The big picture
Jericho, the walled city ahead of Israel, has closed its gates in fear. Israel, the people led by Joshua into the promised land, receives unusual instructions for taking it. Priests carry the ark, the sacred chest linked with God's presence, while soldiers march around the walls. Rahab, the woman who sheltered Israel's spies, waits inside with her family. The chapter places her promised rescue within an account of the city's total destruction.
In this chapter
- God Orders a Week of Marching Joshua 6:1-5
Jericho's gates are tightly shut, and no one enters or leaves.
- The Procession Repeats in Silence Joshua 6:6-14
Joshua gives the priests and people their orders.
- Joshua Warns Against Taking Reserved Goods Joshua 6:15-19
On the seventh day the people circle Jericho seven times.
- The City Is Destroyed but Rahab Lives Joshua 6:20-25
The people shout at the horn blast, the wall falls, and the army enters.
- Joshua Places Jericho Under a Curse Joshua 6:26-27
After the city's destruction, Joshua declares a curse on anyone who rebuilds Jericho.
Central truth
Jericho falls through the action God promised, and the destruction of the city includes a carefully kept promise to spare Rahab's household.
Scripture beside the summary
Joshua · King James Version · 27Joshua 6:1-5
God Orders a Week of Marching
Jericho's gates are tightly shut, and no one enters or leaves. God tells Joshua that the city, its king, and its fighting men are already given into his hands. The soldiers must march around it once daily for six days. Seven priests will carry horns before the ark. On the seventh day the army must circle seven times, then respond to a long horn blast with a shout. God says the wall will fall and the men will enter straight ahead. The plan begins with his promise, not a siege assault.
In everyday life
A demolition supervisor gathers workers beside a sealed building and gives them a precise waiting schedule. They are to keep their distance until the final call, then move only along the assigned route. Acting early would break the plan. Jericho's wall falls by God's action, without the tools and charges used in demolition.
Notice
Joshua 6:2 God speaks of the city as already given before the march begins. The instructions rest on that promise rather than explaining a human method of breaking walls.
Joshua 6:1-5
King James Version1Now 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.
Joshua 6:6-14
The Procession Repeats in Silence
Joshua gives the priests and people their orders. Armed men lead, priests with horns go before the ark, and a rear guard follows it. The horns sound, but Joshua forbids the people to shout or speak until he gives permission. They circle the city once and return to camp. Early the next morning the same procession goes out again. For six days they repeat the pattern. The people do not choose when the waiting ends; their spoken response is reserved for the time Joshua names.
In everyday life
The stage manager leads performers through a silent rehearsal along a marked route. Musicians play the agreed notes, while everyone else waits for her final cue. They repeat the walk without adding speeches or rushing the ending. The march around Jericho is obedience to God's command for a city under judgment, not a performance.
Notice
Joshua 6:10 Joshua expressly orders silence even while the horns sound. The people's shout must occur at the commanded moment, not whenever excitement or fear takes over.
Joshua 6:6-14
King James Version6And 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.
Joshua 6:15-19
Joshua Warns Against Taking Reserved Goods
On the seventh day the people circle Jericho seven times. At the final horn blast, Joshua tells them to shout because God has given them the city. Everything in it is set apart for destruction, except Rahab and those in her house because she hid the spies. The people must not take goods for themselves, or they will bring trouble on Israel's camp. Silver, gold, brass, and iron belong in God's treasury. The coming victory does not give individual soldiers an unrestricted right to enrich themselves.
In everyday life
A disaster recovery worker reaches for a valuable watch among items tagged for families of the missing. Her supervisor stops her and points to the ownership record. Access to the damaged site gives no personal claim on what lies there. Jericho's goods are subject to God's command of destruction or dedication, not a lost-property policy.
Notice
Joshua 6:18 The warning connects one person's taking with danger for the whole camp. The boundary around the goods is a shared obligation, not a private preference.
Joshua 6:15-19
King James Version15And 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.
Joshua 6:20-25
The City Is Destroyed but Rahab Lives
The people shout at the horn blast, the wall falls, and the army enters. They kill the city's inhabitants, young and old, men and women, and its livestock. Joshua sends the two spies to bring Rahab and her relatives out, keeping their sworn promise. They place the household outside Israel's camp. The city is burned, while its precious metals enter God's treasury. Rahab continues living among Israel because she sheltered the messengers. The account states both the sweeping killing and the specific rescue without treating either as incidental.
In everyday life
One relief registrar studies a town's casualty sheets and finds the family whose evacuation was promised earlier. She checks every name against the survivors waiting nearby before closing the file. The promise concerns real relatives within a much larger loss. Rahab is saved from a city deliberately destroyed in war, not from an accidental disaster.
Notice
Joshua 6:23 The same spies Rahab protected are sent to bring her household out. The promise is fulfilled through the men who personally gave it to her.
Joshua 6:20-25
King James Version20So 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.
Joshua 6:26-27
Joshua Places Jericho Under a Curse
After the city's destruction, Joshua declares a curse on anyone who rebuilds Jericho. He says laying its foundation will cost that man's firstborn, and setting up its gates will cost his youngest son. This is a severe warning involving the builder's children, not merely a ban on construction. The account then says God is with Joshua and that his reputation spreads throughout the land. Jericho's fall leaves both a ruined city and a public warning against restoring what has been placed under judgment.
In everyday life
The bereaved planning clerk pins a permanent closure order beside a ruined public hall. She watches a developer measure the frontage and remembers the families who lost children there. Rebuilding would not be an innocent fresh start for those families. Joshua's curse expressly foretells deaths in the builder's household, unlike a planning restriction.
Notice
Joshua 6:26 The warning names both the beginning and completion of rebuilding. Foundation and gates enclose the whole project within a curse that reaches the builder's family.
Joshua 6:26-27
King James Version26And 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.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Joshua 6:1 begins with “Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.”
Where the chapter turns
Joshua 6:15 forms a natural hinge: “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…”
The final note
Joshua 6:27 leaves the reader with “So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words city, LORD, priests, trumpets, Joshua, seven help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- rereward
- The rear guard, the group following behind the main procession.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
