Show Notes
When Israel entered Canaan, the Bible says they were commanded to leave "nothing alive that breathes." Did God really command that — and did it actually happen? The Hebrew word behind the command, herem, tells a far more complicated story than you've heard.
Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot dig into David Calabro's chapter on herem from From Wilderness to Monarchy (Religious Studies Center) — exploring what the word really means, what the archaeology of Jericho, Ai, and Hazor actually shows, and how Latter-day Saints can honestly face divine violence in scripture.
===Informed Saints Credits=== Produced by The Ancient America Foundation Producer: Spencer Clark Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye
In this episode:
What herem means — and its surprising connection to "harem" and the Arabic haram Herem across scripture: Malachi 4, Numbers 21, Deuteronomy 7, and Deuteronomy 20 Four inconsistent herem cases in Joshua: Jericho (Joshua 6), Ai (Joshua 7–8), the southern cities (Joshua 10), and Hazor What archaeology shows at Jericho, Ai, and Hazor — and why the older conquest model collapsed Competing theories of Israel's origins: conquest, gradual infiltration, peasant revolt, settling nomads Ancient war rhetoric: K. Lawson Younger's Ancient Conquest Accounts, the Mesha Stele, the Merneptah Stele, and a royal inscription from Sheba The moral problem: divine command theory, the wickedness of the Canaanites, Alex O'Connor's critique, and the question of children Nephi's explanation in 1 Nephi 17:32–35 Latter-day Saint tools: Melchizedek as a prophet in Canaan (JST Genesis 14; Alma 13; D&C 84) — and why Latter-day Saints aren't inerrantists The divine warrior motif and the violent world ancient Israel actually lived in Divine violence in restoration scripture and history: Laban, 3 Nephi, and Zion's Camp
Read David Calabro's chapter free on the Religious Studies Center website: https://rsc.byu.edu/wilderness-monarchy/thou-shalt-utterly-destroy https://rsc.byu.edu/book/wilderness-monarchy
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===Content Disclaimer=== The views expressed represent ours alone and do not necessarily reflect the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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