Deuteronomy Decolonized: Chapter 23 Verse 7 - Part 2

So What Happened in Deut 23:7?

• Three precepts show

1. 2 Sam 8:1-16

1. 1-3 David slew Moab and made them servants
2. 4-6 David slew Syrians, made them servants and set up garrisons in Syria
3. 16 Joab was over the army
4. 13-14 David slew Syrians again. This time 18000 in the valley of salt and put garrisons in Edom after slaying the Syrians?

• Q. Why is the writer telling us that right after slaying the Syrians in Edomite lands David sets up garrisons in Edom? 
• Q. Where were the Edomites when all this was happening in their lands?
• Q. I thought the Syrians were already subdued in verses 4-6

1. The answer to these questions is in the following scriptures

1. Compare 2 Sam 8:12 and 1 Chron 18:11

• Q. What do you notice?^[1]

Q. Why was this mistake or deception made?

• Because Edom & Aram look very similar in modern hebrew

Q. So which account is correctly rendered?

• Psalm 60:1 & 1 Kings 11:14-17 & 21 hold the key

1. Psalm 60:1 eighteen thousand were killed in Edom not in Syria as is written in 1 Chron 18:12-13 that’s two witnesses saying the killing occurred in Edom not Syria

1. The body count translation says 12 here but the scribe meant 20,000 as evidenced by the fact that the same word can be translated as twenty. See entry 8147

• The scribe may have rounded the number up in his estimation or just given us a more accurate count we can’t say for sure. We know, however, that the 12,000 translation is incorrect by comparing the precepts. 

2. 1 Kings 11:14-17 & 21 Joab & David were in Edom for six month slaying all the males

1. This is the same subjugation we read about in 2 Sam & 1 Chron evidenced by the fact that there are no other slaughters with these similar details mentioned in the scriptures and the fact that verse 21 states Hadad waited till David & Joab were dead to return to Edom. 
   
   He would have waited because of the slaughter campaign that David was on in Edom.

• Noticeably the scholars agree (this doesn’t substantiate the claim but rather just shows that the evidence is undeniable)^[2]

3. 2 Kings 14:1-3 & 7 Amaziah also slew Edomites in the valley of salt

1. The Valley of Salt Location

• Q. So which rendering is correct? Were the Syrians killed in the valley of salt to the tune of 18000 or were the Edomites?^[3]

Conclusion

Q. So what happened in Deuteronomy 23:7? 

1. Deut 23:7 is a repetition of the same error we saw made in 2 Sam 8:13 except that instead of writing Syrian where it should say Edom, they’ve written Edom where it should say Syrian.

And that’s the real gospel! HalleluYah via Yahawashi the prince!

STUDY NOTES

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-M99yfvaZPWZ52MMXzSMjps5pstIRgBc63_92pLeiRs/edit?usp=sharing

PART ONE

https://yahawashi.blogspot.com/2025/07/deuteronomy-decolonized-chapter-23.html

[1] The word Syria is mistaken for Edom

[2] Commentary on 1 Kings 11:15 Sourced 24/07/25 from biblehub

[3] See comparison of facts here