Chapter 12: Conclusion: The Moral War

This lesson concludes the discussion of the Torah’s attitude toward the Canaanite nations by examining more closely God's grave gift of the land of Canaan, as well as considering a very important disagreement among the commentaries concerning the Canaanites. Those that perfunctorily read the first half of Sefer Yehoshua in isolation, as a bloodthirsty account of wanton Israelite conduct, do a disservice to the text and to the ancient traditions behind it. Of course, no one can deny the tragedy of war or its cruelty but that must not blind us to the awful truth that some wars are nevertheless justified and even obligatory.