דברים, פרק כ׳, פסוק י״ז

The conquest of Canaan involved a unique and severe directive aimed at the native nations of the land. Unlike standard warfare, where casualties are generally limited to soldiers and survivors are spared to sustain the local economy, the mandate here requires wiping out the entire population. The primary approach among commentators is that this harsh decree is not driven by racial or nationalistic hatred. Rather, it stems from the fear that these nations would pose a severe threat and exert a corrupting influence on the lives of the Israelites. The directive demands the destruction of the cities and all their inhabitants [ביאור שטיינזלץ, העמק דבר]. However, this total destruction applies strictly to human life. The spoils of war are not forbidden, and the Israelites are permitted to take the property of these nations [חזקוני].

The absolute nature of this war also dictates the laws regarding abandoned idols. Any statues or ritual objects left behind by the fleeing enemy remain strictly forbidden for use. Because the original owners abandoned these objects out of sheer terror and the fear of death, rather than making a conscious decision to reject their deities, the objects retain their forbidden status as instruments of idolatry [תורה תמימה].

Despite the severity of the decree, an avenue for salvation remains open. If individuals from these nations repent and commit to observing the Seven Noahide Commandments, they are permitted to live peacefully among the Israelites. Without this provision, one might assume that the culture of these nations was so deeply corrupted that they could never be accepted, regardless of how sincerely they repented [גור אריה].

When listing the targets of this war, only six nations are explicitly named, despite the fact that there are traditionally seven Canaanite nations. The missing group is the Girgashites. The primary approach among commentators is that they are omitted because they willingly chose to evacuate the land, migrating to Africa on their own accord. As a result, the war of destruction was never actually waged against them. Nevertheless, the command concludes by stating that the Israelites must act exactly as God commanded. This broad phrasing serves to include the Girgashites in the original decree. It clarifies that, in principle, their legal status is identical to that of the other nations. On a practical level, if any faction of the Girgashites chose to remain in the land and fight alongside the other Canaanite groups, they too would be subject to total destruction [רש״י, רבנו בחיי, תורה תמימה, שפתי חכמים, צפנת פענח, משכיל לדוד, ביאור יש״ר, אדרת אליהו, ברכת אשר].

This situation contrasts with the Hivites, who are explicitly named in the command. Even though a faction of the Hivites, known as the Gibeonites, managed to secure a peace treaty with the Israelites through deception, the Hivite nation as a whole is still listed. This is because the rest of the Hivite population, who did not live in Gibeon, remained in the land and were still subject to the decree of destruction [משכיל לדוד].