It's impossible to say for sure, but plenty. How many did God drown in the flood or burn to death in Sodom and Gomorrah? How many first-born Egyptians did he kill? There's just no way to count them all. (But see here for a rough estimate.)
But sometimes the Bible tells us exactly how many were killed by God. Here's a list of those that I can find. (If you find any that I've missed, let me know and I'll add them to the list.)
So far I come up with a total of 2,316,428 (not including, at least in some cases, women and children).
| | Verse | Number killed | Cumulative total
|
|---|
| 1
| God drowns everyone of earth (except Noah and his family)
| Genesis 7:23
| ?
| ?
|
| 2
| God rains fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, killing everyone.
| Genesis 19:24
| ?
| ?
|
| 3
| Lot's wife for looking back
| Genesis 19:26
| 1
| 1
|
| 4
| Er who was "wicked in the sight of the Lord"
| Genesis 38:7, 1 Chronicles 2:3
| 1
| 2
|
| 5
| Onan for spilling his seed
| Genesis 38:10 | 1
| 3
|
| 6
| A 7 year, world-wide famine
| Genesis 41:25-54
| ?
| 3
|
| 7
| 7th Egyptian Plague: Hail
| Exodus 9:25
| ?
| 3
|
| 8
| God kills every Egyptian firstborn child.
| Exodus 12:29-30 | ?
| 3
|
| 9
| God drowns Egyptian army
| Exodus 14:8-26 | 600
| 603
|
| 10
| God and Moses help Joshua kill the Amalekites
| Exodus 17:13 | ?
| 603
|
| 11
| Israelites for dancing naked around Aaron's golden calf
| Exodus 32:27-28, 35
| 3000
| 3,603
|
| 12
| God plagued the people because of the calf that Aaron made
| Exodus 32:35
| ?
| 3,603
|
| 13
| Aaron's sons for offering strange fire before the Lord
| Leviticus 10:1-3; Numbers 3:4, 26:61
| 2
| 3,605
|
| 14
| A blasphemer
| Leviticus 24:10-23
| 1
| 3,606
|
| 15
| God burned people to death for complaining
| Numbers 11:1
| ?
| 3,606
|
| 16
| God sent "a very great plague" for complaining about the food.
| Numbers 11:33 | ?
| 3,606
|
| 17
| God killed ten scouts with a plague.
| Numbers 14:35-36 | 10
| 3,616
|
| 18
| A man who gathered firewood on the sabbath
| Numbers 15:32-36 | 1
| 3,617
|
| 19
| Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (and their families)
| Numbers 16:27 | 3
| 3,620
|
| 20
| Burned to death for offering incense
| Numbers 16:35 | 250
| 3,870
|
| 21
| For complaining
| Numbers 16:49 | 14,700
| 18,570
|
| 22
| Massacre of the Aradites
| Numbers 21:1-3 | ?
| 18,570
|
| 23
| For complaining about the lack of food and water, God sent fiery serpents to bite the people.
| Numbers 21:6
| ?
| 18,570
|
| 24
| God delivers the Bashanites into Moses' hands and Moses kills everyone "until there was none left alive."
| Numbers 21:34-35 | ?
| 18,570
|
| 25
| Phinehas impales a mixed-race couple having sex
| Numbers 25:6-8
| 2
| 18,572
|
| 26
| Israelites for "committing whoredom with the daughters of Moab"
| Numbers 25:9
| 24,000
| 42,572
|
| 27
| Midianite massacre (32,000 virgins were kept alive)
| Numbers 31:1-35 | ?
| 42,572
|
| 28
| God kills the entire Israelite army
| Deuteronomy 2:14-16
| ?
| 42,572
|
| 29
| The slaughter of the Zamzummim, Horim, Avim, and the Caphtorim
| Deuteronomy 2:21-22
| ?
| 42,572
|
| 30
| God hardened the king of Heshbon's heart so that the Israelites could massacre his people. (included several cities)
| Deuteronomy 2:33-34
| ?
| 42,572
|
| 31
| All the men, women, and children in 60 cities
| Deuteronomy 3:3-6 | ?
