Probably the most difficult part of these commands from
God is that God ordered the death of children and infants as well. Why would
God order the death of innocent children? (1) Children are not innocent (Psalm
51:5; 58:3). (2) These children would have likely grown up as adherents to the
evil religions and practices of their parents. (3) These children would
naturally have grown up resentful of the Israelites and later sought to avenge
the “unjust” treatment of their parents.
While the Bible reads that such a command was given, it
may well be the case that no women or children were actually killed. All of the
battles would probably have involved only soldiers where women and children
would likely have fled. As Jeremiah 4 indicates, “At the noise of horseman and
archer every city takes to flight; they enter thickets; they climb among rocks;
all the cities are forsaken, and no man dwells in them” (Jeremiah 4:29).
Moreover, Deuteronomy 7:2–5 uses the phrase “utterly
destroy” immediately followed by “you shall not intermarry among them,”
highlighting the fact that, at least in some instances, the biblical authors
may have employed the rhetorical exaggeration (e.g., “all that breathes,”
“utterly destroy,” etc.) common to ancient Near East military accounts. This
leaves open the possibility that these phrases may express some degree of
hyperbolic language, and thus, that no non-combatants were actually killed. The
text nowhere explicitly narrates any women or children actually being killed in
these battles. Judges reveals that this widespread killing never literally
happened, since there were quite a few Canaanites remaining. Even within Joshua
we read, “There were no Anakim left in the land” (11:22); they were “utterly
destroyed” in the hill country (11:21). Yet later in Joshua, Caleb asked
permission to drive out the Anakites from the hill country (14:12–15; cf.
15:13–19). Joshua’s military campaign in Canaan simply wasn’t a territorial
conquest, but a series of disabling raids on military outposts.
In Numbers 31 (after Midianite women had intentionally
seduced the men of Israel), we’re told, “[Israel] fought against Midian, as the
Lord commanded Moses, and killed every man”. If literally true, why do we see
Midianite multitudes in Judges 6:5? They were “like swarms of locusts. It was
impossible to count them or their camels”.
In 1 Samuel 15, Saul was commanded to “utterly destroy”
the Amalekites. Stereotypical sweeping language was used: “Put to death both
man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey” (15:3). On a
literal reading, Saul carried this out—except for King Agag, who was then
killed by the prophet Samuel (vv.7–9, 33). Yet this didn’t literally happen;
the Amalekites were far from destroyed.
Exaggerated language is abundant. In 1 Samuel 27:8–9, the
same sweeping language of Chapter 15 is used: all Amalekites were wiped
out—again! We’re told David invaded a territory full of Amalekites—the same
territory covered by Saul. So, 1 Samuel 15 and 27 cannot both be literally true.
What’s more, in 1 Samuel 30, a large Amalekite army attacked Ziklag (v. 1), and
David pursued this army and fought a long battle with them, with four hundred
Amalekites fleeing (1 Sam. 30:7–17). That’s not all: the Amalekites were even
around during the reign of Hezekiah (1 Chron. 4:43). इतिहास
So here’s the question: Why is it that virtually every
time a narration of “genocide” occurs, it is followed by an account that
presupposes it did not happen? Scripture took shape, and the Old Testament
canon was formed. The final compiler or editor—who was certainly not
mindless—saw no problem with side-by-side affirmations of “total destruction”
and many surviving hostiles. He didn’t assume both to be literally true but this
text was a historical account in the truest sense by a person living in that
day and time… for whom such exaggeration was not a contradiction but a
celebration.
Thirdly, the dominant language of “driving out” and
“thrusting out” the Canaanites indicates further that “extermination” passages
are hyperbolic (cf. Exod. 23:28; Lev. 18:24; Num. 33:52: Deut. 6:19; 7:1; 9:4;
18:12; Josh. 10:28, 30, 32, 35, 37, 39; 11:11, 14). Israel was to “dispossess”
the Canaanites of their land (Num. 21:32; Deut. 9:1; 11:23; 18:14; 19:1). Just
as Adam and Eve were “driven out” of the garden (Gen. 3:24), or Cain into the
wilderness (4:14), or David from Israel by Saul (1 Sam. 26:19), so the
Israelites were to “dispos- sess” the Canaanites. “Driving out” or
“dispossessing” is different from “wiping out” or “destroying.” Clearly, utter
annihilation was not intended; you can’t both drive out and destroy.
Also, look at it this way, lets be practical; what were
the choices, if the parents were dead, what’s to be done of the children? Let
them be alone to die in the desert of hunger and thirst or eaten by wild
animals? OR, were the Israelites to take them alive with them? If that was the
case, let’s do some maths on this… let’s assume about 1000 families in a town,
with on an average 4-5 kids. This means about 5000 kids at the least. What’s to
be done of them? Are the Israelites supposed to enslave children ? Adopt them??
That’s not possible cause as we see in Ruth 4:6 that the person doesn’t take
Ruth to be his wife since that will spoil the inheritance of his own children.
Who would want to deprive their own children and give it to other children?
Assume that this still happens… I am sure that not all the kids were nursing
infants, they would be grown kids perhaps 7-10 years old also, they would
definitely remember that their parents were killed by the Israelites, wouldn’t
they want revenge growing up? With thousands of the kids gathered from all
these raids, what would have happened a few years down the line in Israel? They
would have been destroyed inside out.
Lastly, even if we interpret the text to mean that
children were killed, this may have been God’s way of ensuring that these
children would be saved and immediately brought into His eternal kingdom. The
Scripture implies that all children who die before an age of moral
accountability will enter heaven (2 Samuel 12:23; Matthew 19:14). Had God
allowed these children to grow up in such a vile and heinous culture, these
children would likely have grown up into something like their parents and been
condemned to hell after they died. God knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah
46:10), and we are simply not in a position to question God as to what is best.
Since God is the Giver of life, only He has the right to take it.
(... To Be Continued in Part 6)
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