Dr BRAD E KELLE is Associate Professor of Biblical Literature at Point Loma Nazarene University He previously was Assistant Professor of the Old Testament at Colorado Christian University He specializes in Israelite and ]udean history and the Old Testament prophetic literature Over the last three years he has chaired the Society of Biblical Literature's consultation on 'Warfare in Ancient Israel' He has also written and had published many articles and books on Ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible He lives in San Diego PROFESSOR ROBERT O'NEILL, AO D.PHIL (Oxon), Hon D Litt (ANU), FASSA, Fr Hist S, is the Series Editor of the Essential Histories His wealth of knowledge and expertise shapes the series content and provides up-to-the-minute research and theory Born in Australia in 1936 , he served in the Australian army (1955-68) and has held a number of eminent positions in history circles, including the Chichele Professorship of the History of War at All Souls College, University of Oxford, 1987-2001, and the Chairmanship of the Board of the Imperial War Museum and the Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London He is the author of many books, including works on the German Army and the Nazi party, and the Korean and Vietnam wars Based in Australia since his retirement from Oxford, he is the Chairman of the Council of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute Essential Histories Ancient Israel at War 853-586 Be Essential Histories Ancient Israel at War 853-586 Be Brad E Kelle First published in Great Britain in 2007 by Osprey Publishing, Midland House, West Way, Botley, Oxford OX2 OPH, UK 443 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 100 I 6, USA E-mail: info@ospreypublishing.com © 2007 Osprey Publishing Ltd All rights reserved Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under For a catalog of all books published by Osprey Military and Aviation please contact: NORTH AMERICA Osprey Direct c/o Random House Distribution Center, 400 Hahn Road, Westminster, MD 21 157 USA E-mail: info@ospreydirect.com the Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or ALL OTHER REGIONS Osprey Direct UK, PO Box 140, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2FA, UK E-mail: info@ospreydirect.co.uk owner Inquiries should be addressed to the Publishers A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 I 84603 036 Page layout by Ken Vail Graphic Design, Cambridge, UK Index by Alison Worthington Typeset in GiliSans and I Stone seriff Maps by The Map Studio Originated by PPS Grasmere Ltd., Leeds, UK Printed in China through Bookbuilders 07 08 09 I0 I I I I I0 www.ospreypublishing.com Dedication For Becky, of course Contents Introduction Chronology I2 Background to war The rise of the I