Krieg als Topos alttestamentlicher Resilienznarrative

Building on the observations of Reinhard Müller, this article explores how the theme of war is productively employed in Old Testament resilience narratives of the exilic and post-exilic periods. Three case studies are examined: the conquest narratives of the Book of Joshua as a framework for negotiating the identity of the people of God vis-à-vis »the others«; the account of the battle with Amalek (Ex 17,8 - 13) as an allegorical constitutional model for Israel; and a series of late editorial expansions in Exodus 1 - 14 that recast the departure from Egypt as the advance of a heavily armed and professionally organized Israelite force.