Christian Zionism in the News

Does the Old Testament justify Israel’s attack on Iran?

July 14, 2025

“Israel’s surprise military strike on Iran . . . has taken on a religious dimension,” writes Daoud Kuttab. Kuttab shows us how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used the Old Testament to help justify Israel’s recent attack on Iran. The Old Testament verse Netanyahu quoted is Numbers 23:24: “The people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion that does not rest till it devours its prey and drinks the blood of its victims.” Media throughout Israel also cited that verse as religious justification for the attack.

The application of this ancient text to modern Israel has been challenged by Dr. Yohanna Katanacho, director of Nazareth Evangelical College and a respected voice among Arab evangelicals. “The verse is part of a poetic oracle intended to express divine blessing, not to justify bloodshed . . . This image is metaphorical, and its violent interpretation ignores the deeper theological call to covenantal faithfulness, not militarism.”

In his discussion of this debate Kuttab, writing on Substack, concludes, “As theological voices across religious traditions weigh in, the debate underscores how the invocation—or manipulation—of sacred texts in times of war can shape, or distort, the global moral response.”

Daoud Kuttab is an award-winning Palestinian journalist and publisher of Mihiliard.org, a website focused on Christians in Palestine and Jordan. He is the author of State of Palestine NOW: Practical and logical arguments for the best way to bring peace to the Middle East, available in English, French, German, and audiobooks.,

To read Kuttab’s article: Biblical Justification for Attack on Iran Challenged by Palestinian Theologian