The Destruction of the Canaanites: God, Genocide, and Biblical Interpretation

by Charlie Trimm

How can a good God command genocide?   In this short, accessible offering, Charlie Trimm provides the resources needed to make sense of one of the Bible’s most difficult ethical problems—the Israelite destruction of the Canaanites as told in the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, and Judges.  Trimm begins with a survey of important background issues, including the nature of warfare in the ancient Near East, the concept of genocide (with perspectives gleaned from the field of genocide studies), and the history and identity of the Canaanite people. With this foundation in place, he then introduces four possible approaches to reconciling biblical The depth of material provided in concise form makes Trimm’s book ideal as a supplementary textbook or as a primer for any Christian perturbed by the stories of the destruction of the Canaanites in the Old Testament.

Genres: Theology, History, Biblical Studies, Christianity, Old Testament, Religion, Nonfiction

136 pages, Paperback

Published March 15, 2022

Reviews

[Gage Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review as requested by FC Shultz:

The book was fine. It accomplished its goal: to provide perspectives, interpretations, and Scripture references so you can consider the violence found in the Bible.

If you’re looking for a slam-dunk argument for the questioning believers and non-believers in your life, this isn’t it. The intended audience is those who already believe that God is good and that the Bible is true.

But if you’re a critical thinker and want an exhaustive bibliography of voices on the topic, this is a great and short intro.

[Luke Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the second-to-last page of his very slim book, Charlie Trimm recognizes that some of his readers "might even feel worse about the problem [of the destruction of the Canaanites] now than when [they] began this book" (93). Such a statement is funny, ironic, and (potentially) true. Rather than providing nice, tidy, and easy answers to the difficult ethical problems surrounding Israel's destruction of the Canaanites, Trimm simply lays out four different ways in which most Old Testament scholars (as well as some theologians and philosophers) have tried "to deal with the problem of the destruction of the Canaanites": (1) by reevaluating God; (2) by reevaluating the Old Testament (put differently, the Old Testament must not be a "faithful record" of what happened); (3) by reevaluating the interpretation of the Old Testament (in other words, "the Old Testament does not describe anything like a genocide"); and (4) by reevaluating violence in the Old Testament (meaning, "the mass killing of the Canaanites in the Old Testament was permitted for that one point in history") (Trimm, 50).

Rather than landing on a specific view that he finds the most acceptable or reasonable, Trimm simply lays out each view, describing both the benefits and the drawbacks of each view. (Trimm does reject the first view ["reevaluating God"], though, because he refuses to discard both God and the Bible altogether, due to his Christian convictions; 94).

Trimm's knowledge of contemporary (and ancient) approaches to dealing with the destruction of the Canaanites is impressive, and this book serves as a great resource for those interested in the wide array of different opinions and approaches. Some readers, I'm sure, will be upset that Trimm does not state what he thinks is the best approach to the problem—many of us want to be told what to think and what to believe (especially when it comes to difficult topics)—but I found Trimm's reluctance to prescribe a certain approach to be refreshing (and I think we can all learn from it). The one response that Trimm recommends in his conclusion is that of lament; he encourages Christians (both individually and communally) to lament with the psalmists, "How long, O Lord?".

One last advantage of this book is that it is impressively small; Trimm gets straight to the point, providing some helpful background in the first three chapters, and then evaluating each view thoroughly, yet concisely, in the remaining chapters. The book is easy to read and understand; scholars, students, and casual readers alike would greatly benefit from this book.

[Glenn Crouch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent little book that presents the various “solutions” proposed to the accounts in Joshua and elsewhere in regards to possible genocide and at the very least God-ordained violence. Having read several of the authors he has included, I found that his summary of the views (at least of those I had read) to be reasonably fair. Likewise I thought his covering of the problems with the various views to be quite fair - and to pretty much mirror my own concerns.

In presenting 4 views, and pointing out the “problems” with each them, we are then left without a solution - which I quite liked. The Author is not pretending to solve our hermeneutical quagmire, but to help us better think about it. To do this, he has also supplied quite a good bibliography (often missing from small books) that allows the reader to further engage with the topics and approaches raised.

