M10. Biblical Principles of War. [Make a Comment]
We are to consider the biblical principles of war and apply them where possible.
This precept is derived from His Word (blessed be He):
Key Scriptures
Numbers 1:2-3
Take a census of the entire assembly of the people of Isra'el, by clans
and families. Record the names of all the men twenty years old and over who
are subject to military service in Isra'el. You and Aharon are to
enumerate them company by company.
Numbers 1:44-50
Moshe, Aharon and the twelve leaders of Isra'el, each from a clan,
counted the people of Isra'el by their clans, those twenty years old
and over, eligible for military service in Isra'el; and the grand total
came to 603,550. But those who were L'vi'im, according to the clan
of their fathers, were not counted in this census; because ADONAI had told
Moshe, "Do not include the clan of Levi when you take the census of the
people of Isra'el. Instead, give the L'vi'im charge over the
tabernacle of the testimony, its equipment and everything else connected
with it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its equipment, serve in it
and set up their camp around it."
Numbers 31:5-7
(Chinuch C257)
So out of the thousands of people in Isra'el, a thousand armed men from
each tribe, 12,000 altogether, were mustered for war. Moshe sent them, a
thousand from each tribe, to the war; he sent them and Pinchas the son of
El'azar the cohen to the war, with the holy utensils and the trumpets
for sounding the alarm in his care. They fought against Midyan, as ADONAI
had ordered Moshe, and killed every male.
Deuteronomy 3:18-22
(Maimonides RN58; Chinuch C525)
At that time I gave you this order: 'ADONAI your God has given you this
land to possess. But all of you who are fit to fight must cross over, armed,
ahead of your brothers the people of Isra'el. Your wives, your little
ones and your livestock - I know you have much livestock - will stay in your
cities which I have given you, until ADONAI allows your brothers to rest, as
he has allowed you; and they too take possession of the land ADONAI your God
is giving them on the west side of the Yarden. At that point you will
return, each man to his own possession which I have given you.' Also at
that time I gave this order to Y'hoshua: 'Your eyes have seen
everything that ADONAI your God has done to these two kings. ADONAI will do
the same to all the kingdoms you encounter when you cross over. Don't
be afraid of them, because ADONAI your God will fight on your
behalf.'
Deuteronomy 7:17-21
(Maimonides RN58; Chinuch C525)
If you think to yourselves, 'These nations outnumber us; how can we
dispossess them?' nevertheless, you are not to be afraid of them; you
are to remember well what ADONAI your God did to Pharaoh and all of Egypt -
the great ordeals which you yourself saw, and the signs, wonders, strong
hand and outstretched arm by which ADONAI your God brought you out. ADONAI
will do the same to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. Moreover, ADONAI
your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left and those
who hide themselves perish ahead of you. You are not to be frightened of
them, because ADONAI your God is there with you, a God great and fearsome.
Deuteronomy 20:1-12
(Maimonides RP190-RP191; Chinuch C525-C527)
When you go out to fight your enemies and see horses, chariots and a force
larger than yours, you are not to be afraid of them; because ADONAI your
God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you. When you are
about to go into battle, the cohen is to come forward and address the
people. He should tell them, 'Listen, Isra'el! You are about to
do battle against your enemies. Don't be fainthearted or afraid;
don't be alarmed or frightened by them; because ADONAI your God is
going with you to fight on your behalf against your enemies and give you
victory.' Then the officials will speak to the soldiers. They are to
say, 'Is there a man here who has built a new house, but hasn't
dedicated it yet? He should go back home now; otherwise he may die fighting,
and another man will dedicate it. 'Is there a man here who has planted
a vineyard, but hasn't yet made use of its fruit? He should go back
home; otherwise he may die fighting, and another man will use it. 'Is
there a man here who is engaged to a woman, but hasn't married her yet?
He should go back home; otherwise he may die fighting, and another man will
marry her.' The officials will then add to what they have said to the
soldiers: 'Is there a man here who is afraid and fainthearted? He
should go back home; otherwise his fear may demoralize his comrades as
well.' When the officials have finished speaking with the soldiers,
commanders are to be appointed to lead the army. When you advance on a town
to attack it, first offer it terms for peace. If it accepts the terms for
peace and opens its gates to you, then all the people there are to be put to
forced labor and work for you. However, if they refuse to make peace with
you but prefer to make war against you, you are to put it under siege.
