Policies and Limits in the Conduct of War: This chapter does not pretend to be a manual for military operations and it is hermeneutically futile to read it or criticize it as if it were. Rather, as in the law of the king (which is no manual for government administration either), it is concerned with fundamental principles, principles that must govern Israelites at war as in any sphere of life. The two most basic covenantal principles of Israel’s life under God were: love for Yahweh (6:5) and love for one’s neighbor. This vertical and horizontal duality was fundamental to the covenant dynamic. Love (as covenant loyalty and trust) for God can be seen operative in the opening challenge of 20:1–4, but is there any way that love for neighbor can be operative in the context of war? Two responses…