Moving away from historical and textual topics for a moment, a note on morality – “It’s no secret that the God of the Bible has a dark side. Throughout the Old Testament, God is responsible for a slew of natural disasters: from erasing life on Earth in an apocalyptic flood, to unleashing devastating plagues of biblical proportions.

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Summary

The Bible attributes hundreds of thousands to millions of deaths to God’s direct actions or commands. These include:

1. Direct Actions:

• The Global Flood (Genesis 6–9) wiped out all life except Noah’s family, potentially millions.
• Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19) were destroyed by fire, killing thousands.
• The Egyptian Firstborns (Exodus 12) and 185,000 Assyrian soldiers (2 Kings 19) were struck down.
• The Census Plague (2 Samuel 24) killed 70,000 Israelites.

1. Commanded Killings:

• The Conquest of Canaan (Joshua 6–12) involved the annihilation of cities like Jericho and Hazor, totaling ~100,000–200,000 deaths.
• The Amalekites (1 Samuel 15) and Midianites (Numbers 31) were commanded to be wiped out, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths.
• Capital punishments under Mosaic Law (e.g., idolatry, adultery) and events like the Benjamite Civil War (Judges 20) added thousands more.

Combined, these actions suggest hundreds of thousands to millions of deaths, depending on how symbolic numbers (e.g., the Flood) are interpreted. Theologically, these acts are framed as divine judgment or covenantal enforcement, though they remain ethically debated.

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Table: Deaths Attributed to God’s Direct Actions and Commands

Event	Type	Explicit/Estimated Deaths
Global Flood	Direct	Millions*
Sodom and Gomorrah	Direct	Thousands*
Egyptian Firstborns	Direct	20,000–30,000*
Assyrian Army	Direct	185,000
Census Plague	Direct	70,000
Conquest of Canaan	Commanded	100,000–200,000+
Amalekites	Commanded	10,000–50,000
Midianites	Commanded	50,000–100,000
Capital Punishments	Commanded	10,000–20,000
Benjamite Civil War	Commanded	25,100
Total (Explicit + Estimates)	Combined	~480,000–200,000,000+

*Speculative or symbolic numbers.

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