War

Scripture does not look away from war. Joshua, Samuel and Kings are full of campaigns, and the prophets speak of armies as tools in God’s hand, and as judgment on those who use them cruelly. Yet there is a steady longing for the end of it all: “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks” (Isaiah 2:4). Christians differ on whether a follower of Jesus may ever fight, and the conquest accounts in Joshua are among the hardest pages to read. Psalm 46, with its God who makes wars cease, is a steadier place to begin.

1,096 verses

Exodus

Exodus 14:13

And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

Exodus 14:14

The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

Exodus 23:24

Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.

Leviticus

Leviticus 26:17

And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.

Leviticus 26:31

And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.

Leviticus 26:32

And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.

Leviticus 26:33

And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.

Leviticus 26:34

Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.

Leviticus 26:35

As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.

Leviticus 26:36

And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.

Leviticus 26:37

And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies.

Leviticus 26:38

And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.

Leviticus 26:39

And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.

Numbers

Numbers 31:7

And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.

Numbers 31:8

And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.

Numbers 31:9

And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.

Numbers 31:10

And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.

Numbers 31:11

And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.

Numbers 31:12

And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.

Numbers 31:13

And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.

Numbers 31:14

And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.

Numbers 31:15

And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?

Numbers 31:16

Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.

Numbers 31:17

Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 1:30

The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

Deuteronomy 2:33

And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.

Deuteronomy 2:34

And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:

Deuteronomy 3:6

And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of every city.

Deuteronomy 3:21

And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, Thine eyes have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto these two kings: so shall the LORD do unto all the kingdoms whither thou passest.

Deuteronomy 3:22

Ye shall not fear them: for the LORD your God he shall fight for you.

Deuteronomy 7:17

If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them?

Deuteronomy 7:18

Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt;

Deuteronomy 7:19

The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid.

Deuteronomy 7:20

Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.

Deuteronomy 7:21

Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.

Deuteronomy 7:22

And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.

Deuteronomy 7:23

But the LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed.

Deuteronomy 7:24

And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them.

Deuteronomy 20:1

When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 20:4

For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.

Deuteronomy 20:13

And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:

Deuteronomy 20:14

But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.

Deuteronomy 20:15

Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.

Deuteronomy 20:16

But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:

Deuteronomy 20:17

But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:

Deuteronomy 20:18

That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.

Deuteronomy 28:25

The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

Deuteronomy 28:26

And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.

Deuteronomy 28:27

The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.

Deuteronomy 28:28

The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:

Deuteronomy 28:29

And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.

Deuteronomy 28:30

Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.

Deuteronomy 28:31

Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them.

Deuteronomy 28:32

Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand.

Deuteronomy 28:33

The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:

Deuteronomy 28:34

So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.

Deuteronomy 28:35

The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.

Deuteronomy 28:36

The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.

Deuteronomy 28:37

And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.

Deuteronomy 28:38

Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.

Deuteronomy 28:39

Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.

Deuteronomy 28:40

Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit.

Deuteronomy 28:41

Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.

Deuteronomy 28:42

All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.

Deuteronomy 28:43

The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.

Deuteronomy 28:44

He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.

Deuteronomy 28:45

Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:

Deuteronomy 28:46

And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.

Deuteronomy 28:47

Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;

Deuteronomy 28:48

Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.

Deuteronomy 28:49

The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;

Deuteronomy 28:50

A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:

Deuteronomy 28:51

And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.

Deuteronomy 28:52

And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.

Deuteronomy 28:53

And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:

Deuteronomy 28:54

So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave:

Deuteronomy 28:55

So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates.

Deuteronomy 28:56

The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,

Deuteronomy 28:57

And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.

Deuteronomy 28:58

If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;

Deuteronomy 28:59

Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.

Deuteronomy 28:60

Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.

Deuteronomy 28:61

Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

Deuteronomy 28:62

And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God.

Deuteronomy 28:63

And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.

Deuteronomy 28:64

And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.

Deuteronomy 28:65

And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:

Deuteronomy 28:66

And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:

Deuteronomy 28:67

In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.

Deuteronomy 28:68

And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Deuteronomy 31:7

And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.

Deuteronomy 31:8

And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

Deuteronomy 31:23

And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.

Deuteronomy 32:25

The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.

Deuteronomy 32:29

O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!

Deuteronomy 32:30

How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?

