"As commander of the army of the LORD I have now come": Joshua 5:13-6:27 as war narrative in context

Abstract

War, and what constitutes the waging of successful warfare in the Ancient Near East, is the hermeneutical key by which to properly understand texts such as Joshua 5:13-6:27. Traditionally, scholars have sought to understand biblical war narrative such as Joshua 5:13-6:27 from an ethical perspective, which fails because war generates a culture of its own, with its own set of norms, that are distinct from everyday reality. I describe features of Joshua 5:13-6:27 that persist throughout war narrative from the Ancient Near East and seek to understand those features within the sociology of warfare as described by the sociologist Siniša Malešević. Understanding these features within the context of other Ancient Near Eastern material illuminates the paradigmatic nature of Joshua 5:13-6:27 as war narrative and helps us to draw out its essential theme: the kingship of YHWH.