Deuteronomy 7
The cherem of the seven Canaanite nations—complete separation through no covenant and no intermarriage—reflects Deuteronomy's rigorous understanding of Israel's election as incompatible with compromise. The theological justification that God acts not because Israel is most numerous but because of his love and oath-keeping reframes election as divine grace rather than Israelite merit, a principle foundational to Paul's argument in Romans on predestination. The promise that God will clear the nations away little by little acknowledges the gradual character of conquest while emphasizing relentless divine action, and the prohibition against coveting their silver and gold—declaring such acquisitions an abomination—protects against idolatry's material and spiritual dimensions. This chapter encodes in law the principle of covenantal holiness: belonging to the LORD requires separation from idolatrous practices and peoples, a boundary that will mark Jewish identity through all subsequent history.
Deuteronomy 7:14
You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle; -- the exception is made: no barrenness. The blessing extends even to animals. Israel's fertility contrasts with surrounding nations' struggles.
Deuteronomy 7:1
When the LORD your God shall bring you into the land whither you go to possess it, and shall cast out many nations before you, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you; -- the enumeration of seven Canaanite peoples marks the conquest's scope. The nations are 'greater and mightier,' yet the LORD 'casts them out.' The specific list (Hittites through Jebusites) grounds the conquest in historical ethnography.
Deuteronomy 7:2
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.
Deuteronomy 7:3
Neither shall you make marriages with them; your daughter you shall not give unto his son, nor his daughter shall you take unto your son; -- intermarriage is forbidden. The prohibition protects Israel's religious identity: marriage creates kinship and religious syncretism. The ban applies equally to giving daughters and taking wives.
Deuteronomy 7:4
For he will turn away your son from following me, that they may serve other gods; and so the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and destroy you quickly; -- the theological reason: intermarriage leads to apostasy. Canaanite spouses will turn Israel toward idolatry. The consequence is swift destruction. The danger is real: mixed marriages threaten covenantal identity.