Bible Commentaries
Joshua 6

Verses 1-27

Israel Destroys Jericho Joshua 6:1-27 records the account of Israel’s destruction of Jericho.

Joshua 6:4 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.

Joshua 6:4 Comments - The children of Israel would have to break the Sabbath rest in order to obey this commandment.

Joshua 6:4 Scripture References - Note:

Numbers 10:9, “And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.”

Joshua 6:19 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.

Joshua 6:19 Comments - Note that Achan’s disobedience violated this commandment of consecrated items unto the Lord (Joshua 7:11; Joshua 7:21).

Joshua 7:11, “Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.”

Joshua 7:21, “When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.”

Note Moses’ commandment on this issue:

Deuteronomy 7:26, “Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.”

Joshua 6:17-19 Comments The Firstfruit Offering - God required the firstfruit of the land in order that He could bless the land. Therefore, this first city belonged to the Lord, with everything in it. Later, God allowed them to take the spoil of all other cities, but not this first one. Also note that in Joshua 8:2 God let them have the spoil.

Joshua 8:2, “And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it. “

The city of Jericho was fed by a spring that watered a lush and beautiful valley. This beautiful city and its surrounding would have been a delight for the children of Israel to possess, but it was dedicated to the Lord as a type of first fruits offering.

Joshua 6:20 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.

Joshua 6:20 “that the wall fell down flat” - Comments - Note that Rahab's house was on the town wall (Joshua 2:15); yet her house was not destroyed when the walls fell.

Joshua 2:15, “Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.”

Joshua 6:23 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.

Joshua 6:23 “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” - Comments - Rahab's family had to put their faith in Rahab's words. These words were a testimony of her faith in the Lord. Her family remained in the house and were saved because of their faith in these words. This story is similar to Noah's ark and to the killing of the firstborn in Egypt during the first Passover.

Joshua 6:23 “and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel” Comments - Rachab and her family were initially placed outside the camp of Israel because they were unclean Gentiles. This was a practice instituted by the Mosaic Law for anyone that was unclean (Leviticus 13:46; Leviticus 14:1-32, Numbers 12:14, Deuteronomy 23:3). This may have been an issue of hygiene, such as with leprosy or childbirth. The camp of Israel was also considered a holy place where the Lord dwelt (Deuteronomy 23:14). They were later allowed into the camp and lived with the Israelites (Joshua 6:25).

Deuteronomy 23:3, “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever:”

Deuteronomy 23:14, “For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.”

Joshua 6:26 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.

Joshua 6:26 “And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying” - Comments - Note in Deuteronomy 13:16-17 that Moses told Joshua and the children of Israel to curse certain cities. So, this is what Joshua did in the case of Jericho.

Deuteronomy 13:16-17, “And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again. And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers.”

Joshua 6:26 “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.” Comments - In construction in Uganda, the gates are placed last. This is because the entrance needs to be open and clear because of the busy traffic that takes place until the building project is nearing completion.

Note the fulfilling of this prophecy in 1 Kings 16:34.

1 Kings 16:34, “In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho : he 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 the son of Nun.”