“Meditating on the Laws of War: Joshua and Torah”

This presentation explores how the book of Joshua prompts deeper reflection on the Torah’s laws of war, challenging oversimplified interpretations of Deuteronomy's commands regarding the Canaanites. It questions whether ethical concerns with these texts are uniquely modern and highlights Joshua's role in fostering meditation on difficult biblical laws. The session aims to demonstrate how these laws align with God’s character and reveal the nuanced moral framework within the conquest account.

Dr. Matt Lynch

Matthew Lynch is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Regent College in Vancouver Canada. He is the author of Flood and Fury: Old Testament Violence and the Shalom of God (IVP), First Isaiah and the Disappearance of the Gods (Eisenbrauns), Portraying Violence in the Hebrew Bible: A Literary and Cultural Study (Cambridge, 2020), and Monotheism and Institutions in the Book of Chronicles: Temple, Priesthood, and Kingship in Post-Exilic Perspective (Mohr Siebeck, 2014). Matthew is a founder and co-host of the OnScript and Biblical World podcasts. Matt met his wife Abi at JUC in '99, and they have two children.