Deuteronomy 20:16

_AND IT SHALL BE, IF IT MAKE THEE ANSWER OF PEACE, AND OPEN UNTO THEE, THEN IT SHALL BE, THAT ALL THE PEOPLE THAT IS FOUND THEREIN SHALL BE TRIBUTARIES UNTO THEE, AND THEY SHALL SERVE THEE._ No JFB commentary on these verses....

10-12 The Israelites are here directed about the nations on whom they made war. Let this show God's grace in dealing with sinners. He proclaims peace, and beseeches them to be reconciled. Let it also show us our duty in dealing with our brethren. Whoever are for war, we must be for peace. Of the cities given to Israel, none of their inhabitants must be left. Since it could not be expected that they should be cured of their idolatry, they would hurt Israel. These regulations are not the rules of our conduct, but Christ's law of love. The horrors of war must fill the feeling heart with anguish upon every recollection; and are proofs of the wickedness of man, the power of Satan, and the just vengeance of God, who thus scourges a guilty world. But how dreadful their case who are engaged in unequal conflict with their Maker, who will not submit to render him the easy tribute of worship and p...

Directions intended to prevent wanton destruction of life and property in sieges. Deuteronomy 20:16 Forbearance, however, was not to be shown toward the Canaanite nations, which were to be utterly exterminated (compare Deuteronomy 7:1). The command did not apply to beasts as well as men (compare Joshua 11:11, Joshua 11:14). Deuteronomy 20:19 The parenthesis may he more literally rendered “for man is a tree of the field,” i.

EXPOSITION DIRECTIONS CONCERNING WARFARE IN GENERAL, AND FOR THE BESIEGING OF CITIES IN PARTICULAR. DEUTERONOMY 20:1 The instructions in this chapter are peculiar to Deuteronomy. As the people of God, Israel was not a warlike nation; they were rather to abstain from warfare, and as a general rule to cultivate the arts of peace. But they had before them at this time the prospect of a serious and protracted conflict before they could occupy the land which God had assigned to them; and they might in future years have to go to war to maintain their independence and repel aggression. In view of this, instructions are here given

BUT OF THE CITIES OF THOSE PEOPLE, WHICH THE LORD THY GOD DOTH GIVE THEE FOR AN INHERITANCE,.... The cities of the seven nations, six of which are mentioned by name in the next verse: THOU SHALT SAVE ALIVE NOTHING THAT BREATHETH; the reason of this severity was because of their wickedness, the capital crimes and gross abominations they were guilty of, and for which they deserved to die; and on account whereof they were reserved to this destruction, when the measure of their iniquities was full, such as idolatry, incest, witchcraft, soothsaying, necromancy, c. see Leviticus 18:3....

DEUTERONOMY 20. LAWS TO BE OBSERVED DURING WAR. Peculiar to cf. Deuteronomy 21:10 (which some attach immediately to ch. 20) and Deuteronomy 23:9; Deuteronomy 24:5 (see remarks prefixed to Deuteronomy 19:14 ff.). The general effect of these laws is to soften the barbarities of war, though in some respects (Deuteronomy 20:13) they perpetuate its grossest cruelties. What were the wars which suggested these regulations?...

BREATHETH. Hebrew. _neshamah_. that hath breath. See App-16....

Of the Capture of Heathen Cities Before besieging a city Israel shall offer peace, and if it surrenders its people shall be subject to service (Deuteronomy 20:10 f.). But if it will not, Israel shall lay siege, and having taken it, shall slay every male, but reserve women, children, cattle and spoil for booty (Deuteronomy 20:12-14), a milder form of the _ḥerem_; so in the case of distant cities. But of the cities of the land, nothing that breathes is to be saved; to this severest form of the _ḥerem_must all the seven nations be put (Deuteronomy 20:15-17), so that they teach not Israel their abominations ...

_VER._ 16-18. _BUT OF THE CITIES OF THESE PEOPLE—THOU SHALT SAVE ALIVE NOTHING THAT BREATHETH_— i.e. Neither man, woman, nor child: but this slaughter of all the people is to be understood only, as we observed above, in case they did not surrender when summoned, but rejected the conditions of peace offered to them; in which case, their condition was worse than that of any other people, whose _males_ only were to be slain; ver. 14. The reason given for this severe execution of the Canaanites is, lest they should teach the Israelites their _abominations,_ their filthy idolatries, their horrid and debasing superstitions. Leviticus 18. On account of which, God thought them not fit to live any longer upon the face of the earth: for, had they been spared after obstinately rejecting terms of peace, they would undoubtedly have sought to infect the Israelites with their idolatry; and

(4) TREATMENT OF CANAANITE CITIES (Deuteronomy 20:16-18) 16 But of the cities of these peoples, that Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth; 17 but thou shalt utterly destroy them: the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee; 18 that they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so would ye sin against Jehovah your God. THOUGHT QUESTIONS 20:16-18 340. Isn-'t there some admission of weakness in the need to utterly destroy these nations so that they teach you not to do after all their abominations. ? 341. Why not teach the other nations rather than learning from their teaching? AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 20:16-18 16 But of the cities of these people, whi