For Tucker Carlson: Israeli Military Operations in Gaza and West Bank
Scope and limits of the question
The Old Testament (KJV) does not give a neat, numeric list like “God commanded Israel to attack X nations Y times.” Instead, it narrates campaigns and wars across several books (especially Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1–2 Samuel, 1–2 Kings, 1–2 Chronicles). Those campaigns often involve the same peoples repeatedly (e.g., Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, Arameans).
So rather than a precise “how many,” the most honest answer is:
There are multiple, repeated divine war commands, clustered especially around:
Conquest of Canaan (Joshua)
Defensive and punitive wars in Judges and the monarchy (Saul, David, others)
The text emphasizes reasons and consequences more than a tally.
Below is a structured overview that stays close to the KJV text and then briefly explains why this cannot be mapped straightforwardly onto modern operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
(Thought God has not told Israel in the modern world to invade Gaza and West Bank, the people of both these areas are practicing the same Sins that that the Israeli neighbors did in the Old Testament. In addition, for any one to claim that some of the political leadership in Israel are attacking the innocent people of Gaza and West bank, they are going to have to prove that these people are innocent. I don’t see how any one providing material support and moral support to Hamas and others are innocent according to the standard of God.)
Major Old Testament campaigns where God commands Israel to attack
1. The conquest of Canaan
Key texts (KJV):
Deuteronomy 7; 9; 20:16–18
Joshua 1–12
Who was attacked:
Canaanite nations: Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites, and related city-states (e.g., Jericho, Ai, Hazor).
Nature of the command:
God commands Israel to “utterly destroy” these nations (Hebrew ḥerem), sparing nothing that breathes in certain cities (Deut 20:16–18; Josh 6:17–21).
The command is framed as divine judgment and covenant fulfillment—God giving Abraham’s descendants the land and judging the “abominations” of the Canaanites.
Reasons given in the text:
Judgment on wickedness: The nations are said to practice idolatry, child sacrifice, and other “abominations” (Deut 9:4–5; 18:9–12).
Preventing religious corruption: Israel is warned that if the Canaanites remain, they will “teach you to do after all their abominations” and lead Israel into idolatry (Deut 20:18).
Covenant promise: God swore to give this land to the patriarchs (Gen 15; Deut 7:8).
Consequences described:
Short-term:
Rapid military victories (Jericho, Ai, southern and northern coalitions) when Israel obeys.
Defeat when Israel disobeys (e.g., Achan’s sin in Joshua 7).
Long-term:
Israel fails to drive out all inhabitants, leading to ongoing conflict, idolatry, and syncretism (Judg 1–3).
The text portrays this failure as a root cause of later moral and political breakdown.
2. Wilderness and border wars before Canaan
Key texts (KJV):
Numbers 21; 25; 31; Deuteronomy 2–3
Who was attacked:
Amalekites (Exod 17; later 1 Sam 15)
Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan (Num 21; Deut 2–3)
Midianites (Num 31)
Nature of the command:
God instructs Moses to “smite” or “vex” certain peoples after they attack Israel or lead Israel into idolatry and sexual immorality (e.g., Midian in Num 25–31).
Reasons given:
Self-defense and retaliation: Sihon and Og refuse passage and attack Israel first (Deut 2:30–33; 3:1–3).
Judgment for seduction into idolatry: Midian is targeted because they “beguiled” Israel into Baal worship and immorality (Num 25:1–3; 31:16).
Consequences:
Israel gains Transjordan territory (lands of Sihon and Og).
The Midianite campaign is described as severe, with extensive killing and taking of captives and spoil (Num 31).
3. Judges: cyclical wars against neighbors
Key texts (KJV):
Judges 3–16
Who was attacked:
Moabites, Canaanites, Midianites, Ammonites, Philistines, and others.
Nature of the command:
Pattern: Israel sins → oppressed by neighbors → Israel cries out → God raises a judge (military leader) and “delivers” Israel through war.
The text often presents the judge’s action as empowered or commanded by God (“the Spirit of the LORD came upon him”).
Reasons given:
Discipline and deliverance: God uses neighboring nations to punish Israel’s idolatry, then uses Israel’s counterattacks as deliverance when they repent (Judg 2:11–19).
Covenant enforcement: The wars are framed as consequences of Israel’s failure to remain faithful to the covenant.