| 42,572
|
| 32
| Massacre of Jericho
| Joshua 6:21
| ?
| 42,572
|
| 33
| Achan (and his his sons and daughters) for taking the accursed thing
| Joshua 7:10-12, 24-26
| 1
| 42,573
|
| 34
| The Ai Massacre
| Joshua 8:1-25 | 12,000
| 54,573
|
| 35
| God slaughters the Amorites and even chases them "along the way" as they try to escape.
| Joshua 10:10-11 | ?
| 54,573
|
| 36
| Joshua kills 5 kings and hangs their dead bodies on trees
| Joshua 10:24-26 | 5
| 54,578
|
| 37
| Massacre of 7 kingdoms
| Joshua 10:28-42 | ?
| 54,578
|
| 38
| The remaining kingdoms
| Joshua 11:8-12 | 10,000
| 64,578
|
| 39
| Massacre of the Anakim
| Joshua 11:20-21 | ?
| 64,578
|
| 40
| God delivers the Canaanites and Perizzites
| Judges 1:4
| ?
| 64,578
|
| 41
| The Jerusalem Massacre
| Judges 1:8
| ?
| 64,578
|
| 42
| Ten Massacres, a wedding, and some God-proof iron chariots
| Judges 1:9-25
| ?
| 64,578
|
| 43
| The LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim
| Judges 3:7-10
| ?
| 64,578
|
| 44
| Ehud delivers a message from God: a knife in the belly | Judges 3:15-22
| 1
| 64,579
|
| 45
| God delivers 10,000 Moabites
| Judges 3:28-29 | 10,000
| 74,579
|
| 46
| Barak and God Massacre the Canaanites
| Judges 4:14
| ?
| 74,579
|
| 47
| Jael pounds a tent stake through a
sleeping man's head
| Judges 4:18-25
| 1
| 74,580
|
| 48
| God forces Midianite soldiers to kill each other
| Judges 7:22, 8:10
| 120,000
| 194,580
|
| 49
| A city is massacred and 1000 burn to death because of God's evil spirit
| Judges 9:23-57
| ?
| 194,580
|
| 50
| The Ammonite massacre
| Judges 11:29-33 | ?
| 194,580
|
| 51
| Jephthah's daughter
| Judges 11:34-39 | 1
| 194,581
|
| 52
| The spirit of the Lord comes on Samson and he murders 30 men for their clothes
| Judges 14:19 | 30
| 194,611
|
| 53
| The Spirit of the Lord comes upon Samson and he kills 1000 men with the jawbone of an ass
| Judges 15:14-15 | 1,000
| 195,611
|
| 54
| Samson's God-assisted act of terrorism
| Judges 16:27-30 | 3,000
| 198,611
|
| 55
| "The Lord smote Benjamin"
| Judges 20:35-37 | 65,100
| 263,711
|
| 56
| God kills Eli's sons
| 1 Samuel 2:25, 34; 4:11 | 2
| 263,713
|
| 57
| God smote three cities with hemorrhoids in their secret parts
| 1 Samuel 5:1-12 | ?
| 263,713
|
| 58
| For looking into the ark of the Lord
| 1 Samuel 6:19 | 50,070
| 313,783
|
| 59
| The LORD thundered with a great thunder upon the Philistines
| 1 Samuel 7:
| ?
| 313,783
|
| 60
| The Ammonite Massacre (and another God-inspired body part message)
| 1 Samuel 7:11-13
| ?
| 313,783
|
| 61
| Jonathan's very first slaughter (not counting the
one before)
| 1 Samuel 14:12 | 20
| 313,803
|
| 62
| God forces the Philistine soldiers to kill each other.
| 1 Samuel 14:20 | ?
| 313,803
|
| 63
| The Amalekite Genocide
| 1 Samuel 15:2-3 | ?
| 313,803
|
| 64
| Samuel hacks Agag to pieces before the Lord
| 1 Samuel 15:32-33
| 1
| 313,804
|
| 65
| God delivers the Philistines.
| 1 Samuel 23:2-5 | ?
