War in Deuteronomy

Abstract This chapter examines the war motif in Deuteronomy. After listing passages that refer or allude to war in Deuteronomy, it outlines developments of the war motif in the history of interpretation, including the linking of Deuteronomy with the reform of Josiah by W. M. L. de Wette and seminal work on war in the Old Testament by Gerhard von Rad. This is followed by a digest of representative works in current discussion. Finally, the chapter uses recent sociological studies of war, violence, settler colonialism, migration, and genocide to reanalyze the literary significance of the war motif in Deuteronomy and how it functions as part of the wider literary work of Genesis-Joshua.