Why Even the Animals? Understanding God’s Command to Kill Livestock in the Conquests

Why Even the Animals? Understanding God’s Command to Kill Livestock in the Conquests

When reading the Old Testament, particularly the conquest narratives in books like Joshua and 1 Samuel, a jarring detail stands out: God sometimes commanded Israel not only to destroy the people of a city but also the animals (e.g., Joshua 6:21; 1 Samuel 15:3). For modern readers, this can feel needlessly cruel. Why would God command the killing of livestock—creatures that seem innocent and uninvolved?

But as with all difficult passages, we must consider the historical, spiritual, and cultural context of the Ancient Near East. The reasons are not arbitrary. Here are several biblical and logical factors to help us understand these hard commands.

1. Animals Were Involved in Idolatry and Pagan Rituals

In many Canaanite and neighboring cultures, animals weren’t just farm creatures—they were part of the religious system. Bulls, goats, and sheep were often consecrated to idols, used in demonic rituals, or symbolized fertility gods like Baal or Asherah. Some animals were bred and dedicated entirely for ritual prostitution or sacrificial acts to false deities.

To spare these animals would be to bring spiritually defiled, demonically associated creatures into the camp of Yahweh. God’s command to destroy them was an act of purification, breaking all ties to idolatrous worship systems. Israel was not to reuse what had been consecrated to foreign gods (Deut. 7:25–26).

2. Bestiality Was Practiced in Canaanite Religion

The Bible explicitly forbids bestiality (Lev. 18:23; 20:15–16), calling it a perversion that defiles both human and animal. And these laws were not hypothetical—they addressed real practices in Canaanite lands. In some fertility cults, bestiality was performed as a twisted imitation of divine copulation believed to bring agricultural blessing.

If animals had been used in such acts, they were not “innocent” in a ritual sense. Killing them was part of cleansing the land from abominable practices. These weren’t just sheep and cattle—they were participants (willing or not) in a deeply corrupted religious system.

3. Mercy Kill: Trauma and War

Animals raised in war-torn, demonically-influenced cities likely suffered extreme trauma—violence, abuse, starvation, or even exposure to grotesque rituals. Their destruction could be seen as a form of mercy: not preserving traumatized or abused creatures for reuse or trade, but ending their suffering rather than assimilating them into Israelite life.

Additionally, in a society where animals were considered property, sparing the animals of the conquered might be seen as a way of profiting from evil. God didn’t want Israel to enrich themselves with the spoils of spiritually toxic cultures.

4. A Clear Break from the Past

God was making a point through total destruction (Hebrew: herem, meaning "devoted to destruction")—Israel was not to salvage anything from the Canaanite system. Not its religion, its alliances, its practices, or even its possessions. Animals, as visible symbols of wealth and fertility, were part of that system.

Burning the city and destroying even the livestock sent a message: Israel’s victory came from God alone, not from plundering the cultural and economic remnants of the enemy. This act preserved purity and dependence on God rather than greed and assimilation.

5. Judgment Extended to Creation

In some cases, judgment on animals was part of a broader judgment on the land. Just as in the Flood and the Ten Plagues of Egypt, creation itself suffers when humanity reaches a tipping point of sin. The animals in these cities may not have sinned personally, but they were under the dominion of humans who had profoundly corrupted their stewardship. The land itself was being purged.

Conclusion

God’s command to destroy animals during conquest wasn’t random cruelty. He was removing every trace of a corrupted, violent, and demonically infused culture. These animals were not blank slates; they were intertwined with pagan worship, sexual sin, and spiritual rebellion. What may appear cruel on the surface was, in reality, a protection for Israel’s future—a way to ensure that nothing from those defiled systems would cross into the new life God was building. Sometimes, the cost of purity was high, but the cost of compromise was higher.