| 313,804
|
| 66
| "The Lord smote Nabal."
| 1 Samuel 25:38 | 1
| 313,805
|
| 67
| David spends the day killing Amalekites
| 1 Samuel 30:17 | ?
| 313,805
|
| 68
| God has the Philistines kill Israelite soldiers
| 1 Samuel 31:6, 1 Chronicles 10:6 | ?
| 313,805
|
| 69
| Saul and his three sons
| 1 Samuel 31:6, 1 Chronicles 10:6 | 4
| 313,809
|
| 70
| God delivers the Philistines to David (from the front)
| 2 Samuel 5:19, 25
| ?
| 313,809
|
| 71
| God delivers the Philistines to David (from behind)
| 2 Samuel 5:19, 25
| ?
| 313,809
|
| 72
| Uzzah for trying to keep the ark from falling
| 2 Samuel 6:6-7, 1 Chronicles 13:9-10 | 1
| 313,810
|
| 73
| David and Bathsheba's baby boy
| 2 Samuel 12:14-18
| 1
| 313,811
|
| 74
| God sent a three-year famine because of something Saul did.
| 2 Samuel 21:1 | ?
| 313,811
|
| 75
| Saul's two sons and five grandsons hung up before the Lord
| 2 Samuel 21:6-9 | 7
| 313,818
|
| 76
| God kills 70,000 men because David did a census that God told him to do
| 2 Samuel 24:15, 1 Chronicles 21:14 | 70,000
| 383,818
|
| 77
| A lion is sent by God to kill a prophet for believing another prophet's lie
| 1 Kings 13:1-24 | 1
| 383,818
|
| 78
| Jeroboam's son
| 1 Kings 14:17 | 1
| 383,820
|
| 79
| Jeroboam's family
| 1 Kings 15:29 | ?
| 383,820
|
| 80
| Baasha's family and friends
| 1 Kings 16:11-12 | ?
| 383,820
|
| 81
| The first God-assisted slaughter of the Syrians
| 1 Kings 20:20-21 |
| 383,820
|
| 82
| God killed 100,000 Syrians for calling him a God of the hills
| 1 Kings 20:28-29 | 100,000
| 483,820
|
| 83
| God makes a wall fall on Syrian soldiers
| 1 Kings 20:30 | 27,000
| 510,820
|
| 84
| God sent a lion to kill a man for not smiting a prophet
| 1 Kings 20:35-36 | 1
| 510,821
|
| 85
| Ahab for not killing a captured king
| 1 Kings 20:42, 22:35
| 1
| 510,822
|
| 86
| 51 men are burned to death by God for asking Elijah to come down from his hill
| 2 Kings 1:10 | 51
| 510,873
|
| 87
| Another 51 men are burned to death by God for asking Elijah to come down from his hill
| 2 Kings 1:12 | 51
| 510,924
|
| 88
| Ahaziah is killed for asking the wrong god
| 2 Kings 1:2-4, 17; 2 Chronicles 22:7-9 | 1
| 510,925
|
| 89
| God sent two bears to kill 42 children for making fun of Elisha's bald head
| 2 Kings 2:23-24 | 42
| 510,967
|
| 90
| God delivers the Moabites
| 2 Kings 3:18-25
| ?
| 510,967
|
| 91
| God calls for a seven year famine.
| 2 Kings 8:1
| ?
| 510,967
|
| 92
| Jehoram of Israel
| 2 Kings 9:24
| 1
| 510,968
|
| 93
| Jezebel
| 2 Kings 9:33-37
| 1
| 510,969
|
| 94
| Ahab's 70 sons
| 2 Kings 10:6-10
| 70
| 511,039
|
| 95
| Ahab's hometown family and friends
| 2 Kings 10:11
| ?
| 511,039
|
| 96
| Ahab's family in Samaria
| 2 Kings 10:17
| ?
| 511,039
|
| 97
| God sent lions to kill "some" foreigners for not fearing him enough
| 2 Kings 17:25-26
| ?
