The problem of violence in the old testament as a reason for new atheists to reject the existence of God

The article is an attempt to understand the problem of violence and cruelty in the Old Testament. It will first give a brief review of the modern literature on this issue where special attention is paid to the arguments of the so-called “new atheists” who reject the existence of God because He allows evil in this world. After reviewing the literature, it is proposed to consider the claim of the modern atheists, according to which God violates human freedom because He constantly takes a look at him. In this regard, a semantic analysis of Hebrew words derived from the root פקד pqd is carried out which, depending on the biblical context, reveal various aspects of the divine “observation” of people. Ultimately, the analysis leads to the conclusion that this observation is perceived by some as punishment and by others as care and recompense. Violence is therefore a punishment from evil itself which sinners do not want to part with.