Sunday, April 3, 2022

Did Moses Fail the Test of a Prophet in Deuteronomy 18:18-20? The Non-Fulfillment of the ‎חרם ḥrm promised to the Hivites

In the book of Deuteronomy, we read:

 

In the towns of the latter peoples, however, which the LORD your God is giving you as a heritage, you shall not let a soul remain alive. No, you must proscribe them -- the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites -- as the LORD your God has commanded you, lest they lead you into doing all the abhorrent things that they have done for their gods and you stand guilty before the LORD your God. (Deut 20:16-18 | 1985 JPS Tanakh)

 

But in the book of Joshua, we read:

 

Apart from the Hivites who dwelt in Gibeon, not a single city made terms with the Israelites; all were taken in battle. (Josh 11:19 | 1985 JPS Tanakh)

 

This shows that appealing to Detu 18:18-20 as if it teaches there is no contingencies to prophecies, whether explicit or implicit, and one must have a 100% track record on their prophecies is one that Moses himself would fail.

 

Critics (typically Evangelical Protestants) if they wish to be consistent will have to admit one of the following:

 

Moses was a false prophet (or at least became a false prophet later in his life, just after the revelation of Deut 18:18-20)

 

Or

 

Prophecy is always contingent, and the then-future will-will actions of agents can interfere with the fulfillment of prophecies.


Of course, this would require intellectual honesty and, as noted, consistency. In my experience, the likes of Bowman, White, Durbin, the Tanners, etc., rarely demonstrate such.


On Joseph Smith's prophecies, both fulfilled and purportedly false, see:


Resources on Joseph Smith's Prophecies