Deuteronomy 20:13-20
(Maimonides RN57; Meir MN191; Chinuch C529)
When ADONAI your God hands it over to you, you are to put every male to the
sword. However, you are to take as booty for yourself the women, the little
ones, the livestock, and everything in the city - all its spoil. Yes, you
will feed on your enemies' spoil, which ADONAI your God has given you.
This is what you are to do to all the towns which are at a great distance
from you, which are not the towns of these nations. As for the towns of
these peoples, which ADONAI your God is giving you as your inheritance, you
are not to allow anything that breathes to live. Rather you must destroy
them completely - the Hitti, the Emori, the Kena'ani, the P'rizi,
the Hivi and the Y'vusi - as ADONAI your God has ordered you; so that
they won't teach you to follow their abominable practices, which they
do for their gods, thus causing you to sin against ADONAI your God. When, in
making war against a town in order to capture it, you lay siege to it for a
long time, you are not to destroy its trees, cutting them down with an axe.
You can eat their fruit, so don't cut them down. After all, are the
trees in the field human beings, so that you have to besiege them too?
However, if you know that certain trees provide no food, you may destroy
them and cut them down, in order to build siege-works against the town
making war with you, until it falls.
Deuteronomy 21:10-13
When you go out to war against your enemies, and ADONAI your God hands them
over to you, and you take prisoners, and you see among the prisoners a woman
who looks good to you, and you feel attracted to her and want her as your
wife; you are to bring her home to your house, where she will shave her
head, cut her fingernails and remove her prison clothing. She will stay
there in your house, mourning her father and mother for a full month; after
which you may go in to have sexual relations with her and be her husband,
and she will be your wife.
Deuteronomy 23:10(9)-15(14)
(Maimonides RP192-RP193; Chinuch C566-C567)
When you are in camp, at war with your enemies, you are to guard yourself
against anything bad. If there is a man among you who is unclean because of
a nocturnal emission, he is to go outside the camp; he is not to enter the
camp. When evening arrives he is to bathe himself in water, and after sunset
he may enter the camp. Also you are to have an area outside the camp to use
as a latrine. You must include a trowel with your equipment, and when you
relieve yourself, you are to dig a hole first and afterwards cover your
excrement. For ADONAI your God moves about in your camp to rescue you and to
hand over your enemies to you. Therefore your camp must be a holy place.
[ADONAI] should not see anything indecent among you, or he will turn away
from you.
Deuteronomy 24:5
(Maimonides RN311; Chinuch C581)
If a man has recently married his wife, he is not to be subject to military
service; he is to be free of external obligations and left at home for one
year to make his new wife happy.
1 Samuel 25:26-28
(Chinuch C525)
Therefore, my lord, as ADONAI lives, and as you live, inasmuch as ADONAI has
kept you from the guilt of shedding blood and from taking vengeance into
your own hands - therefore, may your enemies and anyone seeking your harm be
[as worthless] as Naval. Meanwhile, let this present which your servant has
brought to my lord be given to the men in my lord's service. And please
forgive the offense your servant has caused; because ADONAI will certainly
establish my lord's dynasty, for my lord fights ADONAI's battles,
and nothing bad has been found in you all your life long.
Jeremiah 48:10
(Chinuch C525)
A curse on him who does the work of ADONAI carelessly! A curse on him who
withholds his sword from blood!
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
For although we do live in the world, we do not wage war in a worldly way;
because the weapons we use to wage war are not worldly. On the contrary,
they have God's power for demolishing strongholds. We demolish
arguments and every arrogance that raises itself up against the knowledge of
God; we take every thought captive and make it obey the Messiah.
Supportive Scriptures
Judges 7:2-3
ADONAI said to Gid'on, "There are too many people with you for me to
hand Midyan over to them, because I don't want Isra'el to be able
to boast against me, 'We saved ourselves by our own strength.'
Therefore, proclaim to the people 'Anyone who is anxious or afraid
should go back home, while we stay here on Mount Gil'ad.'"
Twenty-two thousand returned, but ten thousand remained.
Isaiah 2:3-5
Many peoples will go and say, "Come, let's go up to the mountain of
ADONAI, to the house of the God of Ya'akov! He will teach us about his
ways, and we will walk in his paths." For out of Tziyon will go forth Torah,
the word of ADONAI from Yerushalayim. He will judge between the nations and
arbitrate for many peoples. Then they will hammer their swords into
plow-blades and their spears into pruning-knives; nations will not raise
swords at each other, and they will no longer learn war. Descendants of
Ya'akov, come! Let's live in the light of ADONAI!
