Devoted Thing

Biblical Texts

Leviticus 27:28–29 stipulates that anything a person has wholly devoted to the LORD may be neither sold nor redeemed, for it is "most holy unto the LORD." Deuteronomy 7:26 and 13:17 forbid bringing into one's house, or laying hands on, anything devoted to destruction. The Korean Bible (New Korean Revised Version) renders the same word differently depending on context, for example as "devoted thing" or "thing to be utterly destroyed."

The term appears most prominently in Joshua 6–7. At the fall of Jericho, Joshua commanded that the city and everything in it be devoted to the LORD. The silver and gold and the vessels of brass and iron were to be brought into the treasury of the LORD (Joshua 6:17–19). Achan, however, secretly hid a garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold. As a result, Israel was defeated in the battle at Ai, and Achan was executed in the Valley of Achor (Joshua 7). First Chronicles 2:7 records him as "the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing accursed." In 1 Samuel 15, Saul is rebuked because, although he had been commanded to utterly destroy Amalek, he spared the best of the livestock.

Original Language and Background

Herem derives from the verb haram and conveys the idea of removing something from ordinary use and assigning it to a deity. For this reason, the same word is used in two distinct senses:

• A permanent dedication to the sanctuary or to the priests (Numbers 18:14)
• The "utter destruction" of all people and animals in war

The same word is reported to appear on the Mesha Stele of Moab as well. On this basis, the practice is thought to have been widespread in the ancient Near East.

Significance Across the Bible

The Septuagint usually translates herem as anathema. The New Testament uses this word in the sense of "accursed," that is, the state of being handed over to God and cut off (Romans 9:3; Galatians 1:8–9; 1 Corinthians 16:22).

Hosea 2:15 promises to make the Valley of Achor, where Achan was executed, "a door of hope." Zechariah 14:11 and Revelation 22:3 look forward to a day when there will be no more curse.

The Septuagint of Joshua 7:1 and Acts 5:2 both use the same Greek verb, meaning "to set aside secretly." For this reason, many interpreters read the account of Ananias and Sapphira alongside that of Achan.

Interpretation and Debate

The ethics of the command to utterly destroy has long been debated.

• Some regard it as a limited judgment on the Canaanites once their iniquity had become full (cf. Genesis 15:16).
• Some evangelical scholars read it as the hyperbolic idiom typical of ancient war accounts.
• Some in critical scholarship view it as a narrative reflecting later theology.

The execution of Achan's family along with him (Joshua 7:24–25) is read as a text illustrating communal responsibility. Some use this passage to support the doctrine of generational curses, which holds that the sins of ancestors pass down to their descendants as a curse. By contrast, theologians from many denominations criticize such an application, citing Deuteronomy 24:16 and Ezekiel 18. The text does not explain what responsibility the family bore. Accordingly, the claim that the family knew of the crime and helped conceal it should be recognized as an inference supplied by interpreters.

In the Korean Church

In Korean preaching, Achan's "devoted thing" is frequently cited to teach that one person's hidden sin affects the entire community. The passage is also used to warn against putting to private use offerings or vows that have been pledged to God.