Retired AF Guy
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You are probably thinking of the Fall of Jericho where it was commanded that everyone were to be slaughtered including owen, sheep and donkeys. The only people spared was Rahab and her family because they had previously sheltered two Jewish spies.I believe there was a lot of that in the Torah. If I recall from the Book of Joshua, it also involved oxen, sheep and asses somehow.
And while ancient Jericho actually existed, there is no archeological evidence to support the story in the Book of Joshua. Modern historians consider the story an invention by later Kings of Judea.
However, in real life the ancient Jews could be quite vengeful and willing to kill anyone (man, women or child) that they perceived as being an enemy. A good example is the Second Jewish Revolt (or Kitos War) of 117 CE during the reign of the Emperor Trajan.
The revolt started in the Roman Province of Cyrenica (modern day Libya) and spread to Alexandria (Egypt) and Cyprus. During the revolt the Jews killed every Greco-Roman citizen they could find. For example, it was said that in Cyprus alone 240,00 Greco-Roman citizens were slaughtered, but this may have been an exaggeration on the part of Roman historians.
And of course the Romans got pissed-off and put down the rebellion, in turn killing or enslaving every Jew they found. The result was the province of Cyrenaica was pretty well depopulated and had to be resettled in later years by Hadrian.
The First Revolt was in 66 CE and the Third Revolt was in 132 CE in case anyone was wondering.
Thus endth todays history lesson.