God of Slaughter
They will be delivered over to the power of the sword; they will be a prey for foxes. Psalm 63:10 NASB
Delivered over – The Hebrew verb here is nāgar. It literally means “to pour down,” like spilling water on the ground. According to TWOT, it is a word of mourning and judgment, occurring only ten times in the Tanakh. But David’s poetic use reminds us of another Hebrew word, ḥērem; a word with serious and difficult implications. We can understand David’s declaration that his enemies will be “delivered over” (poured down) because they oppose God’s anointed king. This is the way of most kingdoms. Enemies are killed—justifiably, we suppose. But the Bible contains another related idea, the act of ḥērem, that is, total destruction. In Numbers 21:2 the people vow before God that if He will grant them victory over the Canaanites, they will utterly destroy their city and everything and everyone in it. David’s complaint makes sense, even if we find the tactic offensive today. But extermination of an entire population is considered genocide—mass murder—and today such an act is not only offensive, it is illegal and morally repulsive. If you’ve ever had a serious discussion of biblical morality with a non-believer, you’ve probably faced this objection. How can a God whose character is about love and forgiveness accept, or even command, mass murder? ḥērem becomes a very big problem.
Perhaps we can discover some answer to this reasonable question. First, we note that ḥērem is the derivative of ḥāram, a word that means “ban, destroy” but also “devote.” Leon Wood writes, “The basic meaning is the exclusion of an object from the use or abuse of man and its irrevocable surrender to God. The word is related to an Arabic root meaning ‘to prohibit, especially to ordinary use.’ The word ‘harem,’ meaning the special quarters for Muslim wives, comes from it.”[1] What is the connection between “utterly destroy” and “devote”? “Usually ḥāram means a ban for utter destruction, the compulsory dedication of something which impedes or resists God’s work, which is considered to be accursed before God. The idea first appears in Num 21:2–3.”[2] We see that ḥērem is not a military tactic or a political strategy. It is a religious concept, even if modern society finds the idea offensive. In fact, ḥērem might be considered a Hebrew word for the world domination policy of Islam, something present today even if the West cannot comprehend such an agenda. The basis is devotion, not killing. Western civilization has had its own history of holocausts and pogroms even if we like to pretend that we are morally superior to these sorts of actions. The problem is not ḥērem itself. The problem is God’s endorsement.
Yehezkel Kaufmann comments:
“Terrible as it was, the ḥērem had important social and religious consequences; Israel did not assimilate to the indigenous population. Materially this brought about a marked decline. At the same time, it provided Israel’s new religious idea with an environment in which to grow free of the influence of a popular pagan culture.”[3]
In other words, ḥērem acted as a protective barrier separating Israel from pagan influence. In fact, Joshua’s mistaken agreement with disguised pagans led to irreparable damage precisely because ḥērem was not enforced. ḥērem is, therefore, a social expression of devotion, even if it is an extremely violent one. And in Israelite history, God desires His people to be separated to Him, to resist, even violently, any compromise or influence with the surrounding pagan culture. This is Israelite nationalism, perhaps even fascism, something we are well-acquainted with. In the ancient world, Israel was called upon to establish itself as a devoted nation. Extermination of forces opposed to this plan, opposed to God’s plan, had to be totally removed.
Topical Index: ḥērem, utterly destroy, devote, nāgar, pour down, Numbers 21:2, Psalm 63:10
[1] Wood, L. J. (1999). 744 חָרַם. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 324). Chicago: Moody Press.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Yehezkel Kaufmann, The Religion of Israel, p. 254.
