Books by L. Daniel Hawk

How can we make sense of violence in the Bible? Joshua commands the people of Israel to wipe out everyone in the promised land of Canaan, while Jesus commands God's people to love their enemies. How are we to interpret biblical passages on violence when it is sanctioned at one point and condemned at another?The Violence of the Biblical God by L. Daniel Hawk presents a new framework, solidly rooted in the authority of Scripture, for understanding the paradox of God's participation in violence. Hawk shows how the historical narrative of the Bible offers multiple canonical pictures for faithful Christian engagement with the violent systems of the world.

This unique commentary generates a conversation between the biblical narrative of conquest, related biblical themes, and the American master narrative of Manifest Destiny. Writing in an accessible style and format, Hawk offers an exegesis of the biblical text with special emphasis on the ways the narrative of conquest shaped ancient Israel's identity as a people. A second level of commentary lifts key themes from the text (e.g., the land as divine gift and promise, mass killing, Israel's distinctive attributes, the construction of the Indigenous Other) and sets them within their broader biblical context. A third dimension reflects on corresponding elements in America's narrative of "westward expansion" (e.g. the conviction of America's unique character and destiny, total war and ethnic cleansing, the dehumanization of Native peoples, patriotism and homeland, the idea of the American Dream). As a whole, this book offers Joshua as a biblical resource for reading the American experience, challenging readers to reflect on how conquest shaped America's identity and how it continues to influence American attitudes and actions.