Friday, August 21, 2020

The banned city and the vassal treaties

PROF. ADA TAGGAR-COHEN: The Subverted City (Ir Hannidahat) in the Context of ANE Vassal Treaties (TheTorah.com).
Deuteronomy’s requirement to destroy a city whose inhabitants worship another god and to leave it as an eternally desolate mound, can be understood in the context of ancient Near Eastern vassal treaties. Specifically, Hittite texts describe how kings dealt with rebellious vassal cities, by destroying them utterly and dedicating their land to the gods.

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