Commentary
The Scriptures quoted herein include those that are referred to by Maimonides, Meir, and HaChinuch to support their respective mitzvot about the waging of war. Nevertheless, because conditions today (whether in Israel or elsewhere in the world) are different than during the time of Moses, we cannot and should not seek to apply the commandments literally. That notwithstanding, even those commandments that we deem obsolete contain principles that are helpful and even applicable today, hence the title of this Mitzvah "Biblical Principles of War", and my brief attempt to highlight some of them:
TAKING A CENSUS
The census of men twenty years of age and over who were subject to military
service referred to in Numbers 1:2-3, has its counterpart in the U.S.
Selective Service System and in military conscription programs in other
countries as well. Its purpose is to assess military readiness in case a
call to arms is needed.
EXCLUSION OF LEVITES FROM MILITARY SERVICE
The Levites had priestly duties that had to continue during military
campaigns and they were therefore excluded from the fighting. Today, there
are no priests and a portable Tabernacle for them to care for, but the United
States does recognize the special calling of ordained ministers by excusing
them from compulsory military service. What is more, ordained ministers that
volunteer to serve as military chaplains are excluded from fighting alongside
the troops to whom they minister.
ORDINARY MEN EXEMPT FROM MILITARY SERVICE
Israelite men were exempt from military service if they had recently planted
a vineyard of fruit, if they were engaged to marry, if they were a new
husband, and if they were afraid. At various times since World War II,
American men were deferred from the Selective Service System's draft if they
were a full-time student, if they were married, if they had a young a child,
and if they had certain medical conditions or disabilities. At earlier times
in U.S. history, men could buy their way out of military service, or be
excused by providing a substitute replacement.
OCCUPYING CONQUERED LANDS
The Israelites had to cross over the Jordan and possess the lands that they
conquered. Overpowering their adversaries was not enough; actual possession
was required. We in the U.S. sometimes forget that principle in wars of today
where we strike a blow and then pull back for fear that we will be accused of
being called conquerors. Not only do we refrain from possessing the land we
take in battle, we pay to restore it and give it back to our former enemies.
NOT BEING AFRAID
There was a reason that the Israelites were not to be afraid, and that is
that God was fighting on their side. We have no such guarantee in a secular
nation that goes to war without first inquiring of God.
APPOINTMENT OF MILITARY COMMANDERS
In ancient Israel, commanders were appointed from the ranks just before
battles, whereas in the modern world, commanders are usually appointed from a
pool of professionally trained soldiers. Early in U.S. history men of means
could purchase a military command, and there have also been occasions when
appointment as an officer (including a commanding officer) was made based on
political considerations.
MARRYING WOMEN PRISONERS
According to Scripture, a man could take a woman prisoner as his wife as
though she were his chattel. In some parts of the world that may still be the
case but, in the western countries, women must consent to marriage.
TAKING THE POSSESSIONS OF A CONQUERED ENEMY AS BOOTY
There were occasions when ancient Israelite soldiers were allowed (even
commanded) to take for themselves the possessions of those whom they
conquered. There were also times recorded in Scripture when they were
commanded not to take possessions, and to destroy them instead. Taking booty
in modern wars is discouraged but still happens - especially in third world
countries.
GUARDING AGAINST SICKNESS & MAINTAINING SANITATION
Isolating those who are sick and maintaining sanitary conditions within
military camps are as necessary today as they were in ancient Israel.
MEN WHO WILL NOT FIGHT
At all times in history there were those who, when called to serve in the
military, have refused. Those who were fearful were sometimes excused on the
premise that they posed a danger to their fighting comrades, and sometimes
they were punished. In the U.S. in modern times, religious conscientious
objectors were allowed to perform alternative civilian service, and others
who refused were prosecuted.
ESTABLISHING LASTING PEACE
Establishing lasting peace has always been a goal of mankind even while
seeking to achieve it through war. As Isaiah 2:3-5 states:
Then they will hammer their swords into plow-blades and their spears into pruning-knives; nations will not raise swords at each other, and they will no longer learn war.
Classical Commentators
Maimonides' and HaChinuch's mitzvot about war are literal extractions from the Bible, while Meir wrote relatively little on the subject.
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