Looking back into history through the Bible and other ancient Near Eastern texts has caused me to wonder if the ancient Israelites, Egyptians, Assyrians, and others would also have said, “I can’t imagine life without the army.” Accounts of military campaigns and battles abound in their texts. Ancient kings set out, frequently at the command of their god(s), to fight for their freedom or to assert their rightful dominance over a rebellious nation. Scribes often recorded the results of these wars in