Unit A2 3: Themes in the Old Testament
Chapter: The Nature of God in the Old Testament
Welcome to your study notes for one of the most intellectually stimulating and intensely debated topics in A Level Religious Studies! In this chapter, we explore how God is revealed across the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible). On one hand, God is depicted as loving, faithful, and full of mercy. On the other hand, God appears as a terrifying Divine Warrior who commands the total destruction of enemy nations.
Don't worry if this tension feels challenging at first. Scholars, theologians, and students have wrestled with these passages for centuries. By breaking down the key biblical texts, concepts, and scholarly views step by step, you will be well prepared to tackle both AO1 (knowledge and textual understanding) and AO2 (critical analysis and evaluation) exam questions.
1. God as a Warrior & The Violent God
In many foundational narratives, Yahweh (the Lord) is not presented merely as a passive observer, but as an active combatant who fights on behalf of Israel. In ancient Near Eastern culture, battles were seen as contests between the gods of nations; Israel understood Yahweh to be the supreme victor over all rival deities and empires.
Key Biblical Texts: God Fighting for Israel
• Exodus 14 & Exodus 15:1–21 (The Red Sea Deliverance & The Song of the Sea):
After rescuing Israel from Egypt, God destroys Pharaoh's pursuing chariots in the sea. In Exodus 15:3, Moses and the Israelites sing: "The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name." Here, divine violence is celebrated as a tool of liberation for the oppressed.
• Numbers 21:1–3 (Destruction of Arad):
When the Canaanite king of Arad takes Israelites captive, Israel makes a solemn vow to Yahweh: if He delivers this enemy into their hands, they will totally destroy their cities. Yahweh listens, and the place is named Hormah (meaning destruction/devotion).
• Deuteronomy 2:31–35 & Deuteronomy 3:1–7 (Conquests of Sihon and Og):
As Israel approaches the Promised Land, Yahweh commands them to battle King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan. The biblical text records that Israel left no survivors, capturing the livestock and plunder as spoils of war.
• Deuteronomy 7:1–26 (Commands for Total Separation):
Moses gives strict instructions regarding the seven nations in the Promised Land. Israel must show them no mercy, make no treaties, and intermarry with none of them. The theological rationale is absolute religious purity: to prevent Israel from turning away to serve foreign idols.
Key Takeaway: The motif of the "Divine Warrior" is rooted in Israel's early history as a vulnerable people relying completely on God's power to deliver them from powerful empires and establish them in the Promised Land.
2. The Concept of Herem (The Ban)
A crucial theological concept you must master is Herem (often translated as "the ban" or "devoted to destruction").
What is Herem?
Herem refers to the complete dedication or consecration of persons, animals, and property to God through total destruction. It is vital to understand that herem was not treated as ordinary warfare for territorial or economic gain. Rather, it was a sacred, ritual act of divine judgment where everything was surrendered entirely to God—no human was permitted to profit from the spoils.
The Warfare Laws of Deuteronomy 20:10–20
Deuteronomy 20 makes a vital legal and moral distinction between two types of warfare:
1. Distant Cities (Deuteronomy 20:10–15): When approaching a city outside the Promised Land, Israel must first make an offer of peace. If accepted, the inhabitants become subject to forced labour. If rejected, only the adult men are killed, while women, children, and livestock are spared.
2. Cities within the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 20:16–18): In the cities of the nations God gives as an inheritance (such as the Hittites, Amorites, and Canaanites), the law of herem applies: "do not leave alive anything that breathes." The explicit reason given in verse 18 is religious protection: "Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods."
The Conquest Narratives: Joshua 6–11
• Jericho (Joshua 6): The walls fall after ritual marching, the blowing of trumpets, and the ark of the covenant leading the way. The city and everything in it are placed under herem, except Rahab and her family who aided the spies.
• Ai (Joshua 7–8): Israel initially suffers defeat because Achan violates herem by secretly keeping silver, gold, and a robe for himself. Only after Achan is judged does God grant victory at Ai.
• Southern and Northern Campaigns (Joshua 9–11): Joshua carries out the commands given by Moses, defeating coalitions of kings and devoting their cities to destruction.
Analogy for Understanding Herem: Think of herem as an extreme quarantine. In the biblical mindset, idolatry and moral corruption were seen as a deadly, contagious spiritual disease. Herem was the radical removal of that contagion so that Israel's covenant relationship with God would survive unpolluted.
3. The Fate of the Amalekites
The Amalekites hold a unique and severe place in Old Testament theology. They represent the ultimate hostile enemy who attacked Israel from behind during their most vulnerable moment in the wilderness.
The Biblical Timeline of Amalek:
• Exodus 17:8–16 (The Battle at Rephidim):
The Amalekites attack Israel unprovoked. Moses holds up his staff with the help of Aaron and Hur, and Joshua defeats the Amalekite army. God declares a perpetual war against Amalek from generation to generation.
• Deuteronomy 25:17–19 (The Memory of Amalek):
Moses reminds Israel that Amalek attacked the weary stragglers at the rear of the camp without fearing God. God commands Israel: "You shall blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!"
• 1 Samuel 15 (King Saul's Commission and Rejection):
Through the prophet Samuel, God commands King Saul to execute herem against Amalek: "Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys."
Saul defeats Amalek but disobeys by sparing the best livestock and taking King Agag alive. When confronted by Samuel, Saul claims he kept the animals for sacrifice. Samuel delivers the famous verdict: "To obey is better than sacrifice." Because Saul failed to fully carry out herem, God rejects him as king.
