Ban
“The ban” is a religious term that is often used in stories about wars, meaning that people or things are devoted to God.
What is the Ban?
“Putting them under the ban” often has a religious meaning in the Old Testament: a person or an object must be devoted to God. In the oldest stories, this entails that this person or object must be destroyed. In later stories, objects had to be kept in the Temple. They then became the property of the priests
Especially during the battle to capture Canaan, God asks for total destruction of the enemies. Everything that belonged to the enemy, for example houses, animals and goods, had to be put under the ban.
Well-Known Stories about the Ban
There are two stories in which God asks for the complete destruction of enemies, but in which this instruction is not carried out. In both cases, God is furious:
- In Joshua 7:1-2
, Achan keeps something for himself at the destruction of Jericho. He buries it under his tent. Eventually, he and his family are stoned and burned. - King Saul is also told to destroy everything after the war on the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15:8-10
. But he spares the king, as well as all the best animals. As punishment for his disobedience, his reign as king comes to an end.
Extra-Biblical Sources
Non-biblical texts have been found that also speak of the ban. On the Mesha Stele (a memorial stone from the ninth century BC), King Mesha of Moab glories in his complete destruction of his enemies.
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