God of Israel – Warrior or the Lover of Peace?
Grzegorz Szamocki
Uniwersytet Gdański, Wydział Historyczny , PolandAbstract
Old Testament historiography represents theological reflections upon the ancient history of the world and of Israel. These literary expressions draw a certain picture of God based upon – and coherent with – conceptions and definitions well known to the intended audience of that day. For today's reader of the Bible, however, some of these seemingly divergent depictions can be most difficult to understand and to harmonize with each other. Thus, this article attempts to address the problem of reconciling the image of YHWH-God as warrior with his presentation as a lover and a giver of peace. Analysis was carried out in essentially two stages, the first focusing on interpretation of the term „YHWH warrior” and the second on a proper understanding of the phrase „YHWH peace”. The result is the conclusion that the image of "YHWH warrior" is a literary way of projecting the theological message of the presence of YHWH-God in human life, of His omnipotence and faithfulness. As such, however, it is subordinate to the concept of a God who loves peace and desires to bestow peace upon his people.
Keywords:
YHWH warrior, holy war, YHWH war, peace, biblical historiography, Hebrew BibleReferences
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Uniwersytet Gdański, Wydział Historyczny
Ks. Grzegorz Szamocki, dr hab. nauk teologicznych w zakresie teologii biblijnej, lic. nauk
biblijnych, profesor w Instytucie Historii Wydziału Historycznego w Uniwersytecie Gdańskim, rektor Gdańskiego Seminarium Duchownego; ul. Bpa Edmunda Nowickiego 3, 80-330 Gdańsk; g.szamocki@ug.edu.pl.
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