ABSTRACT
ThepresentchaptersetsouttosketchthehistoricaldevelopmentofJewish equivalentsof'justwartheory'.1Bearinginmindthecomparativeframeworkof thebook,thechapterfocusesinparticularontheconsistencywithwhichJewish traditionshavebeeninfluencedbyothercivilizationsacrossthemillennia,a phenomenonwhichhasyettoreceivetheacademicattentionitdeserves.Tobe sure,thedistinctiveelementsofJewishlegaltraditionsgoverningtheconductof wararesocentralthatstraightforwardcomparisonscanbeasmisleadingasthey areinevitable.ThereisthusnotraditioninrabbinicJudaismaccordingtowhicha warmaybe'holy',norarguablycanwarbesanctified,biblicalprecedents notwithstanding.NorhaverabbinicJewishcommentatorsbeenimpelledto examinewhetherawar,orparticipationinawar,isinitself'just'.Thereisa literaturewhichfocusesonthejustificationsforwar,butrabbiniclawandtheology focusesmoreconsistentlyonthebasesonwhichmilitaryconductmaybe commandedorsanctionedthanontheideathatawarcanorneedbe'justified'in religiousterms.Equally,thereisnoJewishtraditionaccordingtowhichbattleis anextensionofreligiousorspiritual'struggle'byothermeans.Thedevelopment of'justwar'and'jihad'theoryneverthelessfmdscloseparallelsinthekeytexts whichtraditionalistJewsraiseindiscussionofmilitaryconduct,presenting historianandmilitaryethicistalikewithgroundsforaseriousexaminationofthe comparativecontextinwhichJewishtextswereconceivedandwritten.
