USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Atrocities/war crimes condoned in the Bible

hi gloria

i put in my 2 cents out of respect for you. i found the project/"estimate" etc really dumb. it is a question of how one reads myths or sacred texts.

i believe there is real worth and value in narratives, almost all narratives. i dislike modern trivial tv version disney version narratives, that are primarily aimed at children or people with children's readings/reactions.

 but oral literature, ancient literatures, myths or tales, are always rewarding a rich. that is because they are not mimetic, not realist, not attempting to represent reality.

african art is so rewarding because it almost always reaches beyond realist representation. traditional oral accounts the same; you can return and return to them, with insights and pleasures

so, what could be more tedious and tendentious than to dismiss religions because they are taken literally? and when it seems intellectually so trivial to "count" the deaths attributed to divine interventions? i have to imagine there is an unstated purpose, and when it is the jewish bible that serves as the source for these "number" and "estimates," it seems particularly tendentious.

i have a five year old grandchild. it would be easier to explain these accounts to him than to pretend that one could actually answer wells.

so, honestly, what's the point of the posting?

to say these monotheistic religions are based on a deity who punishes those who disobey him? ok, so what?

ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

harrow@msu.edu

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From: Emeagwali, Gloria (History) <emeagwali@ccsu.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2022 11:42 PM
To: Harrow, Kenneth <harrow@msu.edu>; usa <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Atrocities/war crimes condoned in the Bible

 

Great questions for Steve Wells.

He has generated a big debate. You can

certainly challenge him. Why not?

I doubt this is directed at Judaism, though.

 I got the impression that the focus 

was Christianity.

Professor Gloria Emeagwali
Prof. of History/African Studies, CCSU
africahistory.net; vimeo.com/ gloriaemeagwali
Recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Research
Excellence Award, Univ. of Texas at Austin;
2019 Distinguished Africanist Award
New York African Studies Association

---

From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Harrow, Kenneth <harrow@msu.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2022 10:46 AM
To: usa <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Atrocities/war crimes condoned in the Bible

 

Please be cautious: **External Email**

estimate?

is this a serious estimate?

is this an estimate about how to read?

well, i would not want to read myths literally. nor would i want to read religious accounts literally.

but if you do, you can't avoid the question, what is the goal of presenting this dismal account as a real, literal, meaningful set of figures? what hatreds does it feed? what impetus to hatred of judaism might it support?

or are we supposed to naively expect this is real and true?

ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

harrow@msu.edu

---

From: 'Emeagwali, Gloria (History)' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2022 3:07 PM
To: usa <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Atrocities/war crimes condoned in the Bible

 

