Somewhat related to the moral argument is the issue of what’s
come to be called the “slaughter of the Canaanites.” This is the issue of
certain commands presumed to have been given by God to the Israelites as they
were beginning their conquest of the land of Canaan. According to Old Testament
accounts, God commanded the Israelites to kill every man, woman, and child in
the land, and even to kill the cattle; to leave nothing alive. It is a topic
for another day whether the command was specifically to kill all those who were
living in the land, or whether the command was to dispossess the inhabitants of
the land and to kill any who did not flee. For the sake of today’s post, we can
assume that God did command Israel to kill everything alive in Canaan,
including women and children, and to have no mercy.