| 511,039
|
| 98
| Sleeping Assyrian soldiers
| 2 Kings 19:35; Isaiah 37:36
| 185,000
| 696,039
|
| 99
| God caused Sennacherib to be killed by his sons
| 2 Kings 19:37
| 1
| 696,040
|
| 100
| Just another holy war
| 1 Chronicles 5:18-22
| ?
| 696,040
|
| 101
| God killed a half million Israelite soldiers
| 2 Chronicles 13:15-17
| 500,000
| 1,196,040
|
| 102
| Jeroboam
| 2 Chronicles 13:20
| 1
| 1,196,041
|
| 103
| The Lord smote the Ethiopians.
| 2 Chronicles 14:9-14
| 1,000,000
| 2,196,041
|
| 104
| Everyone helped to destroy each other
| 2 Chronicles 20:22-25
| ?
| 2,196,041
|
| 105
| God kills Jehoram of Judah by making his bowels fall out
| 2 Chronicles 21:14-19
| 1
| 2,196,042
|
| 106
| God kills Jehoram's sons
| 2 Chronicles 22:1
| ?
| 2,196,042
|
| 107
| Joash, the princes of Judah, and the Judean army
| 2 Chronicles 24:20-25
| ?
| 2,196,042
|
| 108
| God destroys Amaziah
| 2 Chronicles 25:20-22
| ?
| 2,196,042
|
| 109
| God delivered Ahaz into the hand of the king of Syria
| 2 Chronicles 28:5
| ?
| 2,196,042
|
| 110
| 120,000 soldiers killed for forsaking God
| 2 Chronicles 28:6
| 120,000
| 2,316,042
|
| 111
| God delivered the Israelites into the hand of the Chaldeans.
| 2 Chronicles 36:16-17
| ?
| 2,316,042
|
| 112
| God and Satan kill Job's children and servants
| Job 1:1-19
| 10
| 2,316,052
|
| 113
| Ezekiel's wife
| Ezekiel 24:15-18
| 1
| 2,316,053
|
| 114
| Ananias and Sapphira
| Acts 5:1-10
| 2
| 2,316,055
|
| 115
| Herod
| Acts 12:23
| 1
| 2,316,056
|
| 116
| Jesus
| Eph 5:2,
Heb 10:10,
1 Pet 1:19-20,
Rev 13:8
| 1
| 2,316,057
|
20 comments:
Steve, this is some of the most excellent research on the topic I've come across in a long time! How, I've often wondered, can this kind of scholarship not be more readily available after more than 2000 years of playing around with these stories? Surely you're not the first to do this, but I can scarcely find anything like it at Amazon.com etc. Keep up the good work.
So with those numbers, I would be curious to see how god stacks up in a top 10 list with Hitler, Genghis Khan, Stalin, Chairman Mao, etc... I would guess he is close to the top of the list.
Actually, in the broader sense, every human being were killed by their own sins, and can this be accredited to God's punishment too?
Outstanding work. The fact that these killings are only those actually numbered in the Bible is chilling. I don't understand how Christains and Jews can claim that Islam is the violent religioin.
Pharaoh and 600 Captains (plus entire army)...that should be 601 confirmed.
Which translation are you using? I have Luther's here and Numeri (Numbers) 16:49 is just not in there. Numeri 16 ends with the 250 men burned alive by Yahweh Hitler's uber awsome crazyness at Numeri 16:35.
Is this a mistake here?
In case I'm wrong, can s.b. help me find it?
Technically, we could say that God has killed everyone who has died since earth was created. God told Adam and Eve while in the Garden of Eden to be fruitful and multiply, which they did not, but eventually they would have. When Eve ate the forbidden fruit all creatures (not just humans, I don't find it fair to disregard the animals), whether born yet or not, eres given mortality. Had Eve not of eaten the forbidden fruit, we would all be living in Eden today, with immortality. Therefore, the inventor of death has taken all of the deaths that have occurred since. This should shoot the ending total up a little more, probably impossible to say how many people have lived and died since that time.