DWB Chapter	Killing Event	Scriptural Reference	Biblical number	Estimate
1	The Flood of Noah	Gen 7:23	–
2	Abraham's war to rescue Lot	Gen 14:17-19	–	1000
3	Sodom and Gomorrah	Gen 19:24	–	2,000
4	Lot's wife	Gen 19:26	1	1
5	Er for being wicked in the sight of the Lord	Gen 38:7	1	1
6	Onan for spilling his seed	Gen 38:10	1	1
7	God's seven year, world-wide famine	Gen 41:25-54	–	70,000
8	The seventh plague of Egypt: Hail	Ex 9:25	–	300,000
9	God killed all first born Egyptian children	Ex 12:29-30	–	500,000
10	God drowned the Egyptian army	Ex 14:8-26	600	5,000
11	Amalekites	Ex 17:13	–	1,000
12	Who is on the Lord's side?	Ex 32:27-28	3,000	3,000
13	God plagued the people because of Aaron's calf	Ex 32:35	–	1,000
14	God burns Aaron's sons to death	Lev 10:1-3	2	2
15	A blasphemer is stoned to death	Lev 24:10-23	1	1
16	God burned people to death for complaining	Num 11:1	–	100
17	God plagued the people for complaining about the food	Num 11:33	–	10,000
18	Ten scouts are killed for their honest report	Num 14:35-36	10	10
19	A man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day	Num 15:32-35	1	1
20	The opposing party is buried alive (with their families)	Num 16:27	3	9
21	250 burned to death for burning incense	Num 16:35	250	250
22	For complaining about God's killings	Num 16:49	14,700	14,700
23	The massacre of the Aradites	Num 21:1-3	–	3,000
24	God sent snakes to bite people for complaining	Num 21:6	–	100
25	Phinehas' double murder: A killing to end God's killings	Num 25:1-11	24,002	24,002
26	The Midianite massacre: Have you saved the women alive?	Num 31:1-35	6	200,000
27	God slowly kills the Israelite army	Dt 2:14-16	–	500,000
28	God the giant killer	Dt 2:21-22	–	5,000
29	God hardens King Sihon's heart so he can kill him and all his people	Dt 2:33-34	1	5,000
30	Og and the men, women, and children of 60 cites	Dt 3:3-6	1	60,000
31	The Jericho Massacre	Jos 6:21	–	1,000
32	Achan and his family are stoned and burned to death	Jos 7:10-12, 24-26	1	5
33	The Ai massacre	Jos 8:1-25	12,000	12,000
34	God stops the sun so Joshua can kill in the daylight	Jos 10:10-11	–	5,000
35	Five kings killed and hung on trees	Jos 10:26	5	10,000
36	Joshua utterly destroys all that breathes as God commanded	Jos 10:28-42	7	7,000
37	Jabin, Jobab, and all the people of 20 cities	Jos 11:8-12	2	20,000
38	The Anakim: More giant killing	Jos 11:20-21	–	5,000
39	The Lord delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites	Jg 1:4	10,000	10,000
40	The Jerusalem Massacre	Jg 1:8	–	1,000
41	Five massacres, a wedding, and some God-proof iron chariots	Jg 1:9-25	–	5,000
42	The Lord delivered Chushanrishathaim	Jg 3:7-10	1	1,000
43	Ehud delivers a message from God	Jg 3:15-22	1	1
44	God delivers 10,000 lusty Moabites	Jg 3:28-29	10,000	10,000
45	Shamgar killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad	Jg 3.31	600	600
46	Barak and God massacre the Canaanites	Jg 4:15-16	–	1,000
47	Jael pounds a tent stake through a sleeping man's skull	Jg 4:18-22	1	1
48	Gideon's story: The Lord set every man's sword against his fellow	Jg 7:22	120,000	120,000
49	A city is massacred and 1000 burn to death because of God's evil spirit	Jg 9:23-57	1,001	2,000
50	The Ammonite Massacre	Jg 11:32-33	–	20,000
51	Jephthah's Daughter	Jg 11:39	1	1
52	42,000 killed for failing the "shibboleth" test	Jg 12.4-7, Heb 11.32	42,000	42,000
53	Samson murders 30 men for their clothes	Jg 14:19	30	30
54	Samson kills 1000 men with the jawbone of an ass	Jg 15:14-15	1,000	1,000
55	Samson kills 3000 in a suicide terrorist attack	Jg 16:27-30	3,000	3,000
56	A holy civil war (called by rotting concubine body part messages)	Jg 20:35-37	65,100	65,100
57	The End of Judges: Two genocides and 200 stolen virgins	Jg 21.10-14	–	4,000
58	God kills Eli's sons along with 34,000 Israelite soldiers	1Sam 2:25, 1Sam 4:11	34,002	34,002
59	God smote them with hemorrhoids in their secret parts	1Sam 5:1-12	–	3,000
60	God killed 50,070 for looking into the ark of the Lord	1Sam 6:19	50,070	50,070
61	The Lord thundered great thunder upon the Philistines	1Sam 7:10-11	–	1,000
62	Another Ammonite Massacre (and another God-inspired body-part message)	1Sam 11:6-13	–	1,000
63	Jonathan's very fist slaughter (not counting the one before)	1Sam 14:12-14	20	20
64	God forces the Philistines to kill each other	1Sam 14:20	–	1,000
65	The Amalekite genocide	1Sam 15:2-3	–	10,000
66	Samuel hacks Agag to death before the Lord	1Sam 15:32-33	1	1
67	David or Elhanan killed Goliath	1Sam 17.51, 2Sam 21.19	1	1
68	David killed 200 Philistines for their foreskins (to buy his first wife)	1Sam 18.27	200	200
69	The Lord said to David, Go and smite the Philistines	1Sam 23:2-5	–	10,000
70	God killed Nabal (and David got his wife and other stuff)	1Sam 25:38	1	1
