The term "exterminated" in a biblical context often refers to the complete destruction or annihilation of a people, group, or entity, typically as an act of divine judgment or as a result of warfare. The concept is closely associated with the divine commands given to the Israelites during their conquest of Canaan, as well as other instances of divine retribution throughout the Scriptures.

Old Testament Context

In the Old Testament, the extermination of certain peoples is often depicted as a direct command from God to the Israelites. This is particularly evident in the conquest narratives of the Book of Joshua. The Israelites were instructed to completely destroy the inhabitants of Canaan as a means of purging the land of idolatry and wickedness. In Joshua 6:21 , the destruction of Jericho is described: "They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, and donkeys."

The rationale for such extermination is often linked to the moral and spiritual corruption of the Canaanite peoples. In Deuteronomy 20:16-18 , God commands the Israelites: "However, in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not leave alive anything that breathes. You must completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that they cannot teach you to do all the detestable things they do for their gods, and so cause you to sin against the LORD your God."

Divine Judgment

Extermination is also a theme in the context of divine judgment against sin and rebellion. The Great Flood in Genesis 6-8 serves as a prime example, where God decides to "wipe from the face of the earth every living thing" (Genesis 7:4) due to the pervasive wickedness of humanity. Similarly, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 is another instance where extermination is used as a form of divine retribution against rampant immorality.

Prophetic Literature

The prophetic books also contain references to extermination as a form of judgment against nations that oppose God's will. For instance, in the Book of Isaiah, the prophet speaks of the impending destruction of Babylon: "I will sweep Babylon with the broom of destruction," declares the LORD of Hosts (Isaiah 14:23). Such language underscores the totality of the judgment that God pronounces against those who defy Him.

New Testament Considerations

While the New Testament does not focus on the concept of extermination in the same way as the Old Testament, it does affirm the ultimate judgment and destruction of evil. The Book of Revelation, for example, describes the final defeat and destruction of Satan and his forces. Revelation 20:10 states, "And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."

Theological Implications

The concept of extermination in the Bible raises significant theological questions about the nature of God, justice, and mercy. It reflects the seriousness with which God views sin and the lengths to which He will go to preserve the holiness of His people and His creation. While difficult to reconcile with modern sensibilities, these narratives underscore the biblical theme of God's sovereignty and the ultimate triumph of His righteousness over evil.(imp. & p. p.) of Exterminate.8045. shamad -- to be exterminated or destroyed
... shamad. 8046 . to be exterminated or destroyed. Transliteration: shamad Phonetic
Spelling: (shaw-mad') Short Definition: destroyed. Word Origin a prim. ...
/hebrew/8045.htm - 6k

7674. shebeth -- perhaps cessation
... 7673b, 7674. shebeth. 7675 . perhaps cessation. Transliteration: shebeth
Phonetic Spelling: (sheh'-beth) Short Definition: exterminated. ...
/hebrew/7674.htm - 6k

3615. kalah -- to be complete, at an end, finished, accomplished ...
... them all (1), destroys (1), destruction (1), determined (1), devoured (1), died
(1), end (4), ended (3), ending (1), exhausted (2), exterminated (1), fail (10 ...
/hebrew/3615.htm - 7k

Argument from the Destruction of Jerusalem and Desolation of Judea ...
... [1390] But, if there is no longer "unction" there [1391] as Daniel prophesied (for
he says, "Unction shall be exterminated"), it follows that they [1392] no ...
/.../tertullian/an answer to the jews/chapter xiii argument from the destruction.htm

Of the Times of Christ's Birth and Passion, and of Jerusalem's ...
... For Daniel says, that "both the holy city and the holy place are exterminated together
with the coming Leader, and that the pinnacle is destroyed unto ruin ...
/.../tertullian/an answer to the jews/chapter viii of the times of.htm

Arguments of the Psychics, Drawn from the Law, the Gospel, the ...
... saying, "Holy shall be to you the day, and ye shall vex your souls; and every soul
which shall not have been vexed in that day shall be exterminated from his ...
/.../chapter ii arguments of the psychics.htm

Conversion
... had been content to arrest and imprison those who publicly preached Christ, but
now the policy was changed and Christianity was to be exterminated root and ...
/.../sell/bible studies in the life of paul/study ii conversion.htm

Concerning the Passion of Christ, and Its Old Testament ...
... singing, saying, "They were repaying me evil for good;" [1317] and, "What I had
not seized I was then paying in full;" [1318] "They exterminated my hands and ...
/.../tertullian/an answer to the jews/chapter x concerning the passion of.htm

The Struggle for the Life of Others
... Partly a product of crushed lives and exterminated species, and partly of the choicest
blossoms and sweetest essences that ever came from the tree of life, it ...
/.../the lowell lectures on the ascent of man/chapter vii the struggle for.htm

Precious Deaths
... world thought itself well rid of them. Foxes and wolves, and Protestants
were best exterminated. As for so-called Anabaptists they ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 18 1872/precious deaths.htm

Thy Kingdom Come.
... be put down, that he may have no right or power over us, until at last it shall
be utterly destroyed, and sin, death, and hell shall be exterminated, that we ...
//christianbookshelf.org/luther/the large catechism/thy kingdom come.htm

Toleration
... than either convincing their opponents or allowing themselves to be convinced by
them, they have fined, imprisoned, tortured, burnt, exterminated; and, like ...
/.../kingsley/discipline and other sermons/sermon xxii toleration.htm

Deuteronomy
... are to be destroyed; worship is to be confined henceforth to one sanctuary (xii.),
and every idolatrous person and influence are to be exterminated (xiii.). ...
/.../mcfadyen/introduction to the old testament/deuteronomy.htm

Exterminated (8 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (imp. & pp) of Exterminate. Multi-Version
Concordance Exterminated (8 Occurrences). Joshua 11:20 For it ...
/e/exterminated.htm - 9k

Baasha (26 Occurrences)
... On account of his idolatries his family was exterminated, according to the word
of the prophet Jehu (1 Kings 16:3, 4, 10-13). Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. ...
/b/baasha.htm - 16k

Exterminate (8 Occurrences)

/e/exterminate.htm - 9k

Hazor (19 Occurrences)
... It was taken by Joshua, who exterminated the inhabitants, and it was the only
city in that region which he destroyed by fire (11:11-13). ...
/h/hazor.htm - 17k

Rimmon (22 Occurrences)
... 20:45, 47; 21:13), and where they maintained themselves for four months after the
fearful battle at Gibeah, in which they were almost exterminated, 600 only ...
/r/rimmon.htm - 18k

Exterminating (1 Occurrence)

/e/exterminating.htm - 7k

Baean
... and his confederates against the restoration of Jerusalem and the temple in the
days of Nehemiah (compare Nehemiah 4:7, 8). Utterly exterminated by Judas ...
/b/baean.htm - 6k

Benjamin (167 Occurrences)
... tribes. By it they were almost exterminated (Judges 20:20, 21; 21:10). (see
GIBEAH.). The first king of the Jews was Saul, a Benjamite. ...
/b/benjamin.htm - 50k

Siege (63 Occurrences)
... To this humane reservation the cities of the Canaanites were to be an exception:
their inhabitants were to be wholly exterminated (Deuteronomy 20:16-18). ...
/s/siege.htm - 51k

Shihor-libnath (1 Occurrence)
... them. Once here they would not easily be exterminated" (The Land and the
Book). Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. SHIHOR-LIBNATH. ...
/s/shihor-libnath.htm - 8k

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