Table Of ContentFAcing thE chAllEngES oF
S
“v ir tu ouS vio lEncE” E
i
b
E
r
No one can read far in the Hebrew Bible without encountering depictions of violence t
carried out by human beings, sometimes in the name of God, or indeed violence carried
out or commanded by God– –from Cain’s murder of Abel to the slaughter of Canaanite
populations and much, much more. For those who read the Bible as sacred scripture, such
depictions can pose tremendous moral and theological challenges. For all of us, they pose
historical questions as well: Where did these invocations of divinely sanctioned violence
come from? How are we to understand them in a world where the lessening of violence is
a desperate need?
Eric A. Seibert faces these challenges head-on, offering perspectives on the roles human
t
and divine violence play in different parts of the Old Testament, evaluating the biblical
h
presentation of “virtuous” violence, and proposing strategies for reading the Bible out of
E
a commitment to nonviolence. At last he offers “soundings” in biblical texts where we
v
encounter alternative voices, often neglected, that seek and announce ways of peace. i
o
l
Contents E
Part 1: Exploring the Old Testament’s Troubling Legacy n
Part 2: Proposing a Way of Reading the Old Testament Nonviolently c
E
Part 3: Applying Nonviolent Reading Strategies to Violent Texts
o
“Seibert has waded into the tough and demanding question of violence in the Bible with F
great courage and sensitivity. He exposits the deep problem of pervasive violence and S
c
suggests venturesome ways to counter such terrifying testimony. This book will be an
r
important reference point for the interpretive conversation that we must continue to have.” i
p
—Walter Brueggemann t
William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament Emeritus u
r
Columbia Theological Seminary
E
Eric A. Seibert
is associate professor
of Old Testament and former Director of
the Peace and Conflict Studies Initiative at
Messiah College. He is the author of Subver-
sive Scribes and the Solomonic Narrative (2006)
and Disturbing Divine Behavior (Fortress
Press, 2009).
Religion/Old Testament
The Violence of ScripTure
The Violence of ScripTure
Overcoming the Old Testament’s Troubling Legacy
eric a. SeiberT
Fortress Press
Minneapolis
THE VIOLENCE OF SCRIPTURE
Overcoming the Old Testament’s Troubling Legacy
Copyright © 2012 Fortress Press. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in criti-
cal articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior
written permission from the publisher. Visit http://www.augsburgfortress.org/copyrights/
contact.asp or write to Permissions, Augsburg Fortress, Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989
by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in
the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Cover image © iStockphoto.com / Robert Ridder
Cover design: Joe Vaughan
Book design: PerfecType, Nashville, TN
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Seibert, Eric A., 1969–
The violence of Scripture : overcoming the Old Testament’s troubling legacy / Eric A. Seibert.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and indexes.
ISBN 978-0-8006-9825-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4514-2432-4
(ebook)
1. Violence in the Bible. 2. Bible. O.T.—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 3. Bible.
O.T.—Hermeneutics. I. Title.
BS1199.V56S45 2012
221.8'3036—dc23
2012007894
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
contents
Acknowledgments ix
Chapter 1: I ntroduction: The Bible Should Never Be Used
to Harm Others 1
Part 1: Exploring the Old Testament’s Troubling Legacy
Chapter 2: The Old Testament’s Troubling Legacy 15
Chapter 3: Th e Pervasive Presence of “Virtuous” Violence
in the Old Testament 27
Chapter 4: The Danger of Reading the Bible 45
Part 2: Proposing a Way of Reading the Old Testament Nonviolently
Chapter 5: D eveloping Good Reading Habits: Becoming
Ethically Responsible Readers 61
Chapter 6: Reading the Old Testament Nonviolently 73
Part 3: Applying Nonviolent Reading Strategies to Violent Texts
Chapter 7: Confronting Canaanite Genocide and Its Toxic Afterlife 95
Chapter 8: Keeping the Old Testament from Being Used to Justify War 115
Chapter 9: Preventing Violence against Women 129
v
Chapter 10: Th e Necessity and Urgency of Reading
the Old Testament Nonviolently: Some Conclusions 147
Appendix: A Brief Word about Biblical Authority 159
Notes 163
Bibliography 193
Index of Biblical References 211
Index of Modern Authors 217
vi Contents
To my Dad and Mom,
Laverne and Kathy,
for giving me a wonderful childhood,
loving me unconditionally,
supporting me always,
and reading what I write.
I love you!
acknowledgments
i
would like to express my gratitude to some of the people who have, directly or
indirectly, contributed to this book (with apologies to anyone whose name I inad-
vertently omit). A number of people—many with very busy schedules and lots of
other obligations—set time aside to read and comment on a draft of this manuscript,
or portions of it. I wish to thank each of the following individuals for investing their
time and energy in this way: Terry Brensinger, Julia O’Brien, Doug Miller, Han-
nah Pratt (who deserves special thanks for compiling the indexes with great care
and skill), Morgan Scott, Elisa Seibert, Doug Sider, Louis Stulman, and Darrell
Winger. This book is so much better because of your suggestions and input. Thank
you! Of course, all remaining imperfections and shortcomings are mine alone, and
I take full responsibility for the assumptions I make, the approach I take, and the
conclusions I propose. None of these individuals should be held liable for any of the
book’s remaining deficiencies.
I am very fortunate to be employed at a place like Messiah College and am thank-
ful for the opportunities it provides for teaching and writing. I am especially grateful
to the College for the internal grants I received, the scholarship chair I was awarded,
and the workload reallocation program in which I participated. These awards helped
fund this project and some of them provided valuable release time to complete it. It
would have been impossible to finish the book on time without this assistance.
I would like to thank Barb Syvertson from Interlibrary Loan at Murray Library
for helping me secure many resources for this project along the way. What a won-
derful service you render! Thanks also to Michael Rice for helping me locate an
online resource when my searching skills faltered. To my colleagues in the Biblical
and Religious Studies Department, I owe a special word of thanks for the way you
have supported me through some trying times since the publication of my previous
book. I value your friendship and camaraderie more than you know.
ix
Description:No one can read far in the Old Testament without encountering numerous acts of violence that are sanctioned in the text and attributed to both God and humans. Over the years, these texts have been used to justify all sorts of violence: from colonizing people and justifying warfare, to sanctioning vi
