The Subverted City (Ir Hannidahat) in the Context of ANE Vassal Treaties

Cherem can also refer to a monetary punishment, as it appears when Ezra forces the returnees to Jerusalem to gather for the cultic celebration under a legal threat of being ousted from the community, by confiscating (turning into cherem) their possessions:

^{עזרא י:ח} וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר לֹא יָבוֹא לִשְׁלֹשֶׁת הַיָּמִים כַּעֲצַת הַשָּׂרִים וְהַזְּקֵנִים יָחֳרַם כָּל רְכוּשׁוֹ וְהוּא יִבָּדֵל מִקְּהַל הַגּוֹלָה.

^{Ezra 10:8} And that if anyone does not come within three days, by order of the officials and the elders all his property should be forfeited, and he himself banned from the congregation of the exiles.

The text does not say explicitly where the property goes, but from its use of the word cherem, we would assume that it goes to the Temple coffers. This loosely connects with the Priestly concept of cherem, which refers to voluntary donation of consecrated objects to the Temple. See, Ada Taggar-Cohen, “Does God’s Property Belong to the Priesthood? Hittite Versus Biblical Law,” TheTorah (2019). The confiscation of property and its transfer to divine coffers as a punishment appears in the Hittite text titled “The Apology of Ḫattušili III,” in which the king declared the donation of the lands confiscated from a culprit (who was judged for witchcraft) to the cult of the goddess Ištar:

I, then, gave Ištar, My Lady, the property of Armatarḫunta: I withdrew it and handed it over. What had been (there) formerly, that I handed over to her, and what I had had, that too I handed over. I withdrew it (all) and handed it over to the goddess.

The property of Armatarḫunta which I gave to her and whatever settlements were Armatarḫunta’s, behind every single cult monument they will erect her (statue) and they will pour a vessel. (For) Ištar (is) my goddess and they will worship her as Ištar the High. The mausoleum which I made myself, I handed it over to the goddess, (and) I handed over to you in subservience my son Tutḫaliya as well. Let Tutḫaliya, my son, administer the house of Ištar! I (am) the servant of the goddess, let him be servant of the goddess as well! The property which I gave the goddess, let everyone strive and strain(?) for the goddess.

For the translation of the text into English see Theo J.P. van den Hout, “Apology of Hattusili III,” COS 1 (1997), 200-204. The quoted paragraph is on p. 204. Ahab’s act of confiscating the land of Nabot has many similarities, as Nabot was accused of defying God and the king.

^{מלכים א כא:יג} וַיָּבֹאוּ שְׁנֵי הָאֲנָשִׁים בְּנֵי בְלִיַּעַל וַיֵּשְׁבוּ נֶגְדּוֹ וַיְעִדֻהוּ אַנְשֵׁי הַבְּלִיַּעַל אֶת נָבוֹת נֶגֶד הָעָם לֵאמֹר בֵּרַךְ נָבוֹת אֱלֹהִים וָמֶלֶךְ וַיֹּצִאֻהוּ מִחוּץ לָעִיר וַיִּסְקְלֻהוּ בָאֲבָנִים וַיָּמֹת. ^כא:יד וַיִּשְׁלְחוּ אֶל אִיזֶבֶל לֵאמֹר סֻקַּל נָבוֹת וַיָּמֹת

^{1 Kgs 21:12} And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him. And the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones.

His field was not transferred to the cult though, and this may have exacerbated the sin.

Editor’s note: See Deena Grant, “Loving God the Way You Love Ashurbanipal,” TheTorah (2016); Marvin A. Sweeney, “How Do We Conceive the Divine,” TheTorah (2014); Jon Levenson, “The Shema and the Commandment to Love God in Its Ancient Contexts,” TheTorah (2016); Pamela Barmash, “The Novel Introduction of Blessings into our Treaty with God,” TheTorah (2014).

For detailed discussion of reasons for war in ANE see Charlie Trimm, Fighting: For the King and the Gods. A Survey of Warfare in the Ancient Near East, Resources for Biblical Study 88 (Atlanta: SBL, 2017), esp. the chapter “Casus Belli” pp. 35­–65.

The text reads:

Tukulti-Ninurta, having put his trust in his observance of the oath, was planning for battle, while Kashtiliash, insofar as he had trespassed the command of the gods, was altered within himself. He was appalled on account of the appeal to Shamash and became fearful and anxious about what was laid before the gods, the mighty king’s utterance considered his body like a demonic presence.

Benjamin R. Foster and Karen Polinger Foster, Civilizations of Ancient Iraq (Princeton-Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2009), 111. The descriptions in quotations above are taken from Foster and Foster as well.

This is seen in the Tukulti-Ninurta Epic as translated by Benjamin R. Foster, Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature (CDL Press, 2005), 300–301 lines 32’–47’.

CTH 423 – first published as KUB 7.60 in Volkert Haas and Gernolt Wilhelm, Hurritische und Luwische Riten aus Kizzuwatna (Hurritologische Studien I; Neukirchen-Vluyn: 1974), 234-239. For the article that related this text to חרם see Giuseppe F. Del Monte, “The Hittite Ḥerem,” Memoriea Igor M. Diakonoff: Babel und Bibel 2, Annual of Ancient Near Eastern, Old Testament, and Semitic Studies (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2005), 21-45; For a renewed scholarly edition of the text, which re-organized the order of the tablets, see Francesco Fuscagni, “Una nuova interpretazione del ritual CTH 423: Alla Luce di tre nuovi duplicate”, KASKAL 4 (2007), 181-219. See also on Hittite texts of enemy annihilation by Hanna Roszkowska-Mutschler, “‘…and on its site I sowed cress…’. Some Remarks on the Execration of Defeated Enemy Cities by the Hittite Kings,” JAC 7 (1992), 1-12.

