Accursed
The Meaning of the Ban
The Hebrew word behind "accursed" carries the core meaning of "devoted" or "set apart", but not for ordinary sacred use. Rather, it describes something separated for destruction because it would contaminate the religious life of God's people if spared. Modern translations variously render it as "devoted thing," "accursed thing," or "under the ban," each capturing a different aspect of the concept.
The root of the word means "to separate" or "to shut off." In its biblical usage, it always involves separating something to God with the further implication that the devoted thing must be destroyed or, in some cases, placed in the treasury of the Lord. This was not arbitrary destruction but a form of consecration, giving over to God what would otherwise become a source of spiritual danger.
The Ban in the Conquest of Canaan
The most dramatic application of the ban occurred during Israel's conquest of Canaan. God commanded that certain Canaanite cities be placed under the ban, meaning that everything in them, people, animals, and possessions, was to be destroyed (Deuteronomy 20:16-18). The stated reason was to prevent Israel from adopting the religious practices of the Canaanites: "Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God."
Jericho was the first city placed under the ban. Joshua declared, "The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord" (Joshua 6:17). The gold, silver, bronze, and iron were to go into the treasury of the Lord, but everything else was to be destroyed. The severity of this command reflected the seriousness with which God viewed the threat of Canaanite idolatry to Israel's covenant faithfulness.
Achan's Violation and Its Consequences
The story of Achan powerfully illustrates the consequences of violating the ban. After Jericho's fall, Achan took a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold from the devoted things and hid them in his tent (Joshua 7:20-21). As a result, Israel was defeated at the small city of Ai, and thirty-six men died.
God told Joshua, "Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant .... They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions" (Joshua 7:11). Achan's sin was not merely theft but an act of treating what belonged to God as his own. The devastating punishment, Achan and his household were stoned and burned, demonstrated that the ban was a matter of covenant life and death, not merely a military regulation.
Other Applications of the Ban
The ban was not limited to warfare. Deuteronomy 13:12-18 commanded that an Israelite city that turned to worship other gods was to be placed under the ban, completely destroyed as a burnt offering to the Lord. This extreme provision shows that the ban functioned primarily as a safeguard against idolatry rather than as a military strategy.
Saul's failure to fully carry out the ban against the Amalekites cost him his kingdom. God commanded that everything be destroyed, but Saul spared the Amalekite king Agag and the best of the livestock (1 Samuel 15:3, 9). Samuel's rebuke is one of Scripture's sharpest prophetic confrontations: "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice" (1 Samuel 15:22).
In a different application, Leviticus 27:28-29 states that anything devoted to the Lord could not be redeemed or sold, it was most holy to the Lord. Numbers 18:14 assigns "everything devoted in Israel" to the priests. These provisions show that the concept of devoted things operated within the broader framework of Israel's sacrificial system.
Accursed in the New Testament
The New Testament equivalent of the Hebrew ban is the Greek word "anathema." Paul uses it with striking intensity. In Galatians 1:8-9, he declares, "Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse!" The word translated "curse" here is anathema, devoted to destruction.
In Romans 9:3, Paul expresses an astonishing willingness: "For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers." Here the apostle uses the language of the ban to describe the most extreme form of separation imaginable, separation from Christ Himself. First Corinthians 16:22 pronounces, "If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be accursed."
These New Testament uses transform the Old Testament concept. The ban is no longer applied to physical cities or material goods but to anything that fundamentally opposes the gospel of Christ. The principle remains the same: that which corrupts the community of faith must be identified and rejected.
Biblical Context
The concept of accursed or devoted things appears in the conquest narratives (Joshua 6-7), in the laws governing warfare and idolatry (Deuteronomy 7:26; 13:12-18; 20:16-18), in the regulations for devoted offerings (Leviticus 27:28-29; Numbers 18:14), in the historical accounts of Saul's disobedience (1 Samuel 15), in prophetic literature (Isaiah 34:5; Zechariah 14:11; Malachi 4:6), and in Paul's apostolic teaching (Romans 9:3; 1 Corinthians 16:22; Galatians 1:8-9).
Theological Significance
The concept of the accursed reveals God's absolute opposition to anything that threatens His people's covenant faithfulness. The ban was not cruelty but radical surgery, the removal of what would otherwise spread spiritual corruption. The transition from Old Testament physical destruction to New Testament spiritual anathema shows the continuity of the principle: God will not tolerate rivals for His people's devotion. The concept also deepens understanding of the cross, where Christ Himself became a curse for us (Galatians 3:13), bearing the ban that humanity's sin deserved.
Historical Background
The practice of devoting conquered cities and their contents to a deity was known throughout the ancient Near East. The Moabite Stone (Mesha Stele) records King Mesha of Moab devoting Israelite cities to his god Chemosh in language strikingly similar to biblical descriptions of the ban. This parallel confirms that the concept was widely understood in the region, though Israel's application was distinctive in its connection to covenant faithfulness and the prevention of idolatry. The Arabic cognate of the Hebrew word gives us the term 'harem,' referring to a separated, restricted area.