Text: Deuteronomy 13:15
OT Text Referred to: Exodus 22:20
Subject: devoting spoils of idolaters
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): None
Significance: Exodus 22:20 decrees that one who sacrifices to any god other than the LORD must be "devoted to destruction" (חֵרֶם, cherem), and Deuteronomy 13:15 applies this חֵרֶם principle to an entire apostate city: "You must put the inhabitants of that city to the sword, devoting to destruction all that is in it." The progression from individual punishment (Exodus) to communal destruction (Deuteronomy) reflects the escalated threat when apostasy becomes corporate rather than individual. Deuteronomy specifies that even the city's spoil must be gathered and burned, preventing anyone from profiting from idolatry's destruction—the חֵרֶם ban is total, consuming persons and property alike.