Canaanite King Defeated

21 When the Canaanite king of Arad,^(A) who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming on the Atharim road, he fought against Israel and captured some prisoners. ² Then Israel made a vow to the Lord, “If You will deliver this people into our hands, we will completely destroy their cities.”^{(B) 3} The Lord listened to Israel’s request, the Canaanites were defeated, and Israel completely destroyed them and their cities. So they named the place Hormah.^[a](C)

⁷ They waged war against Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed every male.

¹³ Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. ¹⁴ But Moses became furious with the officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, who were returning from the military campaign. ¹⁵ “Have^[a] you let every female live?” he asked them. ¹⁶ “Yet they are the ones who, at Balaam’s advice, incited the Israelites to unfaithfulness against the Lord in the Peor incident, so that the plague came against the Lord’s community.^{(A) 17} So now, kill all the male children and kill every woman who has had sexual relations with a man,

¹⁷ But the city and everything in it are set apart to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone with her in the house will live,^(A) because she hid the men^[a] we sent.