“And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:”
And when the LORD your God shall deliver them up before you, and you shall smite them; then you shall utterly destroy them; you shall make no covenant with them, and show them no mercy; -- the command to utterly destroy (cherem) is absolute. No treaties, no mercy. The Canaanites are devoted to destruction. The comprehensiveness of the command marks the gravity of the religious stakes: Canaanite religion and culture must be eliminated.
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