Reference: Ban
Hastings
The ban is an institution from remote antiquity, which still survives in the Jewish and Christian Churches. Its earlier history has not yet received the systematic treatment which it merits. The original idea, common to all the Semitic languages, is that of withdrawing something from common use and setting it apart for the exclusive use of a deity. In Hebrew the verbal root acquired the more specialized meaning of devoting to Jahweh His enemies and their belongings by means of fire and sword, and is usually rendered 'utterly destroy' (Revised Version margin adds 'Heb. devote'), while the cognate noun (ch
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Complete destruction will come on any man who makes offerings to any other god but the Lord.
But nothing which a man has given completely to the Lord, out of all his property, of man or beast, or of the land which is his heritage, may be given away or got back in exchange for money; anything completely given is most holy to the Lord.
But nothing which a man has given completely to the Lord, out of all his property, of man or beast, or of the land which is his heritage, may be given away or got back in exchange for money; anything completely given is most holy to the Lord.
Then Israel made an oath to the Lord, and said, If you will give up this people into my hands, then I will send complete destruction on all their towns.
As it says in the book of the Wars of the Lord, Vaheb in Suphah, and the valley of the Amon;
So now put every male child to death, and every woman who has had sex relations with a man.
At that time we took all his towns, and gave them over to complete destruction, together with men, women, and children; we had no mercy on any:
And when the Lord has given them up into your hands and you have overcome them, give them up to complete destruction: make no agreement with them, and have no mercy on them:
And you may not take a disgusting thing into your house, and so become cursed with its curse: but keep yourselves from it, turning from it with fear and hate, for it is a cursed thing.
And if word comes to you, in one of the towns which the Lord your God is giving you for your resting-place,
And if word comes to you, in one of the towns which the Lord your God is giving you for your resting-place,
And take all the goods into the middle of its open space, burning the town and all its property with fire as an offering to the Lord your God; it is to be a waste for ever; there is to be no more building there.
And as for you, keep yourselves from the cursed thing, for fear that you may get a desire for it and take some of it for yourselves, and so be the cause of a curse and great trouble on the tents of Israel.
Israel has done wrong, sinning against the agreement which I made with them: they have even taken of the cursed thing; acting falsely like thieves they have put it among their goods.
And they put every person in it to death without mercy, giving every living thing up to the curse, and burning Hazor.
And all the goods taken from these towns, and their cattle, the children of Israel kept for themselves; but every man they put to death without mercy, till their destruction was complete, and there was no one living.
And all the goods taken from these towns, and their cattle, the children of Israel kept for themselves; but every man they put to death without mercy, till their destruction was complete, and there was no one living.
And this is what you are to do: every male, and every woman who has had sex relations with a man, you are to put to the curse, but you are to keep safe the virgins. And they did so.
Then they took the he-goats for the sin-offering, placing them before the king and the meeting of the people, and they put their hands on them:
And that if anyone did not come before three days were past, as ordered by the rulers and the responsible men, all his goods would be put under the curse, and he himself would be cut off from the meeting of the people who had come back.