‘Destroy Them Totally’ – Towards An Understanding Of Violence Passages In The Bible

Abstract

Many modern readers of the Bible are shocked at the depictions of violence found in certain passages within its pages, and their dismay is confounded by the apparent Divine sanction given to some of this violence. Other readers, past and present, have used these ‘violence passages’ to justify their own violence in the name of religion. This article will focus on passages in the books of Deuteronomy and Joshua, which present the most extreme cases of ‘Biblical violence’, portraying God commanding the Israelites to destroy totally the inhabitants of the lands they are about to possess, and the Israelites implementing this command. We will attempt to dig beneath the surface of these texts to understand them in their historical and literary contexts and also how they function within the framework of the wider body of Scriptures of which they form a part. We will endeavour to present a more nuanced and sophisticated reading of these texts. Lastly, we will attempt to demonstrate that these passages can never be used as justification for religious-based violence today.