Highly recommended for all serious readers of Scripture.

[Willemina Barber-Wixtrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This compact little volume doesn’t showcase a lot of original interpretive work, but it does exposit near every problem might have with this subject matter and links to more at-length secondary works.

I wouldn’t recommend it to most people who’ve had a serious level of biblical training through at least a bachelors level, as they’re probably at least already vaguely familiar with the subject, but it is a great place to start learning about it/springing one into deeper study of this contentious area of biblical literature.

[Matthew Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concise, well-written, and helpful guide to wrestling with violence in Joshua. It's primary usefulness lies in challenging readers from varying perspectives to consider the weaknesses of their own approaches and the merits of others.

[Charlie Yep · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't fully agree with what he says about the definition of genocide, our dear Prof Donald Bloxham might be quaking just right now, but all the other points much interesting and got me brains wondering, highly recommend

[Carmen Imes]

Drawing on his expertise on warfare in the ancient Near East, Trimm outlines and critiques common approaches to this vexing ethical issue and considers their implications. Trimm does not offer a solution to the problem. Instead, he astutely lays the groundwork for a robust classroom discussion in which students can wrestle with the issues and develop their own approach to the problem of violence in the Old Testament.

[Ian Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bizarrely short. This is an incredibly brief outline of proposed solutions to the “problem” of God’s command concerning the destruction of the Canaanites.

My thoughts:
- The accounts should be read within the ANE context, attentive to literary features.
- They should be read within the broader context of the book and the canon.
- Ultimately, evaluating the morality of the destruction of the Canaanites causes us to reflect on the foundations of our own moral reasoning. If God is the foundation, can we really question the morality of the command? If it was evil, we have to ask according to whom? By what standard can we judge a command from the God?

Thus, the only real question is: what are we too learn from the destruction of the Canaanites? And what is the applicability of it to modern states’ process of moral reasoning? These are the important questions, and I think Meredith Kline’s “intrusion ethic” is right. This was a unique, unrepeatable event where the eschatological judgement was permitted to break into the present not to break in again until the Day of the Lord, when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead.

[Kyle Lundquist · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short and very helpful book exploring an exceedingly difficult topic. Trimm suggests four ways of looking at the violence against Canaanites, and tries to frame the pros and cons of each view.

Trimm doesn’t give away his own perspective which I suspect will frustrate some. But if you’re looking to wrestle with this question, this is a great primer.

[Kate M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

an extremely concise while still deeply nuanced summary of the ways to approach the genocide of the Canaanites in the Bible, widely accepted by Christians as a true historical event sanctioned by God. Trimm does not state an opinion, he just details the strengths and weaknesses in every argument that has already been presented on the matter.

[Jamin Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re looking for a short book that combines and addresses some of the best scholarly views out there on the troubling violent passages of the Old Testament, this is a good resource. While it doesn’t have a lot of new views to offer (nor is that the intent of this book) the author is deeply aware of all the primary facts and conversations that should be addressed when contemplating Old Testament violence. In the end, it almost feels like pulling certain elements from all of the views into one new view may be the best option, despite some of their conflicting points.

But perhaps the most poignant part of this book is its very short conclusion, which beautifully calls us to faithfulness to God despite our theological confusion on these passages.

[Zach Waldis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trimm comes at the question of violence in the OT from a conservative perspective, and sometimes his analysis (the "social" cost of rejecting genocide as ethical? losing your job or place in a religious community? are you kidding me?) suffers as a result of that position. However, he does lay out a number of strategies for understanding the conquest narratives, and this short and accessible book is a great start for those looking to dive into this perplexing question.

[Josh Olds · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins refers to the Old Testament God as a “vindictive bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser, a misogynistic, homophobic racist, an infanticidal, genocidal, philicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” In other words, Dawkins doesn’t think too highly of God’s moral character or how the Divine is portrayed in Scripture. It’s easy to dismiss Dawkins with visions of Jesus and turning the other cheek, but if we’re to consider Dawkins’ purposefully inflammatory quote with any level of reason, we have to wonder if he’s at least somewhat right. The Old Testament does in fact attribute, or seem to attribute, some pretty horrible things to God. Top among these is The Destruction of the Canaanites.

