ECONOMY 21 – DEVOTED TO DESTRUCTION
'devoted to destruction' - H2764 - 'cherem' - 38x in the OT
'utterly destroy' - H2763 - 'charam' - 52x in the OT
Ex 22:20 - charam - any idolater
Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the LORD alone, shall be devoted to destruction / be utterly destroyed.
Le 21:18 - charam - priest with any blemish, flat nose > no altar work
Le 27:21 - cherem - Unredeemable field at Jubilee
16 If a person consecrates to the LORD any inherited landholding …19 And if the one who consecrates the field wishes to redeem it, then one-fifth shall be added to its assessed value, and it shall revert to the original owner; 20 but if the field is not redeemed, or is it has been sold to someone else, it shall no longer be redeemable. 21 But when the field is released in the jubilee, it shall be holy to the LORD as a devoted (cherem) field; it becomes the priests’ holding.
Le 27:28-29 - cherem - devoted human, animal, land > unredeemable
Nothing that a person owns that has been devoted (cherem) to destruction for the LORD, be it human or animal, or inherited landholding, may be sold of redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the LORD. 29 No human being who have been devoted (cherem) to destruction can be redeemed; they shall be put to death.
- Some teach that all tithe is ‘cherem’, devoted to destruction, therefore to hold on to it brings a curse on oneself
- In this study I could not find that tithe is ‘cherem’. The one time tithe and devoted things are linked (or in context) is in Le 27:21-33. But there a distinction is made between ‘holy to the LORD, ‘qodesh’ (used for tithe), and ‘cherem’ (used for things devoted to destruction).
- It is true that tithe is commanded, and any disobedience will bring curse, it still seems that the case of devoted things is a category stronger or a category of its own
- Also here seems to not always be a ‘general principle’ behind ‘devoted to destruction’, but simply the instruction of God. So in the case of Jericho (Jo 6:17-19), humans, animals and things are devoted to destruction (except some metal pots), but in the case of Ai (Jo 8:2) only humans are devoted to destruction, but not animals and things.
- Idols and idolatrous objects are always devoted to destruction (?), any Israelite idolater is devoted to destruction (Ex 22:20). Not idolaters in general, other wise the commands not to touch Edom, Moab, Ammon make no sense.
Nu 18:14, Ez 44:29
devoted things belong to priest
- I think: humans are killed, clean animals are killed, unclean probably also, items go to the priest (?)
Nu 21:2-3 - charam - vow to destroy Canaanites who attacked
De 2:34 - charam - Utter destruction of Amorites (Sihon of Heshbon)
De 3:6 - charam - Utter destruction of Amorites (Og of Bashan)
De 7:2, 20:17 - charam - Utterly destroy Canaanites
De 7:25-26 - cherem - Utterly destroy idols
25 … images of their gods you shall burn with fire. Do not covet the silver or the gold that is on them and take it for yourself, … 26 Do not bring an abhorrent thing into your house, or you will be set apart for destruction (cherem) like it. You must utterly detest and abhor it, for it is set apart for destruction (cherem).
De 13:12-17 - cherem - destroying idolatry, people, town, spoil
12 If your heart … town astray … 15 you shall put the inhabitants of that town to the sword. 16 All of its spoil you … burn the town and all its spoil with fire, as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. It shall remain a perpetual ruin, never to be rebuilt. 17 Do not let anything devoted to destruction (cherem) stick to your hand, so that the LORD may turn from his fierce anger and show you compassion, and in his compassion multiply you, as he swore to your ancestors.
Jo 2:10 - charam - Utterly destroyed Amorites
Jo 6:17 - cherem - Utterly destroy Jericho
The city (Jericho) and all that is in it shall be holy to the LORD for destruction (cherem). Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live because she hid the messengers we sent. 18 As for you, keep away from the things devoted to destruction (cherem), so as not to covet and take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel an object for destruction (cherem), bringing trouble on it. 19 But all silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are sacred to the LORD; they shall go into the treasury of the LORD.” 20 So the people shouted … 21 Then they devoted to destruction (charam, H2763) by the edge of the sword all in the city, both men and woman, young and old, oxen, sheep and donkeys.
Jo 7:1 - cherem - Achan's devoted thing brings curse
But the Israelites broke faith in regard to the devoted things (cherem): Achan … of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things (cherem); and the anger of the LORD burned against the Israelites.