Wow! Great site. That was exactly the info I was looking for. You are added to favorites :-)
I was surprised to find no reference to witch hunts, approx 9 million victims. Perhaps I haven't looked closely enough yet.
doubleroo, are you saying you can't find anything about witch hunts in the Bible or in the list? either way, there are no "9 million victim" witch hunts in the Bible. if you're referring to the witch hunts in the middle ages, that has nothing to do with God ordering that to happen. it's an entirely different situation started by the roman catholic church, which is a separate part from God altogether. what they did was murder and propaganda against, at the time, modernizing of healing practices. as for the other "killings" God puts justice on the people that have gone against Him. what would you do if you were God in the same position?
these people have brought it on themselves, and the fact that He hasn't taken justice on the whole world is just an act of grace.
lucky for you. and for us all that we have a graceful and merciful God who cares for us, even when we reject Him.
Daniel,
"...if you're referring to the witch hunts in the middle ages, that has nothing to do with God ordering that to happen."
Really? I guess you haven't read Exodus 22:18. The Catholic church was just following God's order: "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." (And the Protestants didn't ignore God's "graceful and merciful" command in Exodus 22:18 either.)
God and his son must be chompin' at the bit for the Apocalypse - BILLIONS more to murder! Satan better pick up the pace if he wants to be a true contender.
(This site is the best - we appreciate the incredibly diligent research and esp. how it's presented.)
This article is EXCELLENT. Great job.
The numbered list is shorter than it should be.
Joshua 12:9-24 lists the 31 kings killed individually. You mentioned Jericho and Ai individually, but grouped the other 29.
Instead of #37 (7 kings), why not call that #37-#43? And instead of #38 (22 kings), call that #44-#65?
Thanks for the suggestion, K.
And you're right. The list could be a lot longer. But since God is a mass murderer, I'm trying to group the killings into killing events as described in the Bible. So if the Bible lumps a bunch of killings into one killing event, I do too.
I don't want the list to become so long that no one even tries to read it.
I do not understand...we are leaving in a time where the average person is educated enough to know that the Bible was written by writers long ago who looked at the world differently compared to how we see it now. Their writings are their own accounts of what happened, hence there is sure to be some untruth in certain parts. The collective works form the Bible, people read and interpret accordingly depending on faith. Christianity has its own black past, but it does not mean that the 'son be hanged for the father's crimes'. Christianity, the faith practiced today, is not a violent and militant faith. People tend to claim certain events as God's doing, maybe even those in the Bible. God may or may not have killed people, but He surely is not a murderer. Evil resides in this world of ours. We dwell with the devils and the angels, that is true. To doubt the existence of either, is to doubt the existence of God.
I do not understand...we are leaving in a time where the average person is educated enough to know that the Bible was written by writers long ago who looked at the world differently compared to how we see it now. Their writings are their own accounts of what happened, hence there is sure to be some untruth in certain parts. The collective works form the Bible, people read and interpret accordingly depending on faith. Christianity has its own black past, but it does not mean that the 'son be hanged for the father's crimes'. Christianity, the faith practiced today, is not a violent and militant faith. People tend to claim certain events as God's doing, maybe even those in the Bible. God may or may not have killed people, but He surely is not a murderer. Evil resides in this world of ours. We dwell with the devils and the angels, that is true. To doubt the existence of either, is to doubt the existence of God.
Ever thought about this one? God=died one time, Satan=died not once
or this one:
God=created everyone, Satan=created no one?
There seems to be a lot of people in the world who don't believe in God, yet seem pretty angry with him at the same time. If you don't believe in God, don't be angry with someone you don't believe in.
However, if you believe in the God of the bible, you have to accept that He's perfect in every way and any judgement made and any death caused from God's judgement is a result of his infinite wisdom and understanding. God's understanding is beyond our understanding and reasonings. To blame God and accuse God is to say that we know better than God. We are the created, not the Creator.
From Romans chapter 9 - 20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?
It's also interesting to consider how so many people seem happy to blame God for death, yet less inclined to thank Him for the amazing life He's given to the billions of people on earth. Equally interesting how often non believing parents will say at the birth of thier child - what an miricle! Well, they're right, but the denial of the Creator still continues.
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