The conquest of Canaan has always been problematic for anyone critically engaging Scripture. God is love…but then…there’s the genocide. It’s a difficult and emotional topic, particularly when politicized or when modern viewpoints are superimposed on ancient culture, but it bears looking at. Dr. Charlie Trimm, an associate professor of biblical and theological studies at Talbot, offers a balanced and thoughtful summary of how these texts have been interpreted.

The Destruction of the Canaanites is an academic text, so it stays away from drawing firm conclusions, instead laying out all the evidence and assessing it thoroughly and impartially, allowing the reader to come to a conclusion. As such, it reads almost as if Dr. Trimm created the text for use in a classroom setting. At under a hundred pages, it’s concise; yet it adequately details the four prevailing exegetical options and evaluates the backgrounds that compel that exegesis and what the implications might be.

The first half of the book is devoted to establishing the background. Trimm offers a chapter on ANE warfare, giving readers a summary of what the conquest of Canaan might have looked like and how what we understand from Scripture compares or contrasts to what we understand from other wars in this time period. He also offers a chapter on the history of genocide, being sure to develop a definition for the term that is accurate and contextual, not simply emotional. This will help readers to evaluate the actions of Israel later in the book. Lastly, there’s a chapter devoted to the Canaanites themselves, summarizing what we know from biblical and extrabiblical sources.

The second half offers four different ways of approaching the text, beginning with a series of four propositions:

1. God is good and compassionate.
2. The Old Testament is a faithful record of God’s dealings with humanity and favorably portrays YHWH’s actions.
3. The Old Testament describes events that are similar to genocide.
4. Mass killings are always evil.

Trimm notes that all four of these propositions cannot be true at the same time. Therefore, he offers four options:

Reevaluate God. In this interpretation, we make the assumption that we’ve understood God wrong and conclude that, like other ANE deities, he has no problem with genocide as a means of expanding his territory. Perhaps it is that God is not always good or compassionate. Trimm does not spend much time on this view—only a few paragraphs—and does not seriously evaluate it.

Reevaluate Scripture. This view resolves the problem by saying that the Old Testament record is not historical, or that it is accurate history but did not stem from something God actually wanted. In this view, either the history is made up wholesale (usually post-exilic) by a people looking to create a history (and longing to be conquerors) or it is the result of a war-faring people attributing their actions to their god.

Reevaluate OT Interpretation. This view strikes at premise 3, saying that the accusations of genocide are read into the text and not an accurate interpretation of reality, making God “minimally violent enough to be ethically permissible.” In this view, the “destruction” of the Canaanites is seen as a spiritual destruction, where the empire and power of the nation is destroyed, if not its literal people. It also suggests that Israel drove out many of the Canaanites, rather than kill them. (Though this raises the ethical implications of creating mass refugees, while also understanding cultural differences between today and three thousand years ago.) This is the interpretation that I believe has the most merit at some level.

Reevaluate the Morality of Mass Killing. Is genocide always evil? Is it evil if a holy God commands it? This interpretation accepts the historicity of the biblical text, acknowledges it was genocidal, but holds that mass killing can be justified under certain circumstances. Trimm spends some time discussing the implications of such a worldview,

As an academic work, The Destruction of the Canaanites chooses to not draw any conclusions. As a standalone work, it accurately and succinctly summarizes the conversation on the topic and will help engage others in conversation about each view and what implications result from it. It also serves a springboard into larger conversations of Old Testament interpretation. Despite its small size and limited focus, The Destruction of the Canaanites has a wide application and usefulness. For anyone truly wanting to study the Old Testament and contend with these texts, Charlie Trimm has given you a no-nonsense introduction to OT interpretation using one of the most prominent problematic passages we have.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlie Trimm has done biblical students everywhere a great service with this brief, yet punchy, book. Essentially, it offers the most current summary of biblical scholarship on the issue of the destruction of the Canaanites, one of the most morally disturbing stories in the entire Bible. Trimm's goal is simple--to provide an overview of the problem and a catalogue of proposed solutions. After brief background material on warfare in the Ancient Near East, current definitions of genocide and their relation to ANE warfare, and the identity of the Canaanites, Trimm lays out the interpretive options for assessing the conquest of Canaan in four categories:

