In his book, Carr describes the struggles associated with the movement of the Hebrew people away from a polytheistic system where they worshipped a number of different war gods and into a monotheistic system where they worshipped only Yahweh. It was not enough for these people to simply alter their beliefs in order to change over from a multi-god system to a singular focus on Yahweh. Instead, the process was marked by a Holy War of sorts, with Yahweh impressing upon the Hebrews the importance of dismantling their previously held polytheistic system.
As the author describes, the reports in Joshua of a people completely destroying all of the inhabitants of Canaan are not meant to be a historical artifact. Rather, they are meant as a call to the Hebrew people to do whatever they could do to completely abandon their previously held beliefs on the subject. Yahweh wanted the full force of their attention, and in the course of worshipping him, they could have no other gods or give no other source their attention (Firestone, 2012). The war imagery was ideal for these people, too, because given their circumstances and the threats that they faced, they were almost always looking for ways to put their full faith in God to help them through a difficult battle. This passage is meant to impress upon the Hebrew people that if they would completely eschew their previously held polytheistic system, Yahweh would provide for their needs, including their safety and protection in battle. They were to lead a symbolic Holy War against polytheism, leaving behind absolutely nothing of the practice. This was the defining factor of a Holy War, as it required people to go and kill everyone there, since the war was not supposed to be about profit. It was about cleansing, and that was something the Hebrews needed to do at that point in time.
- Carr, D.M. (2010). An Introduction to the Old Testament: Sacred Texts and Imperial Contexts of the Hebrew Bible, Wiley-Blackwell Publishers.
- Firestone, R. (2012).’Holy War in Judaism: The Fall and Rise of a Controversial Idea, Oxford University Press.