Consequences:
Temporary peace after each victory (“the land had rest forty years,” etc.).
No lasting stability—Israel repeatedly returns to idolatry, leading to new oppressors and new wars.
4. Monarchy: Saul, David, and later kings
Key texts (KJV):
1 Samuel 11; 14–15; 17–31
2 Samuel 5–10; 21
1–2 Kings; 1–2 Chronicles
Who was attacked:
Ammonites, Philistines, Amalekites, Arameans (Syrians), Edomites, Moabites, and others.
Examples of explicit divine commands:
Saul and Amalek (1 Sam 15):
God commands Saul to “utterly destroy” Amalek, citing Amalek’s earlier attack on Israel in the wilderness (Exod 17; 1 Sam 15:2–3).
Saul’s failure to fully obey (sparing King Agag and the best livestock) leads to his rejection as king.
David’s wars:
Many of David’s campaigns are portrayed as sanctioned by God, with God promising victory (2 Sam 5:19–25).
However, not every war is explicitly commanded; some are political or defensive.
Reasons given:
Judgment on historic enemies (Amalek, Philistines, etc.).
Defense of Israel against aggression.
Consolidation of the kingdom under God’s chosen king (David).
Consequences:
Territorial expansion and relative stability under David and (early) Solomon.
Later kings’ unfaithfulness leads to defeat, exile, and destruction (Assyria for the northern kingdom; Babylon for Judah). The prophets interpret these defeats as God turning war against Israel for its own injustice and idolatry (e.g., 2 Kings 17; 25; Jer 25).
So, “how many times” did God command attacks?
Because:
The same peoples appear repeatedly,
Some wars are clearly commanded, others only described,
And the narrative spans centuries,
…the Old Testament does not give a clean numeric answer like “God commanded Israel to attack its neighbors 27 times.”
What we can say with integrity is:
There is a recurring pattern of divinely commanded or sanctioned wars, especially:
The conquest of Canaan (multiple campaigns, one overarching command).
Punitive and defensive wars in the wilderness, Judges, and monarchy.
The text consistently frames these as:
Judgment on nations for idolatry and injustice,
Protection and discipline of Israel,
Fulfillment of covenant promises.
Any attempt to turn that into a precise “count” is interpretive and debatable, not something the KJV itself explicitly supplies.
Reasons God gives Israel for invading or attacking
Across these narratives, the main stated reasons are:
Divine judgment on other nations:
Their “abominations,” idolatry, child sacrifice, and violence (Deut 9:4–5; 18:9–12).
Preventing Israel’s moral and religious corruption:
Driving out or destroying nations so they do not teach Israel their practices (Deut 7:1–5; 20:18).
Covenant fulfillment and land promise:
God giving the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gen 15; Deut 7:8).
Defense and deliverance:
Responding to attacks or oppression (Judg 2–3; 1 Sam 11; 2 Sam 5).
Discipline of Israel itself:
When Israel is unfaithful, God uses foreign powers against them; when they repent, he sometimes commands or empowers counterattacks.
Consequences emphasized in the Old Testament
The Old Testament is less interested in casualty numbers and more in theological consequences:
When Israel obeys the divine command:
Military success, territorial gains, and periods of peace.
When Israel disobeys (either by refusing to fight or by fighting in the wrong way):
Defeat, loss of leaders, plagues, or later judgment (e.g., Saul and Amalek; Achan at Ai).
Long-term arc:
Even with many victories, Israel’s repeated injustice and idolatry lead to its own destruction and exile, showing that divine war is not a blank check but part of a larger moral framework.
Why this does not map cleanly onto Gaza and the West Bank
The title you asked for explicitly links this to modern Israeli military operations in Gaza and the West Bank. Biblically and historically, there are some crucial distinctions:
The Old Testament wars are presented as:
Directly commanded by God through prophets or theophanies,
Within a specific covenant framework and ancient Near Eastern context.
Modern states—including the modern State of Israel—operate under international law, secular politics, and contemporary ethics, not under the same kind of explicit prophetic commands recorded in the Old Testament.
So while people sometimes invoke Old Testament narratives to justify or criticize modern conflicts, the text itself is describing a particular ancient story, not giving a simple template for present-day policy. Any responsible use of these texts has to acknowledge that gap.
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