One does not have to read very far in the Old Testament to discover that war and warfare are frequently recurring motifs. Whether spiritualized, extolled in poetry, or reported in sparse narration, war is everywhere. One aspect of the ancient Israelite approach to war in the Bible is found in the Hebrew word herem (meaning "to place under a ban" or "devote to destruction"), a word that often calls for the complete annihilation of an enemy and is translated by some as "holy war." The practice of herem assaults modern sensibilities with regard to right and wrong actions in times of war and thus has proven to be a hermeneutical dilemma. How can such passages inform modern readers when the armies of Israel "completely destroyed" their enemy (often including women, children, and livestock in the annihilation), not only with impunity, but with divine direction and blessing? This dissertation examines the treatment of herem in the work of three prominent 20th century evangelical Old Testament scholars: Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Peter C. Craigie, and Tremper Longman, III. As an exercise in the history of biblical interpretation, it specifically examines how these evangelical scholars interpret a problematic biblical concept for an audience that accepts the Bible as an infallible document which is authoritative for Christian life and practice. Based on an extensive review of their writings and personal interviews with Kaiser and Longman, it takes a close look at the hermeneutical strategies they share for interpreting herem, others that they reject, and still others that are unique to each scholar. Although clearly sharing a common interpretative tradition, each scholar represents a distinct way of negotiating the simultaneous demands of historical criticism and contemporary evangelical theology. Moreover, it also demonstrates that there is no monolithic evangelical approach to interpreting this problematic military convention; rather, the works of Kaiser, Craigie, and Longman indicate that there is a multiplicity of approaches to resolving perplexing biblical stories within evangelical Old Testament scholarship. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2003. / Date of Defense: February 4, 2003. / Ancient Israelite Approach To War / Includes bibliographical references. / David Levenson, Professor Directing Dissertation; Eric Walker, Outside Committee Member; John Kelsay, Committee Member; Shannon Burkes, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_169187 |
| Contributors | Lyons, William L. (authoraut), Levenson, David (professor directing dissertation), Walker, Eric (outside committee member), Kelsay, John (committee member), Burkes, Shannon (committee member), Department of Religion (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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