1) Reevaluating God (Is God really good?)
2) Reevaluating the Old Testament (Is the OT really a reliable guide to God's actions and Israel's story?)
3) Reevaluating the Interpretation of the Old Testament (Is there more [or, perhaps less] going on in these stories than a straightforward reading suggests?)
4) Reevaluating Violence in the Old Testament (Is there a way that God's violence in the OT can be justified?)

Trimm's work in these chapters is incredibly thorough (as evidenced by the scores of footnotes) while remaining mercifully brief. In the end, he resists the urge to direct the reader to the "correct answer." He simply wants Christians to be in a better position to think more deeply about the issue and to understand the various solutions on hand. And that, as far as this reviewer is concerned, is very refreshing.

This is a "must-read" for anyone that's interested in this difficult biblical subject--not for its ability to give you the correct solution, but for its ability to give you a fair and erudite lay of the land. And, did I mention that it was short?

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one's hard to review since there's a disconnect between what I wanted the book to do and what the book actually is. Trimm does a nice job providing a quick overview of the issue: how to deal with the violence (arguably genocide) in the OT, particularly the conquest of Canaan.

What Trimm does, he does well -- his overview of 4 major approaches is clear and introduces a number of the key works in the area. His contextualization of ANE warfare is enjoyable (I think this might be a particular area of expertise for him).

The problem is that the book's very short and very introductory. I could see this being an excellent starting point for someone just coming to these questions, and there's plenty here to send a person on to further reading, but it doesn't go further than that. It feels almost unfair to criticize the book on those grounds when that appears to have been Trimm's intentions, but it felt slight and I wanted him to go deeper in almost every chapter. I was hoping for a thorough analysis of the various approaches rather than just a quick overview (it almost felt like an annotated bibliography at times).

tl;dr: if you're new to the topic, start here; otherwise, it might not be the book for you.

[Rowan Aldridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a very good introduction to its topic. It covers a lot of ground in not very many pages, and treats the views represented quite fairly. I also appreciated Trimm's humility in approaching this incredibly difficult topic. This is very much a survey book, with Trimm ending without actually telling us which view (if any) he endorses. I would recommend it for any Christian interested in thinking through this issue, but I wouldn't recommend it for someone who wants a neat and tidy answer, as Trimm is not interested in providing that (probably because it doesn't exist). I have given it 4 stars instead of 5 because I thought Trimm could have gone into a bit more depth and argued a bit better when he discusses the benefits and drawbacks of the views he is talking about. These sections feel a bit quick and it doesn't feel like you get a great feel for what the views have going for/against them. I recognise that this is an accessible intro book, so there is inevitably going to be some limitation on this aspect of it, but nevertheless I do think those sections could have been better. Otherwise, great book.

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has all the editorial subtlety of an undergraduate term paper. Trimm catalogs. an unending litany of solutions to the "Canaanite problem." Trimm is much better at listing than at explaining and nuancing. If you want an almanac of every possible approach to the Canaanite problem, this is your book. If you want a book that evaluates and synthesizes toward possible understanding, go elsewhere. Old Testament violence is a notoriously difficult issue. But at some point, one has to stop knocking everyone else's suggestions and put forth some version of one's own thoughts. Otherwise is one really prepared to write a book on the subject? In fairness, this book is probably intended to guide college students through the depths of the problem. In a college classroom, this book might be useful for purposes of training in the evaluation of evidence and in reaching one's own conclusions. I don't see the book being particularly useful outside of such a setting.

[Alex Kudej · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really good discussion of a really important but difficult topic (the violence in the Old Testament at the hands of God). I feel like this book did a great job of fleshing out different options for how this could be interpreted, but at the same time could have dug into these more.

