The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls: The ... - josephprestonkirk

214 THE BIBLICAL AND QUMRANIC CONCEPT OF WAR
may in part be due to a Judean culture that preserved a strong military
character, and perhaps to the assistance of Jewish mercenaries. 3
The Divine Warrior
A second important strand of war ideology in the Hebrew Bible is the
depiction of Yahweh as a warrior, both a military commander and an
individual combatant. It is to be expected that Yahweh, who in the
Hebrew Bible is a composite of many different divinities (Elyon, El, Baal,
Ahura Mazda), should have a strong military element in his characterization.
Some have suggested that the most ancient cult of Yahweh worshipped
him as a god of war who used natural phenomena such as rain,
thunder, and earthquakes in his battles. Although this conclusion
remains debated, the title Yahweh Sebaoth probably means “Yahweh of
armies,” and whether the armies in question are terrestrial or superterrestrial
(or both) is not especially important. But various ingredients of
Yahweh’s military character need to be distinguished. He is a creator who
vanquished a serpent/dragon at the time of creation (see Ps 74:14; Isa
51:9), in which respect he can be compared with myths featuring Baal or
Marduk; he is also frequently celebrated as a king (e.g., Psalms 10, 24,
44, 47), and the importance of warfare to monarchy is obvious. Ezekiel’s
vision of the heavenly throne (ch. 1) depicts Yahweh as sitting on a chariot-throne,
and chapter 10 describes the departure of the chariot from the
city, as the protective deity abandons it to its fate. A remarkable confirmation
of the image of Yahweh as a warrior is found on a coin from
Persian period Yehud, showing the deity seated on a chariot. Though
there remains some doubt, it is probable that the deity is Yahweh. 4
But to return to the biblical imagery, two poems in particular, the Song
of the Sea in Exodus 15 and the “Song of Deborah” in Judges 5, celebrate
martial acts of the deity in liberating the people of Israel from their
enemies. They also invoke mythological themes, in that Yahweh’s
enemies are not merely Israel’s earthly foes but cosmic forces. In Exodus
15, with its introductory acclaim “Yahweh is a warrior,” Yahweh destroys
the Egyptian soldiers through wind and sea (vv. 8–12):
3. According to Hecataeus of Abdera (300 B.C.E.), the Judeans gave their children
a military education. For discussion, see Doron Mendels, “Hecataeus of Abdera and
a Jewish ‘patrios politeia,’” ZAW 95 (1983): 96–110.
4. For the coin, see Ya(akov Meshorer, Ancient Jewish Coinage (2 vols.; Dix Hills, NY:
Amphora Books, 1982), 1:21–30 and plate 1.1.