A subset of these ritual concerns is the concept of the ḥerem, which plays a significant role in the book (see 5.13–6.27; 7.6–26; 8.1–29; 10.28–39). This noun is usually translated “devoted thing” (7.1) and the related verb “utterly destroy” (10.28). The term is used primarily in contexts of warfare and destruction where the “ḥerem” stories are connected with the notion of obedience or disobedience to the Lord (cf. Deut 7; 20). Its purpose was to “drive out” or “dispossess” the Canaanites in order to carry out divine judgment on them, to protect the Israelites from Canaanite religious
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