A well-known cult professional in the Hittite religion, who performed a large number of rituals together with diviners, augurs, incantation priests and other practitioners. See Trevor Bryce, Life and Society in the Hittite World (Oxford; Oxford University Press, 2002), 201–203. See recently, Hannah Marcuson, “Word of the Old Woman: Studies in Female Ritual Practice in Hittite Anatolia” (PhD diss. University of Chicago, 2016).

KUB 7.60 ii, 28-32: nu-uš-ma-aš ke-e TÚGḪI.A KASKALMEŠ a-ša-an-du nu-kán ke-e-da-aš še-er ar-ḫa i-ia-an-ni-ia-at-tén nu-kán A-NA LUGAL aš-šu-li an-da ne-ia-at-tén šu-me-el-ma A-NA KURTI a-wa-an ar-ḫa nam-ma ti-ia-at-tén.

For a detailed treatment of this text see Ada Taggar-Cohen, “Between Herem, Ownership, and Ritual - Biblical and Hittite Perspectives” in Current Issues in Priestly and Related Literature: The Legacy of Jacob Milgrom and Beyond, ed., Roy E. Gane and Ada Taggar-Cohen, Resources for Biblical Study 82 (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2015), 419-434. The following quotes from the text (in English translation) are from that article. See also Giuseppe F. Del Monte, “The Hittite Ḥerem,” p. 42 and Francesco Fuscagni, “Una nuova interpretazione del ritual CTH 423,” 198.

The word ešuwar as a verbal noun from the verb eš- “to be,” “exist” is translated here as “existence” in the sense of “dwelling”, “being on the land,” which is regarded unlawful, and thus can be brought to court for judgment. The opponent is thus a litigant.

Editor’s note: For more on liver reading and similar rituals, see Uri Gabbay, “The Practice of Divination in the Ancient Near East,” TheTorah (2016).

The text continues by reiterating what the king already said:

If you gods have approved this matter as done in this way, the enemy city which is sacrificed, whoever inhabits it, he will cause the anger (kartimiya-) of the Storm-god, my lord, he will become his litigant, he will become rebellious (kappilalliš), and you will go to war with him, and you will annihilate him, you will make his dwelling unlawful. [The rest is fragmentary].

We can see a similar situation in the biblical texts of חרם – where the consent of God is given, either via a question using Ephod 1Sam 23, or via a direct command as in 1Sam 15:3, 18.

The term here, ד.ר.ש, often refers to consulting God (e.g., Gen 25:22, Exod 18:15, 1 Kgs 22:5, 8).

KUB 19.37 ii, 17-19: nu-kán ^URUTi-mu-ḫa-la-an [ ^d]U EN-IA ši-ip-pa-an-da-aḫ-ḫu-un na-an šu-up-pí-ia-aḫ-ḫu-un [ na-at ] ZAG^MES –uš te-eḫ-ḫu-un na-an-za-an DUMU A-MI-LU-TI [Ú-UL ] ku-iš-ki e-ša-ri

In this case, Joshua even invokes a curse on anyone who builds it in the future.

^{יהושע ו:כו} וַיַּשְׁבַּע יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בָּעֵת הַהִיא לֵאמֹר אָרוּר הָאִישׁ לִפְנֵי יְ־הוָה אֲשֶׁר יָקוּם וּבָנָה אֶת הָעִיר הַזֹּאת אֶת יְרִיחוֹ בִּבְכֹרוֹ יְיַסְּדֶנָּה וּבִצְעִירוֹ יַצִּיב דְּלָתֶיהָ.

^{Josh 6:26} At that time Joshua pronounced this oath: “Cursed of YHWH be the man who shall undertake to fortify this city of Jericho: he shall lay its foundations at the cost of his first-born, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest.”

This curse has a strong parallel in the Hittite text CTH 423 discussed above about the ritual preceding the destruction of a rebellious city, in which anyone who rebuilds the city is promised vengeance from the Storm God.

Editor’s note: For more on the destruction of Hazor, see Shlomit Bechar, “Hazor’s Standing Stones: What Do They Commemorate?” TheTorah (2020).

As the book of Joshua states regarding his wars:

^{יהושע יא:יג} רַק כָּל הֶעָרִים הָעֹמְדוֹת עַל תִּלָּם לֹא שְׂרָפָם יִשְׂרָאֵל זוּלָתִי אֶת חָצוֹר לְבַדָּהּ שָׂרַף יְהוֹשֻׁעַ. ^יא:יד וְכֹל שְׁלַל הֶעָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וְהַבְּהֵמָה בָּזְזוּ לָהֶם בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל רַק אֶת כָּל הָאָדָם הִכּוּ לְפִי חֶרֶב עַד הִשְׁמִדָם אוֹתָם לֹא הִשְׁאִירוּ כָּל נְשָׁמָה.

^{Josh 11:13} However, all those towns that are still standing on their mounds were not burned down by Israel; it was Hazor alone that Joshua burned down. ^11:14 The Israelites kept all the spoil and cattle of the rest of those cities as booty. But they cut down their populations with the sword until they exterminated them; they did not spare a soul.