Joshua

Joshua 1:1

Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,

Joshua 1:5

There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Joshua 1:6

Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

From Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew George Easton, 1897

The Israelites had to take possession of the Promised Land by conquest. They had to engage in a long and bloody war before the Canaanitish tribes were finally subdued. Except in the case of Jericho and Ai, the war did not become aggressive till after the death of Joshua. Till then the attack was always first made by the Canaanites. Now the measure of the iniquity of the Canaanites was full, and Israel was employed by God to sweep them away from off the face of the earth. In entering on this new stage of the war, the tribe of Judah, according to divine direction, took the lead.

In the days of Saul and David the people of Israel engaged in many wars with the nations around, and after the division of the kingdom into two they often warred with each other. They had to defend themselves also against the inroads of the Egyptians, the Assyrians, and the Babylonians. The whole history of Israel from first to last presents but few periods of peace.

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The Christian life is represented as a warfare, and the Christian graces are also represented under the figure of pieces of armour (Eph. 6:11-17; 1 Thess. 5:8; 2 Tim. 2:3, 4). The final blessedness of believers is attained as the fruit of victory (Rev. 3:21).

From Smith's Bible Dictionary

William Smith, 1884

The most important topic in connection with war is the formation of the army which is destined to carry it on. [ARMY] In (1 Kings 9:22) at a period (Solomon’s reign) when the organization of the army was complete, we have apparently a list of the various gradations of rank in the service, as follows:

(1.) "Men of war" = privates ;

(2.) "servants," the lowest rank of officers --lieutenants ;

(3.) "princes" = captains ;

(4.) "captains," perhaps = staff officers ;

(5.) "rulers of the chariots and his horsemen" = cavalry officers . Formal proclamations of war were not interchanged between the belligerents. Before entering the enemy’s district spies were seat to ascertain the character of the country and the preparations of its inhabitants for resistance. (Numbers 13:17; Joshua 2:1; Judges 7:10; 1 Samuel 26:4) The combat assumed the form of a number of hand-to-hand contests; hence the high value attached to fleetness of foot and strength of arm. (2 Samuel 1:23; 2:18; 1 Chronicles 12:8) At the same time various strategic devices were practiced, such as the ambuscade, (Joshua 8:2,12; Judges 20:36) surprise, (Judges 7:16) or circumvention. (2 Samuel 5:23) Another mode of settling the dispute was by the selection of champions, (1 Samuel 17; 2 Samuel 2:14) who were spurred on to exertion by the offer of high reward. (1 Samuel 17:25; 18:25; 2 Samuel 18:11; 1 Chronicles 11:6) The contest having been decided, the conquerors were recalled from the pursuit by the sound of a trumpet. (2 Samuel 2:28; 18:16; 20:22) The siege of a town or fortress was conducted in the following manner: A line of circumvallation was drawn round the place, (Ezekiel 4:2; Micah 5:1) constructed out of the trees found in the neighborhood, (20:20) together with earth and any other materials at hand. This line not only cut off the besieged from the surrounding country, but also served as a base of operations for the besiegers. The next step was to throw out from this line one or more mounds or "banks" in the direction of the city, (2 Samuel 20:15; 2 Kings 19:32; Isaiah 37:33) which were gradually increased in height until they were about half as high as the city wall. On this mound or bank towers were erected, (2 Kings 25:1; Jeremiah 52:4; Ezekiel 4:2; 17:17; 21:22; 26:8) whence the slingers and archers might attack with effect. Catapults were prepared for hurling large darts and stones; and the crow , a long spar, with iron claws at one end and ropes at the other, to pull down stones or men from the top of the wall. Battering-rams , (Ezekiel 4:2; 21:22) were brought up to the walls by means of the bank, and scaling-ladders might also be placed on it. The treatment of the conquered was extremely severe in ancient times. The bodies of the soldiers killed in action were plundered, (1 Samuel 31:8) 2 Macc 8:27; the survivors were either killed in some savage manner, (Judges 9:45; 2 Samuel 12:31; 2 Chronicles 25:12) mutilated, (Judges 9:45; 2 Samuel 12:31; 2 Chronicles 25:12) mutilated, (Judges 1:6; 1 Samuel 11:2) or carried into captivity. (Numbers 31:26)

Based on Nave's Topical Bible by Orville J. Nave (1896). Dictionary entries from Easton's Bible Dictionary and Smith's Bible Dictionary. Public domain. KJV scripture text, public domain.