Michael Hasel compares Israelite law with the practices of surrounding nations through the analysis of textual, iconographic, and archaeological evidence. His in-depth study has notable implications for placing Israel’s laws of warfare in their original context.
“Here, by careful exegesis of the Hebrew text, and with close attention to the relevant ancient Near Eastern sources, both written and pictorial, Dr. Hasel is able to clarify, and thus to advance, our understanding of both the biblical and other ancient data.”
From the foreword by Kenneth A. Kitchen,
Personel and Brunner Professor Emeritus of Egyptology,
University of Liverpool, Liverpool, England
“This study serves as a model for interpreting the biblical text within the cultural context from which it derived and to which it spoke in the first place. In demonstrating that the military practices proscribed in Deuteronomy 20 fit better in the second millennium B.C. than in the first, Michael Hasel has made a significant contribution to the ongoing discussion of the origins of Deuteronomy.”
Daniel I. Block, John R. Sampey Professor of Old Testament Interpretation,The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky
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Contents
List of Illustrations
Foreword
Preface
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
I. Provenience
II. Aim, Assumptions, and Approach
The Laws of Warfare in Deuteronomy 20
I. Deuteronomy 20:10–18
II. Deuteronomy 20:19–20
III. Conclusions and Implications
Assyrian and Babylonian Military Practices
I. Assyrian Military Activity
II. Babylonian Military Activity
III. Conclusions and Implications
Canaanite, Hittite, and Egyptian Military Practices
I. Canaanite Military Activity
II. Hittite Military Activity
III. Egyptian Military Activity
Conclusions and Implications
Appendix: The Destruction of Trees in the Moabite Campaign of 2 Kings 3
I. Jehoram’s War against Moab
II. Siege Prohibitions—Deuteronomy 20:19–20
Bibliography
Author Index
Subject Index