The author offers critiques to every viewpoint at every turn, and starts off by saying that it is not his goal to convince the reader which viewpoint is right. I feel like these critiques are essential to the conversation, but at times I feel like some of these critiques don’t deserve the spotlight they’re being given. That is to say, some critiques have more credibility than others, yet to my yes, they all received the same amount of attention regardless.

In all, I think this book is great to kick of a conversation that absolutely needs to be had, but I think it is the burden of the reader to continue this conversation past the conclusion.

[Kyle Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful little introduction to a complex topic.
Trimm gives a survey of modern biblical scholarship when it comes to the Canaanite conquest. Trimm does not argue for one side or another, rather he gives a fair exploration of several different ways scholars have read these texts, ranging from John Walton to Saint Augustine. Trimm's writing is clear, thorough and accessible. Trimm touches on questions such as just war, violence, genocide, ethnic cleansing and more. This book explores the alegorical interpretation, spiritual-being interpretation, Christological interpretation, and so much more. For anyone looking to dive deep into this section of Scripture, this is a great introduction that will get your feet wet and leave you wanting more.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely helpful little book that gives historical background to war in the ancient near east and then proceeds to lay out the four major options as to how Old Testament scholars and theologians have made sense of the troubling Canaanite conquest passages.

Trimm helpfully points out the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, leaving the reader to decide which is best. Anyone interested in making sense of the Canaanite conquest in a short amount of time (without sacrificing depth) will be pleased with Trimm's offering.

[Leah Fields · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book for a research project and it was really interesting! As much as I wanted the author to tell me which position to side with I’m thankful he didn’t - it’s making me think on my own! This is such a hard topic and so it was a hard book to read through, but I am grateful that there are answers in the Word! And reminds me of the importance of resting in God’s character, as He is described in the Word, instead of my human emotions. Overall, I definitely recommend if you’re wanting to look into an overview of the topic of the Canaanite wars!

[Vance Christiaanse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whatever your position is on this issue, you'll find it refuted in this book. That's because this book lists dozens of positions, organized into four groups, and refutes them all. The goal is to challenge the reader to dig deeper. This book is an essential companion to any other book you're reading on the subject. I'd give it five stars but I could be accused to giving five stars too freely so I took off one star for being too short.

[Payton Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brief, yet fantastic introductory treatment of the subject of the Israelite conquest narratives. Trimm doesn’t go out of his way to provide conclusive closure on the issue, but instead provides several perspectives and solutions to the issue. Some, accurately so, raise more questions than answers. Although, thinking through the conflicts Trimm raises is fruitful for ferreting out bad arguments, and even worse dismissive apologetics. Great 1-hour read!

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want an overview of the terrain of this topic, this is an efficient way to get it. In just over 100 pages, it provides an overview of 4 main types of response to this issue, with examples of specific argumentative threads under that banner, critiques for all arguments, and a hefty bibliography. Its brevity is double-edged though. I found myself wishing each point went deeper.

[John B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A orderly view of the different beliefs.

The author wasn’t writing to convince the reader on a certain view of violence in the Old Testament but give a thorough outline of the problems found with holding that particular view. I am left with working out my salvation with fear and trembling.

[Sheree Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book summarizes ancient warfare, defines who the Canaanites were and the definition of genocide, and wrestles with problem of the killing of the Canaanites by the Israelites. No conclusion is made but gives much to ponder.

[Ian Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overview of the options for making sense of these difficult texts of violence in the OT.

I interviewed the author here: https://www.psephizo.com/reviews/how-...

[David Ince · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somethings cannot be fully understood this side of eternity.

Although the question remains unanswered, this book has helped me to better appreciate the varied nuances in other challenging passages.

[Evan Cruse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative.

I wish the book was marketed as more of a "four views" type, and it felt like it would have been proper for the author to give his view.

Even so, the book was well done, helpful, and makes me now desire to find a book that dives more into the "herem" motif.

[Laura S · Rating 3 out of 5]

A concise and informative read!