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Joshua 6

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God Commands the Siege of Jericho 1–5

1
Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. ​
2
And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. ​
3
And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.
4
And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. ​
5
And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him. ​

Obedience and the Daily March 6–14

6
And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD.
7
And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD.
8
And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them.
9
And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. ​
10
And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. ​
11
So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.
12
And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD.
13
And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.
14
And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. ​

The Walls Fall and the City Is Destroyed 15–21

15
And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. ​
16
And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city. ​
17
And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. ​
18
And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. ​
19
But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD. ​
20
So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. ​
21
And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. ​

Rahab and Her Family Are Saved 22–25

22
But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her.
23
And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel. ​
24
And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.
25
And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. ​

Joshua's Curse and Fame 26–27

26
And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. ​
27
So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Joshua 6

Verse 1

straitly shut up — The Hebrew doubles the verb sagar: Jericho was shutting itself and was shut. Its gate had been shut at dark in 2:5, 7 while the spies were hidden. Rahab had told them the inhabitants 'faint because of you' and that 'your terror is fallen upon us' (2:9).

Verse 2

I have given — Natan in the perfect: the city is already given before any trumpet sounds. Joshua repeats the word at the shout, 'the LORD hath given you the city' (v.16). The spies had reported the same (2:24), and Deut 7:24 had promised, 'he shall deliver their kings into thine hand'.

Verse 4

seven trumpets of rams' horns — Seven priests, seven trumpets, and on the seventh day seven circuits. 'Rams' horns' is yovel, the word that names the jubile (Lev 25:10), set beside shophar, the trumpet; the priests bear them 'before the ark'.

Verse 5

the wall of the city shall fall down flat — Tachtehah, 'under itself': the wall falls where it stands, so that the people can go up 'every man straight before him'. The 'great shout' is teruah, the shout raised with trumpets. Heb 11:30 says, 'By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.'

Verse 9

the rereward — Asaph, to gather: the rear guard that gathers up the column, as Dan's camp was 'the rereward of all the camps' (Num 10:25). The ark is in the middle of the order, with armed men ahead and behind. 'The God of Israel' is the 'rereward' of his people in Isa 52:12, and 'the glory of the LORD' in Isa 58:8.

Verse 10

Ye shall not shout — The people are to keep silence until Joshua bids them. The Red Sea had the same command, 'ye shall hold your peace' (Ex 14:14), and in Jehoshaphat's day 'ye shall not need to fight in this battle… stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD' (2 Chr 20:17).

Verse 14

they compassed the city once — The order of v.3 is kept: once a day for 'six days', the ark with them, and each day back to the camp (v.11). The sameness is what the text records; no sign is added until the seventh day.

Verse 15

rose early about the dawning of the day — Shakam, to rise early, with shachar, dawn. 'After the same manner' is mishpat, the same ordinance as before, but seven times round. 'Only on that day' marks the one difference from the six days before.

Verse 16

Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city — Rua, the verb of the shout in v.5. Joshua's reason is the perfect of v.2, 'hath given': the shout answers a gift already made. In Jehoshaphat's battle the LORD acted 'when they began to sing and to praise' (2 Chr 20:22).

Verse 17

shall be accursed — Cherem, a thing devoted to the LORD, which is then given over; the verb charam is that of 'utterly destroy' in Deut 20:17. The only exception is 'Rahab the harlot', spared 'because she hid the messengers'. James 2:25 and Heb 11:31 name her; Matt 1:5 lists her in the line of Christ.

Verse 18

make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it — 'Trouble' is akar, the root of the name of the valley of Achor after Achan took of the devoted things (Josh 7:25–26: 'Why hast thou troubled us?… The valley of Achor'). 1 Chr 2:7 calls him Achar, 'the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing accursed'.

Verse 19

they shall come into the treasury of the LORD — The silver, gold and vessels of brass and iron are not destroyed but 'consecrated' (qodesh, holy) and put in the otsar, the treasury, as the 'dedicated things' of the sanctuary later (1 Chr 26:20; 1 Kings 7:51). Achan took silver and gold from these (7:21).

Verse 20

the wall fell down flat — The command of v.5 is carried out in its own words: the shout, the 'great shout', the wall falls, 'every man straight before him'. No tool or siege is named. Heb 11:30 gives the cause: 'By faith the walls of Jericho fell down'.

Verse 21

utterly destroyed — Charam, the verb of Deut 20:17, which commanded it for these nations, 'that they teach you not to do after all their abominations… so should ye sin against the LORD' (Deut 20:18). The delay was foretold: 'the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full' (Gen 15:16).

Verse 23

brought out Rahab — The spies keep their word, 'Our life for yours' (2:14), and gather the father, mother, brethren and 'all that she had' as the scarlet line required (2:18). They are left 'without the camp of Israel', and v.25 says that she 'dwelleth in Israel even unto this day'.

Verse 25

she dwelleth in Israel — Qereb, in the midst. The reason given is the one in v.17: 'because she hid the messengers'. Hebrews counts it faith: 'the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace' (Heb 11:31).

Verse 26

Cursed be the man — 'Adjured' is shaba, to bind by an oath. The curse is carried out in 1 Kings 16:34: Hiel 'laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Joshua'.

Verse 27

the LORD was with Joshua — This is the promise of 1:5, 'as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee'. 'Fame' is shema, report. It travels: Gibeon 'heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai' (9:3), and its envoys spoke of 'the fame' of the LORD (9:9), the same word.