Deuteronomy 20:17

But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
utterly	הַחֲרֵ֣ם ha.cha.Rem	H2763	to seclude · verb, hiphil infinitive absolute
destroy	תַּחֲרִימֵ֗ם ta.cha.ri.Mem	H2763	to seclude · verb, hiphil imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
Hittites	הַחִתִּ֤י ha.chi.Ti	H2850	a Chittite · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
Amorites	וְהָאֱמֹרִי֙ ve.ha.'e.mo.Ri	H567	an Emorite · conjunction + definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
Canaanites	הַכְּנַעֲנִ֣י ha.ke.na.'a.Ni	H3669	a Kenaanite or inhabitant of Kenaan · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
Perizzites	וְהַפְּרִזִּ֔י ve.hap.pe.ri.Zi	H6522	a Perizzite · conjunction + definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
Hivites	הַחִוִּ֖י ha.chi.Vi	H2340	a Chivvite · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
Jebusites	וְהַיְבוּסִ֑י ve.hay.vu.Si	H2983	a Jebusite or inhabitant of Jebus · conjunction + definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
LORD	יְהוָ֥ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
God	אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ 'e.lo.Hei.kha	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
commanded	צִוְּךָ֖ tzi.ve.Kha	H6680	(intensively) to constitute · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Isaiah 34:5-6 For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
Deuteronomy 7:1-2 When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hitti…
Jeremiah 48:10 Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.
Jeremiah 50:35-40 A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the LORD, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men.
Ezekiel 38:21-23 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.
Revelation 19:18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 20:10–end

They are here directed what method to take in dealing with the cities (these only are mentioned, Deu 20:10, but doubtless the armies in the field, and the nations they had occasion to deal with, are likewise intended) upon which they made war. They must not make a descent upon any of their neighbours till they had first given them fair notice, by a public manifesto, or remonstrance, stating the ground of their quarrel with them. In dealing with the worst of enemies, the laws of justice and honour must be observed; and, as the sword must never be taken in hand without cause, so not without cause shown. War is an appeal, in which the merits of the cause must be set forth. I. Even to the procla…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 20:10

When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it--An important principle is here introduced into the war law of Israel regarding the people they fought against and the cities they besieged. With "the cities of those people which God doth give thee" in Canaan, it was to be a war of utter extermination (Deu 20:17-18). But when on a just occasion, they went against other nations, they were first to make a proclamation of peace, which if allowed by a surrender, the people would become dependent [Deu 20:11], and in the relation of tributaries the conquered nations would receive the highest blessings from alliance with the chosen people; they would be brought to t…

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John Gill on Deuteronomy 20:17

But thou shalt utterly destroy them,.... Men, women, and children: some think this is to be understood only of such cities which did not accept of terms of peace; for they are of opinion that Joshua made proclamation of peace to all the cities of Canaan; which being not complied with, he destroyed them as they fell into his hands; and they suppose that the Gibeonites had not heard of such a proclamation, and therefore were spared; and it is certain that there were many who were suffered to live among them, who it may be thought were allowed on their becoming proselytes, which was one of the terms of peace, as Rahab and her household did, and which is the sense of some of the Jewish writers.…

Dictionary and topics

Booty — Captives or cattle or objects of value taken in war. In Canaan all that breathed were to be destroyed (Deut. 20: 16). The “pictures and images” of the Canaanites were to be destroyed also (Num.…
Canaanites — The descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham. Migrating from their original home, they seem to have reached the Persian Gulf, and to have there sojourned for some time. They thence “spread to the west,…
Idolatry — Image-worship or divine honour paid to any created object. Paul describes the origin of idolatry in Rom. 1:21-25: men forsook God, and sank into ignorance and moral corruption (1:28). The forms of…
Amorites · General references — General references
Amorites, The · Doomed to utter destruction — Doomed to utter destruction
Jebusites · Land of, given to Abraham and his — Land of, given to Abraham and his
Perizzites · Doomed to — Doomed to
War · Of extermination — Of extermination

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Deuteronomy 20:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 20:10–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 20:10

John Gill on Deuteronomy 20:17

Dictionary and topics

Deuteronomy 20:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 20:10–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 20:10

John Gill on Deuteronomy 20:17

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 20:10-18

Keil & Delitzsch on Deuteronomy 20:15-18

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Deuteronomy 20:15

Rashi on Deuteronomy 20:17