The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest

Both Christians and skeptics struggle with the God that seems to be described in the Old Testament. Often these struggles revolve around questions such as: “Do the so-called holy war texts portray a divinely inspired genocide?” “Did God command the Israelites to slaughter the Canaanites?” If so, “How can Christians worship such a God?” In The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest, John H. Walton and J. Harvey Walton analyze the way these difficult passages have been translated and interpreted over time in an attempt to recalibrate our perceptions and reframe our questions to reveal new insights about the Israelite conquest narratives. This book provides readers with a serious analysis of the Hebrew Bible in its ancient context and culture and creates a fresh look at this age-old problem, providing its readers with a new way of interpreting the many issues involved.