Introduction 5

destruction of personal property, clothing or food was to be punished by the court.

The Jewish army could lay a siege three days before shabbat and could continue to fight even on shabbat. Those who fell in battle were to be buried on that spot. The soldiers in a military camp were permitted dubious food and were exempt from various ritual and shabbat regulations. The sanitation of the camp was to be observed (Deut 23:13 f.).

The role of the priest and the conditions of military service were also discussed(Kings and Wars Chapter 7), so that those who were excused(Deut 20:5-7) could leave. Afterwards the priest encouraged soldiers to fight well(Deut 20:3 ff.) or be dismissed so as not to affect their comrades. The legislation of those excused was expanded beyond the biblical statements to include talmudic discussions, so for instance, any kind of house, even a new barn exempted a soldier. On the other hand“faint hearted” was interpreted as physically unfit. These conditions only applied to“permissive wars” not to the conquest of the Land of Israel or defensive wars which were obligatory upon everyone. Fleeing soldiers were to have their legs broken.

In the last chapter of this section(Kings and Wars 8) Maimonides discussed conditions prevailing after victory. He permitted prohibited food including pork and wine. A soldier who engaged in sex with a captured woman was excused; it was understood as a concession to the evil impulse(yetzer hara). If he wished to marry her, she must convert without coercion and he had to wait three months before marrying her(Deut 21:11-12). If she did not convert, he had to free her.

The final chapters of this section(Kings ans Wars 11 and 12) dealt with the Messianic Age of permanent peace. Maimonides did not deal with war in his philosophical work, Moreh Nivukhim(Guide to the Perplexed). When we look to Jewish philosophical writings from Philo (ca. 40) through Saadiah(882— 942) to the twentieth century, we find nothing except the most incidental discussions of warfare.