The Art of War in the Old Testament World
Was man peaceful or violent in the beginning? This course will explore this question by examining the art and texts of the ancient world. Using the Old Testament as a starting point, students will follow the patriarchs’ journeys from the multipolar anarchy of Mesopotamia to the warrior pharaohs of Egypt. They will reconstruct the hardships of the first Israelites when they rebelled against their Egyptian slave-masters and then trace their march through Sinai and the Wilderness en route to the Promised Land. Students will imagine the horrors of war during the centuries of Conquest as Israel took possession of Canaan, only to then lose it to the rising might of great empires like Assyria, Babylon, Macedon, and Rome. Students will analyze art and stories from across the ancient world, from the steles of Mesopotamia, to the temples of Egypt, the wall reliefs of the Assyrians, and the riveting tales of Homer and Herodotus. They will explore naval engagements, decisive land battles, siege warfare, subterfuge, and everything else on the periphery. Above all, this class seeks to understand how the God described in the Old Testament could incite destruction, death, and warfare and yet still be the creator, giver of life, and master of peace.
Lecture Topics
UNIT 1: 3100 - 1600 BC War in the Age of the Patriarchs
In the Beginning, There Was War: Primordial Warriors of Cain & Noah’s Age
Abram’s Ancestors in the Sumerian World of “Nimrod” & “Ur”
Abram Meets the God-Kings that Unified Egypt
Mesopotamia’s Ideal Statesman: Hammurabi’s Theopolitics
War & Politics in the Age of Jacob and Joseph
UNIT 2: 1600 - 1200 BC Origins amidst Warring Chariot Kingdoms
The Club of the Great Chariot Kingdoms: Which One Destroyed Palestine?
The Warrior Pharaohs of the Egyptian New Kingdom
Wars in the Club: The Egypto-Hittite Wars
Met Trip 1: Out of Mesopotamia and into Egypt
What of Egyptian Canaan & the Exodus Pharaoh?
Moses, Prince of Egypt, Exile, Liberator, & Lawgiver
Moses, Constitutionalist, Chief Judge, & Commander
UNIT 3: 1400 - 970 BC Catastrophe, Conquest, & Israel’s Mini-Empire
The “Conquest”: Joshua Enters Palestine
The “Catastrophe”: The Trojan War & the End of the Club
The “Settlement”: The Savior-Judges
The Life & Times of David, Servant of Saul (11th Cen)
The Life & Times of David, King of Israel (1004 - 971 BC)
UNIT 4: 950 - 400 BC The Age of Empires
Met Trip 2: Israel’s Two Idols: Graven Images & Great Empires
Solomon, His Heirs, and the Resurgence of Empires (971 - 910 BC)
Israel & Judah in the Days of the Omrides (910 - 841 BC)
Assyria Triumphant and the North Crushed (841 - 721 BC)
Mighty Babylon and the Exile of YHWH’s Commonwealth (721 - 586)
The Exile, the Queen, and the Providence of God (586 - 430)