I can’t get over Numbers 21 this morning (in part bc of a previous conversation with @MadisonPierce, but more recently because of a conversation we’ve had in my seminar).

In Numbers 21, the first act of חרם against Canaanites is initiated by the Israelites.

Now the grant of the land to Israel and the curse of Canaan and all of those things have been thoroughly established in Gen, Exod, and Levit, but the first time that חרם is said to be the mode by which that is accomplished is by Israel, and YHWH heeded (שׁמע) their voice.

In fact, their initiative is a vow (נדר), so they are following the procedures set out in Lev 27 (i.e., “special” [פלא] vows), not following the commands of Deut 7 and 20 (which, at least according to *canonical* portrayal, have yet to be offered).

In my view, this raises at least two questions:

1. To what degree do God’s promises and instructions in Gen–Lev imply חרם? (thus, חרם = divine initiative) - or - to what degree does the initiative of Israel in Num 21 signal something more like divine accommodation in Deut?

2. If this is a matter of divine accommodation (not unlike kingship, I would argue), what implications does this have for our discussion of the legitimacy of the conquest and the ethics of what transpires there? (if any!)