The term "extirpated" refers to the complete removal or destruction of something, often used in the context of eradicating a particular group, practice, or influence. In the biblical context, extirpation is frequently associated with the divine command to eliminate idolatry and sin from the midst of God's people, as well as the removal of certain peoples or practices that were contrary to God's covenant with Israel.

Biblical Context

1. Idolatry and Sin: The Bible often speaks of the need to extirpate idolatry and sinful practices from among the Israelites. In Deuteronomy 12:2-3 , God commands the Israelites: "You must completely destroy all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods—on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree. Tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and burn up their Asherah poles; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places." This command underscores the necessity of removing all traces of idolatry to maintain the purity of worship and devotion to Yahweh.

2. Canaanite Nations: The conquest of Canaan involved the extirpation of certain nations that inhabited the land. In Deuteronomy 20:16-18 , God instructs 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." This directive was intended to prevent the Israelites from being led astray by the pagan practices of the Canaanites.

3. Personal and Communal Purity: The concept of extirpation also extends to personal and communal purity. In the New Testament, Jesus speaks of the need to remove anything that causes sin. In Matthew 5:29-30 , He says, "If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." This metaphorical language emphasizes the seriousness of sin and the radical measures required to avoid it.

4. Church Discipline: In the early church, extirpation took the form of church discipline to maintain the holiness of the community. In 1 Corinthians 5:6-7 , Paul addresses the issue of immorality within the church: "Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." Here, Paul uses the metaphor of yeast to illustrate how sin can permeate and corrupt the entire community, necessitating its removal.

Theological Implications

The concept of extirpation in the Bible highlights the holiness and justice of God, who demands the removal of sin and idolatry to preserve the sanctity of His people. It underscores the seriousness with which God views sin and the lengths to which His people must go to maintain purity and faithfulness to His covenant. The extirpation of sin is not only a physical act but also a spiritual discipline, calling believers to examine their lives and remove anything that hinders their relationship with God.(imp. & p. p.) of Extirpate.5352. naqah -- to be empty or clean
... A primitive root; to be (or make) clean (literally or figuratively); by implication
(in an adverse sense) to be bare, ie Extirpated -- acquit X at all, X ...
/hebrew/5352.htm - 6k

6135. aqar -- barren
... sterile male or barren woman. From aqar; sterile (as if extirpated in the generative
organs) -- (X male or female) barren (woman). see HEBREW aqar. 6134, 6135 ...
/hebrew/6135.htm - 6k

Capacity Extirpated by Disuse
... LV CAPACITY EXTIRPATED BY DISUSE. ... The gift is lost by the lack of exercise, or as
Horace Bushnell stated the principle, the "capacity is extirpated by disuse.". ...
/.../peabody/mornings in the college chapel/lv capacity extirpated by disuse.htm

Whether all the Actions of the Moral virtues Pertain to the Active ...
... On the contrary, Isidore says (De Summo Bono iii, 15): "In the active life all vices
must first of all be extirpated by the practice of good works, in order ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether all the actions of.htm

Mornings in the College Chapel
... LIII THE AVERAGE MAN. LIV THE OVERCOMING OF INSIGNIFICANCE. LV CAPACITY EXTIRPATED
BY DISUSE. LVI THE PARABLE OF THE VACUUM. LVII CHRISTIANITY AND BUSINESS. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/peabody/mornings in the college chapel/

Defence of the Truth Should Precede Discussions Regarding It.
... For the farmer could not properly cast the seed into the ground, unless he first
extirpated the wild wood, and whatever would be hurtful to the good seed; nor ...
/.../the treatise on the resurrection of the dead/chapter i defence of the truth.htm

The Indestructibility of the Bible is a Proof that Its Author is ...
... When we remember that no army has defended the Bible and no king has ever ordered
its enemies to be extirpated, our wonderment increases. ...
/.../the divine inspiration of the bible/chapter eleven the indestructibility of.htm

Absolution.
... of old, from whose dissevered neck the blood sprung forth and formed fresh heads,
multiplied and indestructible; or like the weeds, which, extirpated in one ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/robertson/sermons preached at brighton/v absolution.htm

Virgins, by the Laying Aside of all Carnal Affection, are ...
... [367] Romans 8:7. [368] Romans 7:18. [369] Genesis 6:3. [This is an example of the
vicious method of interpretation, not yet extirpated, which carries Paul's ...
/.../two epistles concerning virginity/chapter viii virgins by the laying.htm

Place of Jesus in the History of the World.
... sometimes becomes perverted and ferocious, so this divine faculty of religion during
a long period seems only to be a cancer which must be extirpated from the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/renan/the life of jesus/chapter i place of jesus.htm

Christ's Encouragements
... that the man was longing for something more than his four kindly but ignorant bearers
there knew, but also that the root of his disease was extirpated when his ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture b/christs encouragements.htm

It is the Works of the Flesh, not the Substance of the Flesh ...
... the "life" and the "death," if the life is not there where that very thing is to
which he opposes it"even the death which is to be extirpated of course from ...
/.../tertullian/on the resurrection of the flesh/chapter xlvi it is the works.htm

Extirpated (2 Occurrences)
...Extirpated (2 Occurrences). Matthew 15:13 But he answered and said, Every plant,
which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be extirpated. (WBS). ...
/e/extirpated.htm - 7k

Extol (23 Occurrences)

/e/extol.htm - 12k

Nadab (21 Occurrences)
... 31). With the assassination of Nadab the dynasty of Jeroboam was extirpated,
as foretold by the prophet Ahijah (1 Kings 14). This ...
/n/nadab.htm - 16k

Uzziah (27 Occurrences)
... and Arabians were successively subdued (these being members of a confederacy which,
in an earlier reign, had raided Jerusalem and nearly extirpated the royal ...
/u/uzziah.htm - 27k

Extirpate (1 Occurrence)

/e/extirpate.htm - 6k

Bethel (67 Occurrences)
... At length all traces of the idolatries were extirpated by Josiah, king of Judah
(2 Kings 23:15-18); and the place was still in existence after the Captivity ...
/b/bethel.htm - 38k

Azariah (47 Occurrences)
... and Arabians were successively subdued (these being members of a confederacy which,
in an earlier reign, had raided Jerusalem and nearly extirpated the royal ...
/a/azariah.htm - 36k

Jeroboam (96 Occurrences)
... The prophet bade her to announce to Jeroboam that the house of Jeroboam should be
extirpated root and branch; that the people whom he had seduced to idolatry ...
/j/jeroboam.htm - 62k

Extirpated: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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