On a Mission from God? Putting the “Banned” Together Again in the Historical Books of the Old Testament
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/hn.v11i2.169945Keywords:
destruction, the ban, historical booksAbstract
Although words associated with the root חרם have typically been associated with the meaning “destruction,” this paper argues that within the Old Testament’s historical books, both the verbal and nominal terms derived from it only include the meaning “destruction” when there are additional words associated with physical attack. Rather, by surveying all occurrences of the root across the historical books, it is proposed that its primary sense is of human renunciation of that declared חרם such that it belongs to YHWH. Although “destruction” cannot be excluded in all cases, this meaning occurs only when there are other contextual factors present.
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