Va-Yelekh Deuteronomy Chapter 31
SAN DIEGO –This parasha reiterates to the assembled Israelites, prior to entering the promised land, that they are to conquer the promised land, that Moses will die and Joshua will lead them. They are merely to follow God’s instructions.
Deuteronomy , Ch. 31: v. 6 For the upcoming conquest, “…be not in fear or in dread of them; for the Lord your God Himself marches with you:…”
The implication is that God will cause your victory. It is so foregone that the Israelites almost don’t need to fight at all.
This passage led me to explore whether other ancient conquerors also made such a claim that their gods marched with them. In exploring the internet, I found no such claims for other nations. There, in fact, is the story in II Kings 3:27 that King Mesha of Moab, about to suffer a military defeat, sacrificed his eldest son, followed by withdrawal of the appalled enemy.
The Internet did yield a review of the military mights of “10 of the Greatest Ancient Warrior Cultures…” by Dattatleya Mandal. Hereby I offer you a sample of their military actions.
Akkadians, A Mesopotamian empire (24th-22nd Centuries BC) Disciplined and trained soldiers fought in a phalanx formation, making use of an armored cloak, i.e. a leather skin reinforced with metal discs, plus helmets. They introduced wheels and their effective bows were of composite woods.
Hittites, An Anatolian empire (1600 BC-1178 BC) Led by ambitious, brutal kings, they introduced the chariot with three occupants. The 3rd person was a shield-bearer who guarded the other two who were armed with spears and bow-and-arrows.
Spartans, A Greek enclave (9th Century-192 BC) They maintained the only full-time army in Greece. Boys were subjected to a regimen from age 6, living in barracks with other boys. They learned a sort of dance to music while carrying arms, which made them nimble-footed while carrying weapons. They learned to walk barefooted, with minimal clothes. Their beds in winter were made of reeds, personally plucked by each boy from a River Valley. They were fed less than adequate food, which made them prone to steal food. Plutarch observed that at the only rest a Spartan got from training for war was during actual war.
Assyrians, Upper Mesopotamia (900 BC-612 BC) They started as a defensive nation against invasive neighbors, ultimately to become conquerors. Their strategies included siege tactics. They were the first to make extensive use of iron weapons.
Scythians, Nomads of central Eurasia (circa 7th C-3rd C BC) They were horse-lords and master archers. They dared to attack the Assyrian Empire, whose monarch Esarhaddon was so desperate to secure peace with them that he offered his daughter in marriage to the Scythian king. Their unorthodox fighting, with weapons on horseback, and zigzag maneuvers, perplexed enemies, making them vulnerable to follow up by shock cavalries.
Celtics, Various tribal groups in Europe, who spoke a common language (6th C BC-around 500 AD) They were ferocious, often serving as mercenaries. They participated when the Gauls sacked Rome in 390 BC, and they plundered the Delphi in Greece (290 BC). Naked with horn blowers and trumpeteers, and shouts of war-cries, they terrified Romans.
Dacians, An Indo-European people of the Carpathian Mountains (513 BC-about 120 AD) They used iron weapons, fashioned into what was called a falx, a scythe-like sword that curved inward sharply at the tip, capable of puncturing helmets and shields.
Romans, From the Italian peninsula to the largest empire of the ancient world, stretching from Spain to Syria and the Caucasus, and from North African coasts and Egypt to Britain’s north. Their organization was so resilient that even in bloody battles e.g. Battle of Cannae (216 BCE), where they lost the equivalent of 10 percent of the Empire’s male population in a battle, they came back to win the Second Punic War.
Parthians, Modern day Iran (247 BC-224 AD) They were powerful clans on horses serving as an armored cavalry, who allowed autonomy to conquered centers throughout their kingdom. In their battle with Rome, their 12,000 soldiers beat seven Roman legions, breaking the Roman ranks consisting of 45,000 to 52,000 men, sending them into disarray.
Lusitanians, Portugal and central Spain (2nd C. BC) They were masters of guerrilla warfare and became rich from robberies, with complete disdain towards all. They used sudden advancements and confusing retreats. Rome lost 200,000 soldiers to them in the 20-year period of war 153-133 BC.
The above details suggest that these conquerors neither needed nor requested help from their gods.
*
Irv Jacobs is a retired medical doctor who delights in Torah analysis. He often delivers a drosh at Congregation Beth El in La Jolla, and at his chavurah.