Quick Review: Saul's downfall was not that he was too violent, but that he failed to treat the battle as a holy act of herem, instead seeking royal prestige (capturing Agag) and material wealth (keeping prime cattle).
4. The Divine Warrior in the Prophetic Tradition
The image of God as a warrior does not disappear after the conquest; it evolves within the prophetic books to describe God's holy justice against all evil, oppression, and unfaithfulness.
• Isaiah 59:1–20 (The Armoured Redeemer):
When God sees that there is no human champion to execute justice for the oppressed, God steps into the battle personally. In verse 17, God puts on "righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak." Here, divine warfare is waged to uphold moral righteousness.
• Isaiah 63:1–6 (The Winepress of Wrath):
The prophet sees a majestic figure coming from Edom (Bozrah), with garments stained crimson. When asked why His robes are red, Yahweh replies: "I have trodden the winepress alone... I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments." This vivid imagery portrays God's ultimate, sovereign judgment over hostile nations.
5. The Compassionate, Faithful, and Covenant God
It is an enormous mistake in A Level exams to present the Old Testament God as purely violent or vengeful. The Old Testament is rich with revelations of God's profound grace, patient mercy, and tender love.
The Central Concept of Hesed
Hesed is one of the most important Hebrew words in the Old Testament. It describes God's:
• Steadfast love
• Covenant loyalty / faithfulness
• Loving-kindness and unfailing mercy
While human beings repeatedly break the covenant, God's hesed remains constant. In prophetic texts, God's wrath is never arbitrary or sadistic; it is the holy response of a loving God to injustice, idolatry, and covenant betrayal. God's ultimate desire is not destruction, but repentance, reconciliation, and restorative justice.
Common Pitfall: The "Marcionite Trap"
Avoid this error: Do not write that "The Old Testament God is a God of wrath and anger, whereas the New Testament God is a God of love." This is an ancient heresy known as Marcionism. The Old Testament contains profound descriptions of divine love, grace, and forgiveness (e.g., God forgiving David, sparing Nineveh in Jonah, preserving a faithful remnant), just as the New Testament contains descriptions of divine judgment.
6. Critical Scholarly Debates (AO2)
To achieve high marks in evaluation (AO2), you must engage with scholarly interpretations of divine violence and the nature of God.
1. Walter Brueggemann (Reverberations of Faith)
Brueggemann argues that Old Testament theology contains an inherent, unresolved tension. Yahweh is portrayed both as a sovereign warrior who exercises raw power/violence and as a compassionate covenant partner who shows mercy and demands social justice. Brueggemann suggests that Israel's testimony about God is diverse and dynamic, refusing to flatten God into a single, comfortable category.
2. Michael Prior
Prior offers a fierce moral and liberationist critique of the conquest narratives. He argues that biblical texts depicting God ordering the extermination of indigenous Canaanites have historically been used to justify colonialism, imperialism, and the displacement of native populations. For Prior, divinely mandated violence poses severe ethical and humanitarian problems that believers must confront critically rather than defend blindly.
3. Regina Schwartz (The Curse of Cain)
Schwartz explores the link between monotheism, collective identity, and violence. She contends that a strictly exclusive understanding of monotheism (one God, one chosen people, one promised land) inherently creates an "us versus them" dichotomy. Under this framework, outsiders are easily demonized, paving the way for divinely sanctioned conflict and nationalism.
4. Erhard Gerstenberger
Gerstenberger takes a socio-historical approach, arguing that Israel's understanding of God evolved over centuries in response to changing historical conditions. The portrait of God as a fierce warrior reflected the urgent survival needs of early tribal groups. As Israel's social structures evolved into a monarchy and later an exiled community, their theological portrait of Yahweh transformed into a more universal and pastoral deity.
5. T. D. Alexander & B. S. Rosner (New Dictionary of Biblical Theology)
Alexander and Rosner provide an evangelical, biblical-theological framework. They argue that divine warfare must be understood within the overarching scope of salvation history and God's holy justice. In this view, herem is not ethnic genocide or imperial aggression, but a unique, temporary divine judgment on specific, deeply corrupt societies, ultimately designed to preserve a holy people through whom global salvation would come.
7. Summary & Exam Success Checklist
Memory Aid: The Five Scholars at a Glance
• Brueggemann: Theological tension between warrior sovereignty and covenant mercy.
• Prior: Moral critique; dangers of using conquest texts to justify colonialism.
• Schwartz: Monotheism and identity creating "us vs them" violence.
• Gerstenberger: Socio-historical evolution of God's portrait over time.
• Alexander & Rosner: Divine warfare as holy justice within redemptive history.
Key Term Checklist
• Herem: The sacred ban / total devotion to destruction.
• Hesed: Covenant faithfulness, steadfast love, and mercy.
• Divine Warrior: The theological motif of God fighting to deliver His people and judge evil.
• Amalekites: The archetypal enemy of Israel subject to perpetual judgment (1 Samuel 15).
• Marcionism: The false separation of the "wrathful Old Testament God" from the "loving New Testament God."
Tips for Part (a) and Part (b) Questions
• Part (a) Knowledge (AO1): Cite your set texts accurately! Refer explicitly to chapters like Exodus 15, Deuteronomy 7 & 20, Joshua 6, and 1 Samuel 15. Clearly explain the theological reasons behind herem (preventing idolatry and executing divine judgment).
• Part (b) Evaluation (AO2): Balance both sides. Acknowledge the severe moral difficulties highlighted by scholars like Michael Prior and Regina Schwartz, but also demonstrate understanding of the theological defense presented by Alexander and Rosner, and the dynamic tension highlighted by Walter Brueggemann.