[IsraelTimes] BLUF: In the Old Testament, the response of Israel to kidnapping was to raise an army and smite the kidnappers until they gave up the captive(s). During the Exilic period, ransoms were supposed to be paid only if they were not exorbitant, so as to not encourage more kidnapping. Therefore the claim that Jewish law says Israel must pay any price to get back the hostages is not true.
Israel’s hostage dilemma is one of the hardest the country has ever faced. Among the calls to free them "at any price" is the claim that "pidyon shvuyim" (ransoming hostages) is the highest Jewish value. A closer look at this issue in the Jewish tradition shows a far more nuanced approach.
First, the Bible itself has no specific commandment regarding payment to gain the release of hostages — this despite the fact that the Torah has several other commandments regarding the conduct of war (even not to unnecessarily cut down trees!). In fact, the three "examples" of hostage-taking do show a clear pattern: fight the hostage takers until release is achieved. In Genesis 14:12-16, Abraham endangered himself by going to war against the "Four Kings" who had captured his cousin Lot, and succeeded to free Lot from captivity. Then in Numbers 21:1-3, the Canaanite king of Arad captured a number of Israelites; the latter’s response was to completely destroy those cities. Interestingly, the Bible there does not mention whether the captured Israelites were freed or died in the battle. Third, in Samuel I, chap. 30, the Amalekites invaded Zyklog, the city where David resided at the time, and captured the women (among others), including David’s two wives. The result: David took his small army and killed almost all the Amalekites, successfully saving the women.
|