Deuteronomy 20 Study Notes

20:1-4 War is an unfortunate result of human depravity and in certain forms was sanctioned and even commanded by the Lord in the OT. Deuteronomy pays special attention to the kind traditionally called “holy war” (see 7:1-6). Primarily conducted against the Canaanite nations, certain forms of war could also be waged against more distant nations and still be viewed as holy war. The enemies referred to here were distant ones as v. 15 makes clear. Reference to the Lord as the leader in battle is probably an allusion to the ark of the covenant, the symbol of God’s presence with his people, since the priests would have carried it with them (Jos 3:1-4,8,11; 1Sm 4:3; Ps 132:6-10).

20:5-7 Israel had a conscripted army, but there were a number of reasons for deferment, as listed here. The draft law clearly was not rigid and inflexible but revealed sensitivity to human feelings and needs.

20:8-9 The last reason for deferment affected not just the individual himself but the entire army and is thus separated from the others. Anyone afraid of going to war must be excused because his cowardice would undermine the morale of his fellow soldiers (see Jdg 7:3).

20:10-11 Cities outside the areas promised to Israel as an inheritance (cp. v. 15) may be approached with an offer of peace, by which is meant terms of surrender, though other cities could not (v. 16). However, even the cities that surrendered peacefully must be reduced to servitude, as illustrated later by Joshua’s defeat of the Gibeonites, who professed to be from a distant land (Jos 9:26-27), and by David’s treatment of enemies outside Israel (2Sm 8:2,6,14).

20:12-15 Any city that would not surrender could be plundered and its citizens either killed or taken as prisoners of war. The treatment accorded these distant cities presupposes some kind of provocation against Israel and not likely a desire for Israelite imperialism. David’s famous campaign against the Ammonite city of Rabbah is a case in point (2Sm 10:1-19).

20:16-18 Every living thing in the cities of Israel’s inheritance must be put under the cherem (Hb, “the ban”) and utterly destroyed. This was in line with what the Lord had commanded (7:1-6) and with what had already been carried out in Transjordan (Nm 21:24,33-35; cp. Dt 2:31-3:7). Such harsh measures precluded the possibility that these irredeemable inhabitants of Canaan might teach Israel detestable acts, and Israel might thereby sin against the Lord.

20:19-20 Trees which produce food must not be cut down, or “killed,” during a siege because they are “innocent.” The major point in all this is that humans are different from and privileged beyond all other living things, but this imposes upon them a responsibility to know and serve the Lord with all their being. Failure to do so will result in grievous consequences.