the-bible-and-the-dead-sea-scrolls

222 THE BIBLICAL AND QUMRANIC CONCEPT OF WAR
It is, not surprisingly, from the direction of feminism that direct criticism
of the extent of martial language and concepts and values in the
Bible has come (see, e.g., Carol P. Christ). 17 War games are typically masculine
games, and the values of the battlefield typify those of the male
gender. Disappointingly, much liberation theology has in fact claimed
divine acts of military aggression as symbols of liberation, glorifying precisely
those mechanisms by which they themselves were oppressed by
colonial powers. To deplore human aggression while celebrating divine
aggression is a precarious theological position to sustain. Nevertheless,
efforts such as that by Tremper Longman III and Daniel Reid—which
tend to emphasize New Testament theology as presenting the divine conquest
of evil rather than the Old Testament theology of aggression
against nations that have not been “elected”—will probably continue to
represent the norm, since the purpose of much writing on Old Testament
theology is to vindicate its values. 18
But the presentation of the Deity in the Hebrew Bible as a violent,
monarchic, and vengeful one, defending his chosen nation against all others,
and legitimizing its own (usually unfulfilled) domination of its neighbors
is not necessarily an embarrassment. The prevalence of the values
of military glory, revenge, and conquest in ancient civilizations makes it
both natural and inevitable that the Hebrew Bible will reflect them.
Protest against these values should be unnecessary. Unfortunately, the
perpetuation of the military language and ideology of the Bible in forms
of modern Christianity and Judaism (and Judaism is on the whole far less
guilty in this respect) makes it necessary for us periodically to point out
the incompatibility (for very many people) of biblical and modern civilized
values. After a century characterized by so much genocide (of
Armenians, gypsies, Jews, Cambodians, Serbian Muslims, Hutus),
racism, and mass slaughter, we should not take lightly the perpetuation
of military images supported by scriptural authority.
THE QUMRAN WAR SCROLL
The presentation of warfare in the Hebrew Bible thus encompasses a
wide range of notions: charisma, monarchy, vengeance, world order,
17. Carol P. Christ, “Feminist Liberation Theology and Yahweh as Holy Warrior:
An Analysis of Symbol,” in Women’s Spirit Bonding (ed. J. Kalven and M. I. Buckley;
New York: Pilgrim, 1984), 202–12.
18. Tremper Longman, III, and Daniel G. Reid, God Is a Warrior (Studies in Old
Testament Biblical Theology; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995).