What 'Utterly Destroy' Really Means in the Book of Joshua

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 Subscribe to Informed Saints for more faithful scholarship on the scriptures. Study deeply, believe boldly. ===Discover=== If any of our thoughts resonated with you, consider learning more about the single most influential book in our lives. https://www.discoverbookofmormon.org/ ===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. #BookOfMormon #LDS #ComeFollowMe #OldTestament #BibleStudy #Herem #Joshua #ConquestOfCanaan #Canaanites #Jericho #BiblicalArchaeology #AncientHistory #Deuteronomy #MeshaStele #MerneptahStele #HebrewBible #LatterDaySaint #ScriptureStudy #Bible #InformedSaints