71	David committed genocides for the Philistines	1Sam 27.8-11	–	60,000
72	David spends the day killing Amalekites	1Sam 30:17	–	1,000
73	God kills Saul, his sons, and his men because Saul didn't kill all the Amalekites	1Sam 31:2, 1Chr 10:6	4	100
74	David killed the messenger	2Sam 1.15	1	1
75	David killed Rechab and Baanah, cut off their hands and feet, and hung up their dead bodies	2Sam 4.12	2	2
76	God helps David smite Philistines from the front and the rear	2Sam 5:19-25	–	2,000
77	God killed Uzzah for trying to keep the ark from falling	2Sam 6:6-7, 1Chr 13:9-10	1	1
78	David killed 2/3 Moabite POWs and enslaved the rest	2Sam 8.2	–	667
79	The Lord gave David victory wherever he went	2Sam 8.5, 10.18	65,850	66,850
80	David killed every male in Edom	2Sam 8.13, 1Kg 11.15-16, 1Chr 18.12, Psalm 60:1	15,000	65,000
81	Thus did David unto all the children of Ammon	2Sam 11.1, 1Chr 20.1	–	1,000
82	God slowly kills a baby	2Sam 12:14-18	1	1
83	Famine and human sacrfice: Seven sons of Saul are hung up before the Lord	2Sam 21:1-9	7	3,000
84	David's mighty men and their amazing killings	2Sam 23, 1Chr 11	1,403	3,400
85	A couple hundred thousand die because David had a census	2Sam 24:15, 1Chr 21:14	70,000	200,000
86	Solomon carried out the deathbed wish of David by having Joab and Shimei murdered	1Kg 2:29-34, 2:44-46	2	2
87	A tale of two prophets	1Kg 13:11-24	1	1
88	Jeroboam's son: God kills another child	1Kg 14:17	1	1
89	Jeroboam's family	1Kg 15:29	–	10
90	Baasha's family and friends	1Kg 16:11-12	–	20
91	Zimri burns to death	1Kg 16.18-19	1	1
92	The drought of Elijah	1Kg 17.1, Lk 4.25, James 5.17-18	–	3,000
93	Elijah kills 450 religious leaders in a prayer contest	1Kg 18.22-40	450	450
94	The first God-assisted slaughter of the Syrians	1Kg 20:20-21	–	10,000
95	God killed 100,000 Syrians for calling him a god of the hills	1Kg 20:28-29	100,000	100,000
96	God killed 27,000 Syrians by making a wall fall on them	1Kg 20:30	27,000	27,000
97	God sent a lion to kill a man for not smiting a prophet	1Kg 20:35-36	1	1
98	God kills Ahab for not killing a captured king	1Kg 20:42, 22:35	1	1
99	God burned to death 102 men for asking Elijah to come down from his hill	2Kg 1:10-12	102	102
100	God killed King Ahaziah for asking the wrong God	2Kg 1:16-17; 2Chr 22:7-9	1	1
101	God sent two bears to rip apart 42 boys for making fun of a prophet's bald head	2Kg 2:23-24	42	42
102	The Lord delivered the Moabites	2Kg 3:18-25	–	5,000
103	A skeptic is trampled to death	2Kg 7.2-20	1	1
104	Another seven year famine	2Kg 8:1	–	7,000
105	Jehoram of Israel	2Kg 9:24	1	1
106	Jezebel	2Kg 9:33-37	1	1
107	Ahab's sons: Seventy heads in two heaps	2Kg 10:6-10	70	70
108	Ahab's hometown family, friends, and priests	2Kg 10:11	–	20
109	Jehu killed Ahaziah's family	2Kg 10.12-13, 2Chr 22.7-9	42	42
110	Jehu and his partner kill the rest of Ahab's family	2Kg 10:17	–	20
111	Jehu assembles the followers of Baal and then slaughters them all	2Kg 10.18-25	–	1,000
112	Mattan the priest of Baal and Queen Athaliah	2Kg 11.17-20	2	2
113	God sends lions to eat those that don't fear him enough	2Kg 17:25-26	–	10
114	An angel killed 185,000 sleeping soldiers	2Kg 19:34, Is 37:36	185,000	185,000
115	God caused Sennacherib to be killed by his sons	2Kg 19:37	1	1
116	Josiah killed all the priests of the high places	2Kg 23.20	–	100
117	Another holy war	1Chr 5:18-22	–	50,000
118	God killed a half million Israelite soldiers	2Chr 13:17-18	500,000	500,000
119	Jeroboam	2Chr 13:20	1	1
120	God killed a million Ethiopians	2Chr 14:9-14	1,000,000	1,000,000
121	Friendly Fire: God forced "a great multitude" to kill each other	2Chr 20:22-25	–	30,000
122	God made Jehoram's bowels fall out	2Chr 21:14-19	1	1
123	God killed Jehoram's sons	2Chr 22:1	–	3
124	Ahaziah (of Judah)	2Chr 22.7-9	1	1
125	Joash, the princes, and army of Judah	2Chr 24:20-25	1	10,000
126	God destroyed Amaziah	2Chr 25:15-27	1	1000
127	God smote Ahaz with the king of Syria	2Chr 28:1-5	–	10,000
128	God killed 120,000 valiant men for forsaking him	2Chr 28:6	120,000	120,000
129	The fall of Jerusalem	2Chr 36:16-17	–	10,000
130	God and Satan kill Job's children and slaves	Job 1:18-19	10	60
131	Hananiah	Jeremiah 28:15-16	1	1
132	Ezekiel's wife	Ezek 24:15-18	1	1
133	Annanias and Sapphira	Acts 5:1-10	2	2
134	Herod	Acts 12:23	1	1
135	Jesus	Rom 8:32, 1Pet 1.18-20	1	1
Total			2,476,636	24,634,205

Compiled by Steve Wells in

"How many did God kill"

Professor Gloria Emeagwali
Prof. of History/African Studies, CCSU
africahistory.net; vimeo.com/ gloriaemeagwali
Recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Research
Excellence Award, Univ. of Texas at Austin;
2019 Distinguished Africanist Award
New York African Studies Association

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