Warfare in the Old
Testament: The Organization, Weapons, and Tactics of Ancient Near Eastern
Armies by Boyd Seevers
What seems at first like a title for a book straight out of
an academic society, quickly turns into a illuminating and fascinating
read. The book, Warfare in the Old Testament, by Professor Boyd Seevers, takes what
we know from the Ancient Near East concerning warfare into account by first weaving
a story about a military warrior and then looking at the historical background
of the people. With chapters on Assyria,
Babylon, Israel, Philistia, Egypt, and Persia, the reader gets a close up look
at the various armor of the warriors, their military campaigns, and the role
each people group played in the life of Israel.
With attention to detail and a keen eye for the worldview of each army,
Boyd does a great job at getting us into the mind of an ANE army. With full color maps and illustrations, you
get a sense of the attire of the army, their fighting style, and the area of
land they sought to conquer.
The presentation of the material in these chapters was very
appealing in its layout. Boyd opens the
chapters with a story about an army leader and one of their campaigns. The chapter on Philistia was very
compelling. Boyd writes, “Eat or be
eaten.” Dagarat the Philistine warrior muttered the words aloud as he tossed
aside the last bone from the wild dog that he and the other soldiers in his
unit had just finished eating. Like most
Philistines, Dagarat liked eating dogs occasionally, but he figured he savored
them more than most.” (145) The ruthless
nature of the Philistines are evident here as the phrase ‘Eat or be eaten,’ was
not only related to their palate for dogs but in terms of their military
attitude. We also get a description of Dagarat’s
religious life here in the text. Boyd
writes, “Did the gods will the weak to occasionally eat the strong? Perhaps.
Perhaps that was the only way to explain victories by the weak. Dagarat considered himself religious as most
Philistines. They worshipped the gods
Dagon, Ashtoreth, and Baal-zebub, but Dagarat preferred Dagon because of his
temple in Dagarat’s city of Ashdod (1 Sam. 5:1-5).” (148) Convenient worship was a matter not just for
21st century folk but also for Dagarat. The gods were part and parcel of everyday
life, from military victory and defeat, to sacrifice. The way Boyd weaves these stories into each
chapter gives us a very real look into life for these ANE armies, something
that compels me to read more and more.
Another important point that Boyd brought up was the
condition of the travel of these armies and the intelligence needed in
battle. Boyd writes, “When the time came
for entering battle, the soldier might be too exhausted, ill, or frightened to
perform well. Many died, were placed in
a big sack, and were buried in a strange land, far from home and family.”
(130) Traveling up to fifteen miles per
day and carrying such heavy weaponry, Egyptian soldiers were often tired beyond
belief. As far as intelligence, we find
that Thutmose III was advised of a clear path to Meggido free from Canaanite
forces (131). Without excellent
intelligence, armies could fall very easily or many of their calvary would
die. The importance of a strategy and
advisors was as much a vehicle for victory as it is today.
Overall, this was an excellent book displaying the armies of
the ANE. With an eye toward story and the various campaign details, you won’t
want to miss this gem.
Thanks to Kregel Academic for the copy of this book in
exchange for an honest review.
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