals, and water projects (Mazar 1992: 382,406,416-17, 424, 470-71, 484; for a summary, Niditch 1997: 14-22). Archaeological evidence includes the remains of buildings used to support the military and bureaucratic infrastructure (Meyers 1998:250) and increased use of the technology ofwriting. Finds also include hints of popular religious practices that differ in some respects from “proper” modes of religious behavior enjoined in the Bible. Actual references to wars in which Israelite kingdoms engaged are found, for example, in the ninth century Mesha Stele and Tel Dan Stele inscriptions (King and Stager 2001: 223). Weapons such as “clubs, maces, spears, lances, daggers, and swords” would have been common in the ancient Near East throughout biblical times (ibid. 224). In addition to the continued use of bronze, this period saw manufacture of weapons from the stronger metal iron, imported to Israel and hardened via a carbonizing “quenching” system (ibid. 167,169,225). As Israel made the transition from decentralized, pre-state society to a more centralized state that controlled the lowlands as well as the hill towns, state-supported armies found use for chariots with iron axles (ibid. 189, 244). As Hobbs notes, the monarchies led to more fully equipped armies and somewhat “more effective weaponry” (1989: 111).
Post-monarchy
The northern kingdom was conquered by Assyria in 721, the southern kingdom by Babylonia in 587/6. The elites were sent into exile by these superpowers in order to lessen the possibility of organized revolt. Major population centers were disrupted, and a new frontier, in a sense, opened with the Persian conquest of the area in the late sixth century; for Persia allowed Jews from the exiled aristocracy to return to Judea to live and lead under Persian rule. The temple in Jerusalem, which had been destroyed by the Babylonians, was rebuilt with Persian assistance. Some would suggest that these literate returnees, from the upper and priestly classes, were those who collected many of the Biblical traditions and wrote them down, putting their own ideologies and stamp on the material. They played an important role in preserving images of war in ancient Israel although the activity of actual, independent armies was over for the time being.
Certain threads in the archaeological record thus provide information about the evolution of weaponry and modes of warfare in ancient israel, and these aspects of Israel’s material culture do have a bearing on the way Israelites may have viewed participation in battle or their relationship to the enemy. On the other hand, artifacts lead only so far, and so we must turn to the Hebrew Scriptures to explore attitudes expressed by Israelites themselves about war, albeit keeping in mind the methodological challenges and complexities discussed above.
World History
