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a-kuÌ‚rs´ed, a-kuÌ‚rst´: In the Book of Josh (, ; , , , , ) and 1 Ch () “accursed†(or “accursed thing†or “thing accursedâ€) is the King James Version rendering of the Hebrew word, חו×, hÌ£eÌ„remÌŒ. The Revised Version (British and American) consistently uses “devoted†or “devoted thing,†which the King James Version also adopts in , , and in . “Cursed thing†is the rendering in two passages (; ); and in one passage ( the King James Version) “dedicated thing†is used. In four places the King James Version renders the word by “curse†(; ; ; Mal 3:24; ()) whilst in, another passage () “utter destruction†is adopted in translation. These various renderings are due to the fact that the word hÌ£eÌ„rem sometimes means the act of devoting or banning (or the condition or state resulting therefrom and sometimes the object devoted or banned. We occasionally find periphrastic renderings, e.g. : “the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed,†the King James Version (literally, “the chief part of the banâ€); : “a man whom I appointed to utter destruction,†the King James Version (literally, “a man of my ban†(or “banningâ€). The root-word meant “to separate,†“shut off.†The Arabic hÌ£arı̄m denoted the precincts of the temple at Mecca, and also the women's apartment (whence the word “haremâ€). In Hebrew the word always suggested “separating†or “devoting to God.†Just as קדש, kÌ£aÌ„dhoÌ„sh, meant “holy†or “consecrated to the service†of Yahweh, and so not liable to be used for ordinary or secular purposes, so the stem of hÌ£eÌ„rem meant “devoting†to Yahweh anything which would, if spared, corrupt or contaminate the religious life of Israel, with the further idea of destroying (things) or exterminating (persons) as the surest way of avoiding such contamination. Everything that might paganize or affect the unique character of the religion of Israel was banned, e.g. idols (); idolatrous persons (); idolatrous cities (-18). All Canaanite towns - where the cult of Baal flourished - were to be banned (-18). The ban did not always apply to the gold and silver of looted cities (). Such valuable articles were to be placed in the “treasury of the house of Yahweh.†This probably indicates a slackening of the rigid custom which involved the total destruction of the spoil. According to , “everything devoted in Israel†belonged to Aaron, and the King James Version ordained that “every dedicated thing†should belong to the priests (compare ). In the New Testament “accursed†is the King James Version rendering of ANATHEMA (which see).