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.

God Commands the Siege of Jericho

1
Yericho had completely barricaded its gates against the people of Isra'el - no one left, and no one entered. ​
2
ADONAI said to Y'hoshua, "I have handed Yericho over to you, including its king and his warriors. ​
3
You are to encircle the city with all your soldiers and march around it once. Do this for six days.
4
Seven cohanim are to carry seven shofars in front of the ark. On the seventh day you are to march around the city seven times, and the cohanim will blow the shofars. ​
5
Then they are to blow a long blast on the shofar. On hearing the sound of the shofar, all the people are to shout as loudly as they can; and the wall of the city will fall down flat. Then the people are to go up into the city, each one straight from where he stands." ​

Obedience and the Daily March

6
Y'hoshua the son of Nun called the cohanim and told them, "Take up the ark for the covenant, and have seven cohanim carry seven shofars ahead of the ark of ADONAI."
7
To the people he said, "Move on, encircle the city, and have the army march ahead of the ark of ADONAI."
8
When Y'hoshua had spoken to the people, the seven cohanim carrying the seven shofars before ADONAI passed on and blew on the shofars, with the ark for the covenant of ADONAI following them.
9
The fighting men went ahead of the cohanim blowing the shofars, while the rearguard marched after the ark, with incessant blowing on the shofars. ​
10
Y'hoshua gave this order to the people: "Don't shout, don't let your voice be heard, don't let a single word out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout; then you will shout." ​
11
So he had the ark of ADONAI make a circle around the city, going around it once; then they returned to camp and stayed in the camp.
12
The next morning Y'hoshua got up early, and the cohanim took up the ark of ADONAI.
13
The seven cohanim carrying the seven shofars ahead of the ark of ADONAI went on, continually blowing on their shofars, with the fighting men marching ahead of them and the rearguard following after the ark of ADONAI; all the while the blowing on the shofars was incessant.
14
The second day, they went around the city once and returned to camp. They did the same for six days. ​

The Walls Fall and the City Is Destroyed

15
On the seventh day, they got up early, at sunrise, and went around the city in the same way seven times. That was the only day they encircled the city seven times. ​
16
The seventh time, when the cohanim blew on their shofars, Y'hoshua said to the people, "Shout! because ADONAI has given you the city! ​
17
But the city and everything in it is to be set aside for ADONAI and therefore to be destroyed completely; only Rachav the prostitute is to be spared, she and everyone with her in her house, because she hid the messengers we sent. ​
18
So you, keep clear of everything reserved for destruction. If you bring a curse on yourselves by taking anything set aside to be destroyed, you will bring a curse on the whole camp of Isra'el and cause great distress there. ​
19
All the silver and gold, and all the brass and iron utensils are to be separated out for ADONAI and added to the treasury of ADONAI." ​
20
So the people shouted, with the shofars blowing. When the people heard the sound of the shofars, the people let out a great shout; and the wall fell down flat; so that the people went up into the city, each one straight ahead of him; and they captured the city. ​
21
They completely destroyed everything in the city with the sword - men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys. ​

Rahab and Her Family Are Saved

22
Y'hoshua said to the two men who had reconnoitered the land, "Go into the prostitute's house and bring the woman out with all that she has, as you swore to her."
23
The young men, the spies, went in and brought out Rachav with her father, mother, brothers and all she had; they brought out all her relatives and put them safely outside the camp of Isra'el. ​
24
Then they burned the city to ashes with everything in it, except for the silver, the gold and the brass and iron utensils, which they put in the treasury of the house of ADONAI.
25
But Y'hoshua spared Rachav the prostitute, her father's household and everything she had; and she has continued living with Isra'el from then until now; because she hid the messengers Y'hoshua had sent to reconnoiter Yericho. ​

Joshua's Curse and Fame

26
Y'hoshua then made the people take this oath: "A curse before ADONAI on anyone who rises up and rebuilds this city of Yericho: he will lay its foundation with the loss of his firstborn son and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son." ​
27
So ADONAI was with Y'hoshua, and people heard about him 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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