Joshua6

Joshua 6 details the miraculous capture of Jericho by the Israelites. Following divine instructions, they marched around the city once daily for six days, with priests blowing trumpets before the Ark of the Covenant. On the seventh day, after seven circuits and a great shout from the people, Jericho's walls collapsed, allowing Israel to conquer the city and utterly destroy its inhabitants, sparing only Rahab and her household.
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God Commands the Siege of Jericho

1
Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. ​
2
And the LORD said to Joshua, “Behold, I have delivered Jericho into your hand, along with its king and its mighty men of valor. ​
3
March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days.
4
Have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark. Then on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the horns. ​
5
And when there is a long blast of the ram’s horn and you hear its sound, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the wall of the city will collapse and all your people will charge straight into the city.” ​

Obedience and the Daily March

6
So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark of the LORD.”
7
And he told the people, “Advance and march around the city, with the armed troops going ahead of the ark of the LORD.”
8
After Joshua had spoken to the people, seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns before the LORD advanced and blew the horns, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them.
9
While the horns continued to sound, the armed troops marched ahead of the priests who blew the horns, and the rear guard followed the ark. ​
10
But Joshua had commanded the people: “Do not give a battle cry or let your voice be heard; do not let one word come out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout. Then you are to shout!” ​
11
So he had the ark of the LORD carried around the city, circling it once. And the people returned to the camp and spent the night there.
12
Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests took the ark of the LORD.
13
And the seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns kept marching ahead of the ark of the LORD and blowing the horns. The armed troops went in front of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the LORD, while the horns kept sounding.
14
So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days. ​

The Walls Fall and the City Is Destroyed

15
Then on the seventh day, they got up at dawn and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. That was the only day they circled the city seven times. ​
16
After the seventh time around, the priests blew the horns, and Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! ​
17
Now the city and everything in it must be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all those with her in her house will live, because she hid the spies we sent. ​
18
But keep away from the things devoted to destruction, lest you yourself be set apart for destruction. If you take any of these, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and bring disaster upon it. ​
19
For all the silver and gold and all the articles of bronze and iron are holy to the LORD; they must go into His treasury.” ​
20
So when the rams’ horns sounded, the people shouted. When they heard the blast of the horn, the people gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed. Then all the people charged straight into the city and captured it. ​
21
At the edge of the sword they devoted to destruction everything in the city—man and woman, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys. ​

Rahab and Her Family Are Saved

22
Meanwhile, Joshua told the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the house of the prostitute and bring out the woman and all who are with her, just as you promised her.”
23
So the young spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and settled them outside the camp of Israel. ​
24
Then the Israelites burned up the city and everything in it. However, they put the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD’s house.
25
And Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her father’s household and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent to spy out Jericho. So she has lived among the Israelites to this day. ​

Joshua's Curse and Fame

26
At that time Joshua invoked this solemn oath: “Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho; at the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.” ​
27
So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land. ​

Study Notes for Joshua 6

Verse 1

Jericho, the first city encountered west of the Jordan, was highly fortified. The phrase 'straitly shut up' emphasizes the impossibility of Israel taking the city through conventional military means, setting the stage for a divine miracle.

Verse 2

The Lord speaks in the perfect tense: 'I have given.' The victory is presented as a completed action, emphasizing that the battle is God's, and the subsequent actions of Israel are ritual obedience rather than military strategy.

Verse 4

The number seven dominates this plan (seven priests, seven trumpets, seven days, seven circuits). This number often signifies completion, perfection, or holiness, underscoring the sacred nature of this ritualized warfare. The trumpets (shofarot) were ram's horns used both for religious festivals and war alarms.

Verse 5

The walls 'fall down flat' (Hebrew: *tahteyha*). This implies the walls collapsed straight down into their foundations, creating a ramp for the attackers to ascend, validating the instructions to ascend 'straight before him.'

Verse 9

The marching formation placed the Ark of the Covenant—the symbol of God’s presence—at the center, flanked by armed men (protection) and the priests blowing the trumpets (signaling divine action). This procession was more theological than tactical.

Verse 10

The enforced silence was crucial. It prevented Israel from claiming the victory through human strength or psychological warfare, ensuring that the miraculous collapse would be attributed solely to the power of the LORD.

Verse 14

The daily routine emphasizes the importance of sustained, patient obedience to God’s specific, unusual instructions, even when they seem repetitive or ineffective.

Verse 15

The seventh day required an extraordinary effort, marching seven times—a final, climactic act of faith and perseverance before the divine intervention.

Verse 16

The shout is not a battle cry meant to scare the enemy, but an act of faith and praise, signifying that God has fulfilled His promise and delivered the city.

Verse 17

The city is declared *herem* ('accursed' or 'devoted to destruction'). This dedication meant that everything in the city was to be destroyed or consecrated to God, preventing Israel from profiting from the conquest of this first fruit of the land.

Verse 18

This warning against taking the accursed thing acts as a theological preparation for the events of Chapter 7 (Achan’s sin), where disobedience to the *herem* results in disastrous consequences for the entire community.

Verse 19

Precious metals and durable vessels were exceptions to the destruction, consecrated to the LORD's treasury. They were too valuable to be destroyed but were also forbidden for personal use, acknowledging God’s sovereignty over all material wealth.

Verse 20

The immediate and complete collapse confirms that the victory was achieved not by the sound of the trumpets or the volume of the shout, but by the power of God responding to Israel's obedience.

Verse 21

The total destruction of life and livestock fulfills the command of *herem*, removing the spiritual and cultural contamination of the Canaanite population before Israel settled the land.

Verse 23

Rahab and her family are brought out but initially left 'without the camp.' This temporary exclusion suggests a period of ritual cleansing and assimilation before being fully integrated into the community of Israel.

Verse 25

Rahab’s salvation is highlighted as a reward for her faith and loyalty to the Israelite God (see Hebrews 11:31). She later became an ancestress of King David and, ultimately, of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5).

Verse 26

This solemn curse symbolically dedicates Jericho to perpetual ruin. The curse of losing the oldest son at the foundation and the youngest son at the setting of the gates was literally fulfilled centuries later by Hiel the Bethelite (1 Kings 16:34).

Verse 27

The chapter concludes by linking Joshua’s success and growing reputation directly to the presence of the LORD, affirming that national success is dependent upon divine partnership.

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