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The Histories · Old Testament

Joshua 6

Jericho falls and Rahab's household is brought out

General context

The Lord tells Joshua that Jericho is given into his hand and commands an unusual procession. Armed men, seven priests with horns, the ark and the rear guard circle the city once on each of six days. On the seventh they make seven circuits; at Joshua's command the people shout, the wall falls, and they enter the city. The account explicitly describes killing men and women, young and old, as well as livestock. Rahab and the household with her are the stated exception because she hid the spies. The two spies bring her family out and place them outside Israel's camp; the narrator then says she lives in Israel. The city is burned, while silver, gold and metal vessels go to the Lord's treasury. Joshua pronounces a curse on rebuilding it, tied to the builder's firstborn and youngest sons, and his fame spreads.

Cited passages: Joshua 6:1, Joshua 6:2, Joshua 6:3, Joshua 6:4, Joshua 6:5, Joshua 6:6, Joshua 6:7, Joshua 6:8, Joshua 6:9, Joshua 6:10, Joshua 6:11, Joshua 6:12, Joshua 6:13, Joshua 6:14, Joshua 6:15, Joshua 6:16, Joshua 6:17, Joshua 6:18, Joshua 6:19, Joshua 6:20, Joshua 6:21, Joshua 6:22, Joshua 6:23, Joshua 6:24, Joshua 6:25, Joshua 6:26, Joshua 6:27

Joshua 6 (KJV)

1Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.

2And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.

3And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.

4And 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.

5And 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.

6And 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.

7And 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.

8And 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.

9And 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.

10And 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.

11So the ark of the Lord compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.

12And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.

13And 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.

14And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days.

15And 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.

16And 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.

17And 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.

18And 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.

19But 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.

20So 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.

21And 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.

22But 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.

23And 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.

24And 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.

25And 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.

26And 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.

27So the Lord was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The KJV calls the city accursed to the Lord; the ASV calls it devoted, and the BBE describes its curse and dedication. In this chapter that status entails destruction and a prohibition on private taking, with specified metals reserved for the treasury. Rahab's rescue fulfils the oath to the household in Joshua 2; her profession is still named in the rescue account. The text does not describe the engineering of the wall's fall or identify exactly how her house survives. The rebuilding curse is a pronouncement here, not a report of a rebuilding or fulfillment. The initial placement outside the camp and the statement that Rahab dwells in Israel are both retained.

Cited passages: Joshua 6:17, Joshua 6:18, Joshua 6:19, Joshua 6:20, Joshua 6:21, Joshua 6:22, Joshua 6:23, Joshua 6:24, Joshua 6:25, Joshua 6:26, Joshua 2:12, Joshua 2:13, Joshua 2:14, Joshua 2:15, Joshua 2:16, Joshua 2:17, Joshua 2:18, Joshua 2:19, Joshua 2:20

Literary context

Repeated circuits, horns and silence delay the people's shout until the appointed point. The narrative then places the city's destruction beside the keeping of the oath to Rahab. That rescue is specific and does not erase the deaths described around it. The warning against taking devoted goods also gives the victory a restriction: the conquerors do not receive ordinary permission to divide the city's wealth. The closing curse extends the account's concern from taking Jericho to what might later be rebuilt there.

Cited passages: Joshua 6:3, Joshua 6:4, Joshua 6:5, Joshua 6:8, Joshua 6:9, Joshua 6:10, Joshua 6:11, Joshua 6:12, Joshua 6:13, Joshua 6:14, Joshua 6:15, Joshua 6:16, Joshua 6:17, Joshua 6:18, Joshua 6:19, Joshua 6:20, Joshua 6:21, Joshua 6:22, Joshua 6:23, Joshua 6:24, Joshua 6:25, Joshua 6:26

Key moments

  1. Seven circuits on the seventh day (Joshua 6:15). The final day's repeated procession differs from the single circuit of the preceding days.
  2. The shout and the falling wall (Joshua 6:20). The people shout after the horn signal and enter as the wall falls.
  3. The city's inhabitants are killed (Joshua 6:21). The narrator explicitly includes men and women, young and old, in the destruction.
  4. The oath is kept (Joshua 6:23). The same spies bring Rahab and her family out and place them outside the camp.

For reflection

Rahab's household survives through a promise kept amid the city's destruction. How does attending to both the rescue and the surrounding deaths change the way you read this victory account?

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