7:1–6 God’s actions in creating the nation of Israel and bringing them into the land are developed from the covenant words at Mount Sinai, especially as found in Exodus 23:20–33. Verbal affinity may be observed especially at the beginning and end of the sections (cf. Ex. 23:23, 24–26; Deut. 7:1, 5, 11–15). Deuteronomy places special emphasis on God’s personal presence and his power (cf. Deut. 4:37), while Exodus often refers to the mediation of the angel of the Lord (e.g., Ex. 23:23). However, Exodus 33:14–15 speaks of the divine presence that is with Moses so that he can lead Israel to the Land of Promise. There is no single formula for referring to the mystery of God’s guidance.

The enemies of Israel are made tangible via this listing of some of the indigenous peoples of Canaan. Such lists appear with various names. Though none is exhaustive (e.g., Ex. 3:8, 17; 23:23, 28), the listing of seven nations is a symbolic totality to represent all of the nations of Canaan (cf. Acts 13:19). The Hittites were an empire that controlled northern Syria in the times leading up to the entrance of Israel into Canaan (Middle and Late Bronze Age; c. 1700–1200 BC), with their capital at the ancient Hattian city of Hattusha. The fall of Hattusha left the Arameans and the Hittites as two ruling ethnic groups in Syria. The Hittites of Canaan at the time of the conquest were settlers from various late Hittite kingdoms (Ezek. 16:3). In Deuteronomy 1:7 the Amorites and the Canaanites represent geographical areas of all of Canaan.

Cultural integration was not possible for Israel because it would conflict with the covenant they had made with God. Israel must defeat these nations and “devote them to complete destruction.” This is one way of translating the Hebrew expression hakharem takharim ʾotam (cf. Deut. 2:34). The term kherem is found outside of biblical literature in the Mesha Stele, on which the king of Moab commemorates his victory over the Omride dynasty of Israel. Mesha boasts, “I devoted” (hhrmth) the city of Nebo to the god Ashtar-Kamosh, killing everyone, seven thousand men, boys, women, girls, and pregnant women (lines 14–17a). Moses intends a similar representative action in acknowledging that God grants victory and that therefore everything belongs to God. Not every city will be devoted to such destruction, for God is granting Israel great and good cities they have not built and vineyards they have not planted (Deut. 6:10–11). But if Israel is to be the treasured people chosen by God to represent his kingdom to all peoples (Ex. 19:5; Deut. 7:6), then all idolatrous places of worship must be destroyed.

Such places of worship are called ’asherim in Hebrew (Deut. 7:5). This term is found twice in the Bible as the name of a Canaanite goddess (Judg. 3:7; 1 Kings 18:19), though in all other occurrences in the Bible and in inscriptions it is a common noun that takes articles and suffixes. An Asherah is a place of worship under a sacred grove (Deut. 16:21; Judg. 6:25–30). The Greek translators knew this and translated ʼasherah consistently as halsos (“grove”). These places of worship boasted a stone platform with various objects of worship such as an altar, a pillar, and carved images of wood and stone. Since all of these places of worship and their objects represented various deities other than Yahweh, they all had to be broken up and burned. Only in this manner could Israel be a “people holy to the Lord,” a people representing him as King over all the earth. The kherem is meant to be carried out fully and inclusively in relation to all Canaanite worship. Economic interaction with Canaanites, implicit in making a “covenant with them,” as well as intermarriage with them, is impossible if their religion is to be systematically eradicated.

7:7–11 Complacency is the nemesis of all relationships. The grace of God opposes all merit, but it requires constant effort. The Israelites must remember that God’s choice to create them as a nation was through no merit of their own. God’s oath ensures that he will fulfill all that is required for them to be a nation, but it also requires that they observe faithfully every commandment, rule, and regulation. Israel must be as faithful in keeping covenant as their God is (v. 9), for God repays in person (“to their face”) those who hate him, those who compromise with another god. This knowledge is important to an unwavering faithfulness; it is the fear of the Lord that enables constant love for him.

7:12–16 The promise of Canaanite gods was that they would supply fertility and health. Baal was a storm god, the one supposedly bringing rain and therefore fecundity in the land. Baalism is thus simply a religion of materialism. If Baal were worshiped and he were in power, the people would be rich. Moses instructs Israel to reject all such worship and its motivations. Israel must be inspired to love God because of his love for them. Their God is not miserly; the Lord will reward their faithfulness with an abundance incomparable to any other.

7:17–21 The cities of Canaan were formidable. The Amarna Tablets (cf. comment on 1:26–28), from just before the time of Moses, describe city-states with large armies. Although the Egyptians attempted to control Canaan, powerful kings such as Labayu of Shechem were a daunting force controlling large areas of Canaan. Compared to cities such as Jerusalem, Megiddo, Acco, Byblos, Gaza, Joppa, and many others, Israel is indeed the least of all peoples. Canaan was controlled by powerful city states from south to north, many supported militarily by Egypt.

The vast disparity between Israel and the powers of Canaanite cities is not to deter Israel from proceeding into the Land of Promise. God has already conquered Egypt in delivering the Israelites; that same God will send hornets among the Canaanites, so none can hide. The term “hornet” (Hb. tsirʿah) is found only in two other passages (Ex. 23:28; Josh. 24:12), and its power is never explained. It may well be a reference to the dread that the victories of Israel would spread over all the other kings. The NJPS translates tsirʿah as “plague.” The image of swarms of wasps causing panic or frenzy describes well the power of God in bringing about the conquest of Canaan.

7:22–26 The Israelites are too small to control the entire land of Canaan immediately. God will grant them only as much territory as they can occupy until they are sufficient in number for more. The process will continue until the great nations of Canaan are utterly extinct (“their name [will] perish”). The condition of such occupation is the destruction of all remnants of Canaanite idolatry, no matter the worth of their silver and gold, because they are abhorrent to the Lord. This wealth falls under the kherem, items dedicated to God and perpetually removed from common use. Anyone retaining such proscribed items will themselves become proscribed; they will face the same fate as the Canaanites whom the Israelites destroyed.