There are plenty of examples in the Bible of 'genocidal thought' or themes. In Deuteronomy 20:17 - "But thou shalt utterly destroy them - the hittites, amorites, canaanites, perizzites, hivites and jeusites - as the lord your god has commanded you', how much we use the Bible as an accurate historical source is of a different question. The point is that these instances of massive and thorough violence against 'othered' groups, be they ethnic or religious is a fairly common theme throughout history.

Concrete evidence of instances of what could be considered a genocide in the ancient world, according to Ben Kiernan in Blood and Soil, are instances of mass violence such as the elimination of the people of Melos and the destruction of Carthage at the end of the Third Punic War.

From Blood and Soil (pg 51) 'Of Carthage's population of 200,000 to 400,000, at least 145,000 had perished, and Scipio dispersed into slavery all 55,000 survivors, including 25,000 women. "The Senate sent ten of the noblest of their own number as deputies to arrange the affairs of Africa", Appian wrote. "These men decreed that if anything was still left of Carthage, Scipio should raze it to the ground, and that nobody should be allowed to live there".

Kiernan contends that Cato was the primary force behind the destruction of Carthage.

(edited to correct that Kiernan doesn't suggest Carthage was the first recorded genocide)

Absolutely. Seeing as this is quite an academic subreddit it is good to remain correct. Modern Historians will only use the the term genocide post Holocaust.

Apologies if I came across a little harsh. Also, your argument is solid! Great stuff!