Difference between revisions of "Calling for Peace in the Conquest of Canaan/1"
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<li><b>Canaanites in Shofetim and Melakhim</b> – Both <a href="Shofetim1-27-36" data-aht="source">Shofetim 1</a> and <a href="MelakhimI9-20-21" data-aht="source">Melakhim I 9</a> speak of Canaanites who remained in the land and were forced to pay tribute/ labor tax.  In <a href="Shofetim2-1-5" data-aht="source">Shofetim 2</a>, the tribes are then chastised for making treaties with the inhabitants, while in Melakhim, Shelomo's similar actions receive no rebuke.  Is subduing rather than conquering the Canaanites allowed or not? </li> | <li><b>Canaanites in Shofetim and Melakhim</b> – Both <a href="Shofetim1-27-36" data-aht="source">Shofetim 1</a> and <a href="MelakhimI9-20-21" data-aht="source">Melakhim I 9</a> speak of Canaanites who remained in the land and were forced to pay tribute/ labor tax.  In <a href="Shofetim2-1-5" data-aht="source">Shofetim 2</a>, the tribes are then chastised for making treaties with the inhabitants, while in Melakhim, Shelomo's similar actions receive no rebuke.  Is subduing rather than conquering the Canaanites allowed or not? </li> | ||
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Version as of 01:57, 22 July 2016
Calling for Peace in the Conquest of Canaan
Introduction
To Make Peace or Not to?
Devarim 20 discusses the nation's military obligations when fighting against both distant cities and when conquering the Seven Nations of Canaan. Hashem commands that before embarking on the former optional wars, the nation must first make an offer of peace. If that overture is rejected and war ensues, all men are to be killed, while women and children are to be left alive. When fighting in Canaan, in contrast, Hashem instructs:
(טז) רַק מֵעָרֵי הָעַמִּים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר י"י אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה לֹא תְחַיֶּה כׇּל נְשָׁמָה. (יז) כִּי הַחֲרֵם תַּחֲרִימֵם הַחִתִּי וְהָאֱמֹרִי הַכְּנַעֲנִי וְהַפְּרִזִּי הַחִוִּי וְהַיְבוּסִי כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוְּךָ י"י אֱלֹהֶיךָ.
(16) Howbeit of the cities of these peoples, that the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth, (17) but thou shalt utterly destroy them: the Hittite, and the Amorite, theCanaanite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee;
These verses seem to explicitly declare that all Canaanites must be obliterated and that no possibility of peaceful coexistence exists. This reading is supported by the many verses throughout Torah1 which similarly speak of the need to rid the land of Israel of its Canaanite inhabitants.
However, a different picture emerges from Yehoshua 11 which summarizes the Wars of Conquest:
(יט) לֹא הָיְתָה עִיר אֲשֶׁר הִשְׁלִימָה אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּלְתִּי הַחִוִּי יֹשְׁבֵי גִבְעוֹן אֶת הַכֹּל לָקְחוּ בַמִּלְחָמָה. (כ) כִּי מֵאֵת י"י הָיְתָה לְחַזֵּק אֶת לִבָּם לִקְרַאת הַמִּלְחָמָה אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמַעַן הַחֲרִימָם לְבִלְתִּי הֱיוֹת לָהֶם תְּחִנָּה כִּי לְמַעַן הַשְׁמִידָם כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה י"י אֶת מֹשֶׁה.
(19) There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon; they took all in battle. (20) For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, to come against Israel in battle, that they might be utterly destroyed, that they might have no favour, but that they might be destroyed, as the Lord commanded Moses.
According to these verses, it seems that had it not been for Hashem hardening their hearts, some of the Canaanite cities might have made peace with Israel, implying that peace was, in fact, an option! How can this be reconciled with the verses in Torah? Were the Israelites supposed to negotiate for peace or not?
The Historical Record
Several passages throughout Tanakh bear on
- Prohibition of marriage/ covenants – Devarim 72 also speaks of annihilating the Seven Nations, but then continues to warn the people against making covenants with or marrying the Canaanites. If the people are supposed to be utterly destroyed, why is there a concern lest the nation make alliances?
- Calling to Sichon – In recounting the battle with Sichon the Emorite in Devarim 2, Moshe says that before fighting, he sent Sichon "דִּבְרֵי שָׁלוֹם", asking permission to pass through his lands. Is this equivalent to the seeking of peace discussed in Devarim 20? If so, what does it teach about the lawfulness of negotiating with Canaanites? Does the fact that Sichon lives on the Eastern side of the Jordan make a difference?
- Saving Rachav – If all Canaanites were supposed to be destroyed, why were the spies allowed to save Rachav, as described in Yehoshua 6? Was she an exceptional case or just one example of a larger accepted practice?
- The Gibeonites' trickery – Yehoshua 9 describes how the Gibeonites felt a need to pretend that they hailed from a distant city so as to convince the Israelites to make a treaty with them, implying that peace was not an option. If so, however, why did the Israelites not kill them when they discovered that they were duped?
- Canaanites in Shofetim and Melakhim – Both Shofetim 1 and Melakhim I 9 speak of Canaanites who remained in the land and were forced to pay tribute/ labor tax. In Shofetim 2, the tribes are then chastised for making treaties with the inhabitants, while in Melakhim, Shelomo's similar actions receive no rebuke. Is subduing rather than conquering the Canaanites allowed or not?