Jo 7:11 -15 - cherem - Israel devoted to destruction itself
11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I imposed on them. They have taken some of the devoted things (cherem); they have stolen, they have acted deceitfully and they have put them among their own belonging. 12 Therefore the Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies … because they have become a thing devoted for destruction (cherem) themselves. I will be with you no more unless you destroy the devoted things (cherem) from among you. 13 Proceed to sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘There are devoted things (cherem) among you, O Israel; you will be unable to stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things (cherem) from among you.” … And the one who is taken as having the devoted things (cherem) shall be burned with fire, together with all that he has, for having transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and for having done an outrageous thing in Israel.”
Jo 8:26 - charam - Utter destruction of Ai's inhabitants
For Joshua did not draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the sword until he had utterly destroyed (charam) all the inhabitant of Ai. 27 Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as their booty, according to the word of the LORD …
Jo 10:1 -11:21 - charam - Utter destruction of cities in Canaan conquest
When King Adoni-zedek … heard … Ai … utterly destroyed it, … 28 Joshua took Makkedah … utterly destroyed every person …35 Eglon … he utterly destroyed …37 Hebron he utterly destroyed … 39 Debir he utterly destroyed … 40 utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD commanded…. 11:11 Hazor utterly destroyed it … 12 towns … utterly destroyed … 20 utterly destroyed … 21 Anakim utterly destroyed
Jo 22:20 - cherem - Phinehas delegation challenging East tribes
Did not Achan son of Zerah beak faith in the matter of the devoted things and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And he did not perish along for his iniquities.
Ju 1:17 - cherem - Canaanite Zephath devoted to destruction
Ju 21:11 - cherem - Jabesh-Gilead devoted to destruction > Benjamin
1Sa. 15:3-21 - cherem - Saul not obeying destruction of Amalek
3 Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy … 9 King Agag and best of cattle spared … 15 they brought them … but the rest we have utterly destroyed. … 18 the LORD sent you on a mission … go, utterly destroy the Amalekites … 20 I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 the people took the best of the things devoted to destruction (chered), to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.
1Ki. 9:21 - Solomon conscripting slave labor of Canaanites
20 All the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites … 21 their descendants who were still left in the land, whom the Israelites were unable to destroy completely (charam) – theses Solomon conscripted for slave labor
1 Ki 20:42 - Prophet condemns Ahab for letting go Ben-Hadad
Because you have let the man go whom I had devoted to destruction (cherem), therefore your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people.
2Ki 19:11, 2 Ch 32:14, Is 37:11 - Assyrian messenger's threat to Hezekiah
11 See, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, destroying them utterly (charam).
1 Ch 2:7 - Genealogy of Achan, who took devoted things
1Ch 4:41 - Simeonites conquering & destroying Gedor area
2 Ch 20:23 - Jehoshaphat's victory without a fight
For the Ammonites and Moab attacked the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them utterly (charam); and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.
Ez 10:8 - Ezra cleaning up mixed marriages
7 They made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem … that they should assemble … 8 and that if any did not come withing three days, … all their property should be forfeited (charam), and they themselves banned from the congregation.
Ec 7:26 - Woman describes as trap / net
I found more bitter than death the woman who is a trap, whose heart is snares and nets (cherem), whose hands are fetters; one who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken in by her.
Is 11:15 - charam - Destruction prediction of Nile Delta
Is 34:2 - charam - Destruction prediction against all the nations
Is 34:5 - cherem - Destruction prediction against Edom
Is 43:28 - cherem - Destruction prediction against Israel by God
Je 25:9 - charam - Destruction prediction against nations by Babylon
Je 50:21,26, 51:3 - charam - Destruction prediction against Babylon
Ez 26:5, 14 - cherem - Tyre as place for spreading nets
Ez 32:3 - cherem - God spreading net, catching Egypt
Ez 47:10 - cherem - River of God, En-gedi a place to spread nets
Da 11:44 - charam - Destruction prediction by King of South
Mi 4:13 - charam - Destruction prediction against nations by Judah
Mi 7:2 - cherem - Judah's sin … they hunt each other with nets
Ha 1:15 -17 - cherem - Babylon dragging nations in a net, net = idol
Ze 14:11 - cherem - Jerusalem never again doomed for destruction
Ma 4:6 - cherem - Elijah > reconciliation … lest curse (cherem)
- It seems that over the century the word is used more and more broadly.
- First cherem or charam very specifically mean destruction (ban) by the specific command of God. Later it just comes to mean a general wipe out or genocide, whoever commits it (Hezekiah passages for example).
- Also there seems to be the ‘less metaphoric’ use of net