Scroll or the sword? Dilemmas of religion and military service in Israel

Warfare played a crucial role in the formation of Jewry's national identity. Indeed, the earliest and most influential of Jewish traditions were formulated and transmitted against a background of almost incessant violence. As depicted in the Bible, the G o d of ancient Israel is, in addition to all else, the Lord of Hosts. Much of the scriptural record which begins with the book of Exodus and concludes with the last chapters of Chronicles concerns the campaigns waged in His name and fought by His chosen people. Many Psalms, similarly, are battle hymns and bear equal witness to the dominant role played by armed conflict in Hebrew society throughout the seven centuries spanning the Children of Israel's departure from Egypt and Judea's first experience of exile in Babylon.