Abstract

AbstractThis article examines the meaning and function of the verb חרם in the Old Testament. A survey of the semantic domain shows that in contexts of war the verb indicates the extermination or destruction of people, emphasizing the radical nature of the destruction. The usual interpretation of the verb as »to devote to destruction« is problematic. The use of the verb in the Mesha Inscription, which is often mentioned in favour of this interpretation, is not identical with the use in the Old Testament. In the Mesha Inscription, the verb has the meaning »to devote«, but both the construction (with the complement

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