Joshua7

After the victory at Jericho, Israel suffered a defeat at Ai, causing Joshua great distress. The LORD revealed that this setback was due to a trespass: Achan had secretly taken accursed spoils from Jericho, violating God's command. Following divine instruction, Achan was identified and confessed his sin. He was subsequently stoned and burned with his family and possessions in the Valley of Achor, thus appeasing the LORD's anger.

Achan's Sin and Defeat at Ai

1
But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the devoted things; for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. Therefore the LORD’s anger burned against the children of Israel. ​
2
Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the land.” The men went up and spied out Ai. ​
3
They returned to Joshua, and said to him, “Don’t let all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and strike Ai. Don’t make all the people to toil there, for there are only a few of them.” ​
4
So about three thousand men of the people went up there, and they fled before the men of Ai.
5
The men of Ai struck about thirty-six men of them, and they chased them from before the gate even to Shebarim, and struck them at the descent. The hearts of the people melted, and became like water. ​

Joshua's Lament and Intercession

6
Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the LORD’s ark until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. ​
7
Joshua said, “Alas, Lord GOD, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to cause us to perish? I wish that we had been content and lived beyond the Jordan! ​
8
Oh, Lord, what shall I say, after that Israel has turned their backs before their enemies!
9
For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and will surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. What will you do for your great name?” ​

God Reveals the Sin and Commands Action

10
The LORD said to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you fallen on your face like that? ​
11
Israel has sinned. Yes, they have even transgressed my covenant which I commanded them. Yes, they have even taken of the devoted things, and have also stolen, and also deceived. They have even put it among their own stuff. ​
12
Therefore the children of Israel can’t stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will not be with you any more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. ​
13
“Get up! Sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, for the LORD, the God of Israel, says, “There is a devoted thing in your midst, Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted thing from among you.” ​
14
“‘In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes. It shall be that the tribe which the LORD selects shall come near by families. The family which the LORD selects shall come near by households. The household which the LORD selects shall come near man by man. ​
15
It shall be, that he who is taken with the devoted thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done a disgraceful thing in Israel.’” ​

The Identification and Confession of Achan

16
So Joshua rose up early in the morning and brought Israel near by their tribes. The tribe of Judah was selected.
17
He brought near the family of Judah; and he selected the family of the Zerahites. He brought near the family of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was selected.
18
He brought near his household man by man, and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was selected.
19
Joshua said to Achan, “My son, please give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make confession to him. Tell me now what you have done! Don’t hide it from me!” ​
20
Achan answered Joshua, and said, “I have truly sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel, and this is what I have done.
21
When I saw among the plunder a beautiful Babylonian robe, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, then I coveted them and took them. Behold, they are hidden in the ground in the middle of my tent, with the silver under it.” ​
22
So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent. Behold, it was hidden in his tent, with the silver under it.
23
They took them from the middle of the tent, and brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel. They laid them down before the LORD.
24
Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his cattle, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had; and they brought them up to the valley of Achor. ​
25
Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? the LORD will trouble you this day.” All Israel stoned him with stones, and they burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. ​
26
They raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. The LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Therefore the name of that place was called “The valley of Achor” to this day. ​

Study Notes for Joshua 7

Verse 1

The term 'accursed thing' (Hebrew: *ḥērem*) refers to the spoils of Jericho that were devoted entirely to God for destruction or placement in the sanctuary treasury. Achan’s transgression constituted a covenant violation and theft from God, resulting in corporate guilt for the whole community.

Verse 2

Ai was a small but strategically important city about ten miles northwest of Jericho. The initial plan was to test the defenses of Ai before committing the full army.

Verse 3

The scouts’ advice, based purely on human assessment of Ai's size, reflects overconfidence. They failed to recognize that success depended entirely on God’s presence, which had been withdrawn due to Achan’s sin.

Verse 5

The loss of thirty-six men was devastating, not just militarily, but psychologically. The phrase 'hearts... melted, and became as water' indicates deep fear, mirroring the despair the Canaanites felt toward Israel (Josh 2:11) and highlighting the reversal of Israel's spiritual advantage.

Verse 6

Rending clothes, falling before the Ark, and placing dust on the head were traditional signs of profound mourning, humiliation, and desperate intercession, indicating Joshua understood the defeat as a spiritual catastrophe.

Verse 7

Joshua’s lament, common in biblical prayer, questions God’s purpose in bringing them across the Jordan only to suffer defeat. He is struggling to reconcile God's promise of victory with the reality of failure.

Verse 9

Joshua appeals to God's 'great name,' arguing that Israel's destruction would dishonor the Lord among the surrounding nations. This echoes Moses' theological argument that God must preserve Israel for the sake of His own reputation.

Verse 10

God abruptly halts Joshua's lament, indicating that the time for mourning is over and the time for action and purification has begun. The defeat was not a failure of God's power but a violation of His covenant.

Verse 11

God diagnoses the problem as communal guilt resulting from individual transgression. Achan sinned three ways: he took the accursed thing, he stole, and he dissembled (lied) by hiding it secretly among his own property.

Verse 12

Israel could not stand because they themselves had become 'accursed' (*ḥērem*) by harboring the forbidden thing. God’s presence, which guaranteed victory, was contingent upon Israel’s holiness and obedience.

Verse 13

The command to 'sanctify yourselves' requires ritual cleansing and spiritual preparation, emphasizing that the people must be holy to properly execute God's judgment and remove the defilement.

Verse 14

The process of identification moves systematically from the general to the specific (tribe, family, household, man). This public, methodical selection confirmed that the culprit was identified by divine, authoritative means.

Verse 15

The phrase 'wrought folly in Israel' refers to a severe, public moral offense that undermines the community’s integrity. The prescribed punishment of burning signifies the complete removal of the defilement from the camp.

Verse 19

Joshua urges Achan to 'give glory to the LORD' by confessing his sin before judgment is executed. A full, truthful confession acknowledges God's omniscience and justice (cf. 1 Sam 6:5).

Verse 21

Achan’s confession reveals that his sin began with covetousness ('When I saw... then I coveted them'). The items—a rich Babylonian garment, silver, and gold—represented high material value, prioritizing personal gain over covenant obedience.

Verse 24

Achan's entire household and possessions were included in the judgment. This reflects the ancient principle of corporate solidarity in cases of severe covenant violation, where the family shared responsibility for the actions of its head.

Verse 25

Joshua uses wordplay: Achan (which sounds like the Hebrew root *‘akar*) means 'troubler.' Achan troubled Israel through his sin, and now the LORD troubles him through judgment. Stoning was the common method of execution for high offenses, followed by burning to signify purification.

Verse 26

The heap of stones served as a permanent memorial and warning. The name 'Valley of Achor' (Valley of Trouble) memorializes the consequence of disobedience, confirming that the judgment satisfied divine justice and restored God's relationship with Israel.

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