Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

6:1-2 Jericho is one of the oldest known fortified cities in the ancient Near East, as well as one of the geographically lowest, at about 750 feet (229 m) below sea level. Well supplied with spring water, Jericho was an oasis and was sometimes referred to as the "city of palms" (Judg. 1:16). Throughout its long history of occupation, the actual settled area of Jericho occasionally shifted. OT Jericho is identified with Tell es-Sultan, a mound of about 10 acres. The name "Jericho" (Hb. yerikho) sounds like the Hebrew word "moon" (Hb. yareakh), leading many to the reasonable assumption that Canaanite Jericho may have been a center of moon worship. If so, then the Lord's destruction of Jericho would have suggested victory over the false gods of Canaan (cf. his humiliation of the gods of Egypt at the time of the exodus; see Ex. 12:12; Num. 33:4). On the archaeology of Jericho, see note on Josh. 6:5.

6:3 march around the city. The remarkable instructions given to Joshua suggest a ritual aspect in the taking of Jericho, which underscores the divine agency while also recalling the divine creation in seven days.

6:4 the ark. The visible symbol of the Lord's presence was at the center of the priestly and military personnel as they walked around the city of Jericho. It emphasizes that the conquest of the land of Canaan was first and foremost the Lord's doing. See also v. 8, where the ark is called the "ark of the covenant of the Lord."

6:5 and the wall of the city will fall down flat. Tell es-Sultan (OT Jericho) has had a long history of archaeological excavation. Many aspects of the site seemed to fit the biblical picture: clear evidence of fallen mud brick walls creating ramparts against the outer reinforcing wall, which could have allowed Israelite soldiers to go up, everyone straight before him; evidence of a rapid defeat in springtime; evidence of a lack of plundering; evidence of burning; etc. But the date seemed wrong. The question of dating the ruins of Tell es-Sultan--a site that has, in any case, experienced severe erosion--has recently been reopened. Many archaeologists believe that the fall of Jericho occurred in the thirteenth century b.c. But some analyses of the original excavation reports, including pottery, stratigraphy, scarab data, and carbon 14 testing, have instead concluded that Jericho was destroyed at the end of the Late Bronze period (c. 1400 b.c.).

6:17 devoted to the Lord for destruction. "Devotion to destruction" (Hb. kherem) was not an exclusively biblical practice (cf. the Moabite Stone, where in the earliest instance of the name of Israel's God in an inscription, King Mesha speaks of devoting to destruction the city of Nebo, killing 7,000 men and women and dragging the vessels of Yahweh before Chemosh). Though such total destruction may be offensive to modern sensibilities, the Bible insists that the total destruction of Jericho was commanded by the Lord himself (Deut. 20:16-17), and it gives evidence of God's judgment on the terrible sin of the Canaanites. This order to destroy every living thing was not a license to kill indiscriminately in other warfare, because cities outside the Land of Promise were to be treated differently (Deut. 20:10-15). Rather, it was intended to punish the Canaanites (whose iniquity had become complete; cf. Gen. 15:16) and to protect the Israelites from falling into idolatry and apostasy (Deut. 7:1-6). The extermination of the Canaanites was a special case of divine judgment intruding into a period otherwise characterized by common grace; as such, it provides no pattern for general warfare (ancient or modern) but anticipates the final judgment that will befall all who persist in rebellion against God's gracious overtures. See Introduction: The Destruction of the Canaanites.

6:18 Should Israel prove unfaithful in carrying out the order for total destruction, the camp of Israel itself will become a thing for destruction. Thus, the order (see v. 17) is not an instance of ethnic cleansing but of religious purification. Canaanites such as Rahab (ch. 2) and the Gibeonites (ch. 9), who devote themselves to the Lord, are spared, while Israelites who defy the Lord, such as Achan (ch. 7), themselves become kherem (i.e., devoted to destruction). Nor was sin a private affair; individual actions could jeopardize the entire camp (cf. 7:1).

6:19 Items that could not be destroyed, such as precious metals, were to go into the treasury of the Lord, and in that way be kept separate from common use.

6:20 So the people shouted. Hebrews 11:30 commends the people's faith, for they believed the promise of Josh. 6:2-5, showing their faith by their obedience to the instructions.

6:21 devoted . . . to destruction. See note on 6:17.

6:23 Rahab . . . and all who belonged to her are spared, in keeping with the promise in 2:14, 17-20. Their placement outside the camp of Israel is apparently temporary (cf. 6:25) and likely necessitated by ritual uncleanness (Lev. 13:46).

6:26 Joshua's oath of curse against anyone who should rebuild the city of Jericho underlines the symbolic significance of the first Canaanite city to fall. Jericho represents God's judgment on Canaan, and the continuing presence of its ruins is to serve as a warning to Israel. Any attempt to rebuild and refortify the city, therefore, will suggest defiance of the Lord's rule. For the fulfillment of Joshua's curse, see 1 Kings 16:34.