WAR
WAR
693
bv the Assyrians was a movable tower occupied by archers iF^Lese archers succeeded in c eannj: the TJ\ oi its defenders, the to'jver could then be p\r.hed up to the wall and the place taken by stor'.. (cf. 1 Mac 13«-«). The steps in a siege are
'TrPaltenAf^f^or. on service wa3 appar- ently mXehieflv in the form of booty There are, however some allusions to pay of an ordinary kind. A^^'i'ahTs said to have hired If f^ --/7™
^"Tt^^i^^^K;:5^ro^is
treasury api Kave his forces pay (.iV'W'o, t'- i^o P T(l' 9^) for a year (1 Mae 3-). Bu booty meint more to a warrior than pay, as the dis- appoint ent of the Israelite mercenaries shows ??'a ".«'»■ i», cf. Jg 5'»). Booty was to be divided 'nenu^l shares bftween tho- -ho went inU^the battle and tliose who guarded the ^a . P IJ- -W ^ A chosen part was sometimes deiUcated to tne Lord (sUve'r and gold, 2 S S'- ; sh.cp and oxen, 1 S 15-M, or re vrved for a leader (1 b du ).
iii THE Conduct of W ab. -The treatment o conquered enemies was often veiy severe. DaMd removed the Ammonites from Kabbali and t e other cities of Amnion which he captured, and put them to the hardest task-work '" ^l-e oim of hewinc stone and making brick (2 b 1- ). me auTedlrmies of Israel, Judah, and Edom deliber- fe m™e a desert of Moab lilline the good U^d
tLft Vorid'-i^ l^L (1 K U'»). Tlfe still more horrible cruelty of massacring women with ^.Ud 'rmore often ascribed to tl- enemy than to Israel itself (tlie Syrians in 2 K 8'-, Menabem ol Israel in 2 K 15'°, Amnion in Am l"). ^Tore reasonable severity was_ sl>o«^ by ex oatriating the llower of an enemy's army (the hrst
&tan captivity. 2 K ?-'".);i';r^-f.*l-^d°^") of the waU of an enemy s city (2 K 14 ana M ),
'^"^^l::^^i:rlnil^.^*are worthy of note.
^!;^l;'t^JS^fi^^n^ui^k|,;^/ir^v
on Elfshas advic'e, fed and dismissed in safety a detachment of Syrians ^vl,oln the prophet had taken by stratagem (2 K 6 )
There m some uncerUinty aa to the »'<'»•"''•"'»''■';'* S^'TSTe ,tr.?y ..rael at the con,u^t „'„'„-»-; ''i^'ar^rRaifai? w^
nJ, ni D no IcM than U' b a later docuniont than Jt , (2) it 's Bul(l) u no '™ V'"" ^„, f„ 91110.14 conUins the earher law Ur from improbable that Dt 20' «>""'";, j n.^i the (.pplicab> even to war w.th the Canaamtes). ana i
by inlenuarriage.
iv Trvativs. -Treaties of peace were granted to a' beaten foe, the most common condition beini, Uie ™vment of an indemnity (Sennacherib to y ezel^iH\rrn 2 K 18'). A modern-sounding treaty
is that made by Ahab with Bon-hadad (IK 20«) : cities ca^)ture<r from Israel were to be restored and the ri.'ht to trade in I )au.a.scus was to be conceded An [nltance of a barbarian's treaty is tha ollered by Nahash of Amnion to Jabesh-gilead (1 b 11 ) oi^he condition that the P^^^\ .^y^",^ ^^7^^^ defender (? or of every inliabitant) of Jabe^i- Kilead should be put out. Savage as the oiler is, it was probably seriously meant.
v ThV UutIook of the Pkophets on Wak.- The earliest prophets show no horror of war as i'ar ^ut leai or encourage their own people to rp^i^t the enemy. Deborah the prophetess rouses her countrymen^ against Sisera (Jg 4-) and gives the signal for the%attle (^^»). Samuel is at the head of the rising against the Philistines (1 S t' , perhaps a late passage, but of importance in this L'nSon). In unnamed P-pJet enco^.rages Ahab against Ben-hadad (1 K 20'^- ). ^''='l»^ « prophetic activity is the turning - point in the Sai^^^ against^Ioab (2 K 3"-^») ; and the same pro;";:^?. on his deathbed !>eartens Joash o^ Israel in the contest with SjTia (2 K 13 ). An inte?es i^ng touch of mercy or of good policy appears n EHs la's treatment o/ the Syrian pr-soners m |>"k gi'-^. In the writing prophets, however, from Amos onwards we have a wider outlook upon war. War is no longer a mere event; it has become a X-nibol. The'coming Day of the LORD is associ- ated with terrible wars (Am o- /, Is 13 , J» fuV-") On the other hand, the Latter Days are to be marked by universal peace, between nation and nation ancdven between man and beast (Is "'-•' 9--' t'-^ 11°''. Mic 4'--' ; cf. Zee 14" ■' ). ^^ vr. ALLUS?0NS TO WAR IN THE ^T -In the Gospels three references to war, all in l>uke, can for notice. In 3» .rrpar.i-iAce.o. (' soldiers on se vice ■ RVm) ask for and receive counse from John ihe Baptist. In 14^' our Lord takes a leson from the action of a king in calling a council of ^var.andin 19-Heprophes^s that l^e enemy will cast up a bank (xapcKu) against Jeru saleni On these passages cf. Plummer s ,!m!. Uil.e. !n the Epltles, St. Paul shows in a dozen refer^ ernes to a soldier's career that he looked at t tvith interest and even with sympathy. He caUs the Christian life 'the good warfare (1 li l ). efers to the soldier's -S.-^^^-^d.Co 9 ), ho ds up tl e soldier's ideal of service for mutation 2 1 ' - ■ praises the Colossiansas an inspecting o hcei mig it praise a legion (Col 2=), and compans tlie recoveiy of the erring for Christ to the takm- of captives a ive in battle (2 Ti 2=«). The apostTe, moreover, Scsciibes himself in words of Btarthng sternness n^j