Jos 6-7 | TNotes | STEP | 6:1 Jericho guarded two important entrances into the heart of the hill country. If the Israelites did not conquer the city first, they would leave a well-armed enemy at their back, standing between the Israelite forces and their families encamped at Gilgal. They had to conquer Jericho first.

6:1 ^a Jericho guarded two important entrances into the heart of the hill country. If the Israelites did not conquer the city first, they would leave a well-armed enemy at their back, standing between the Israelite forces and their families encamped at Gilgal. They had to conquer Jericho first.
6:2 ^b God’s reassuring words, “I have given you Jericho,” must have lifted Joshua’s spirits. All Joshua had to do was obey God, and he had a lifetime of practice at that.
6:4 ^c Seven is a biblical number of perfection.

• The seven priests were to precede the Ark, the emblem of God’s presence, at the head of Israel’s forces. This arrangement symbolized that God himself fought against the town. Israel had only to march and observe, then shout and observe, and finally mop up after God delivered the town into their hands.

• The ram’s horn (Hebrew shofar) could sound several pitches to signal either battle or worship. In battle, the shofar alerted troops or townsfolk to an enemy’s approach or sounded the call to advance or retreat.
Summary for Josh 6:6-9: 6:6-9 ^d The Ark, the priests blowing the horns, and the military honor guard all symbolized God’s presence and his leadership of the siege.
Summary for Josh 6:10-11: 6:10-11 ^e Warriors would often shout in battle to lift their morale and intimidate the enemy.

• until I tell you: After thirteen circuits of Jericho by Israel’s army with only the sound of trumpets, the psychological shock when Jericho’s defenders heard shouting would be devastating.
6:15 ^f Marching around Jericho seven times on the seventh day again symbolized that this was God’s battle.
6:16 ^g Joshua’s command, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the town!” was not a device to cause Jericho’s walls to fall. Rather, Joshua exhorted the Israelites to celebrate God’s victory.
6:17 ^h completely destroyed: Joshua reminded his troops that the town and everything in it belonged to God as the firstfruits of their inheritance in the land of Canaan. See Lev 27:28-29 ⁱ; 1 Sam 15:3 ^j.

• Rahab: See Josh 2:12-21 ^k.
6:20 ^l Following Joshua’s last-minute commands, a final blast of the rams’ horns signaled the climax.
Summary for Josh 6:22-23: 6:22-23 ^m The two spies fulfilled Joshua’s command and their oath to Rahab. Through the actions of God’s people, a pagan household saw that God is trustworthy.

• the prostitute’s house: See study note on 2:1.

• Moving Rahab and her family near the camp of Israel provided security.
Summary for Josh 6:24-27: 6:24-27 ⁿ Jericho’s citizens had already been executed (6:21 ^o). Now Joshua destroyed the town and its contents. The firstfruits of the spoils of war, as with all else, belonged to God. 6:24 ^p The fire melted and purified the silver, gold, bronze, and iron. These metals had probably been used for the figures of pagan gods. As these images melted, the metals were purified and made fit for dedication to God.
6:25 ^q The statement that Rahab lives among the Israelites to this day affirms the breadth and depth of God’s grace. Rahab was not only accepted into Israel; she ultimately was an ancestor of the Messiah (see Matt 1:5 ^r).
6:26 ^s Joshua placed a curse upon the site because Jericho was the first Canaanite town to resist God’s purposes in bringing Israel into the land. Jericho was also the first town to experience God’s judgment upon Canaan’s great wickedness. As the firstfruits of Israel’s conquest of Canaan, it belonged to God (Exod 13:2 ^t; 23:19 ^u). God executed Joshua’s curse on the first man to defy it (1 Kgs 16:34 ^v; cp. Josh 7 ^w).
6:27 ^x As the first chapter in Israel’s conquest of Canaan closed, both the Israelites and the Canaanites could see that the Lord was with Joshua, as he had promised (1:5 ^y, 9 ^z; cp. 4:14 ^aa). Crossing the Jordan and taking Jericho established Israel’s presence in the land, causing the people of Canaan to fear Israel and Israel’s God.

‏ Joshua 7

Summary for Josh 10:1-12:24: 7:1–12:24 ^ab This second major section of the book includes a record of Joshua’s southern and northern campaigns against two coalitions of Canaanite kings. Joshua’s victories enabled Israel to settle the hill country from Galilee in the north to the Negev in the south.
Summary for Josh 7:1-26: 7:1-26 ^ac Now that Jericho belonged to Israel, Joshua’s first military problem involved securing a foothold in the hill country. The conquest of Jericho inspired Israel’s confidence and consigned the people of Canaan to discouragement and despair. Yet everything hinged on Israel’s obedience to God. One man’s sin and its consequences demonstrate how serious was the command to destroy Jericho (see thematic note for Complete Dedication at end of chapter). 7:1 ^ad things set apart for the Lord: See Lev 27:28-29 ^ae; 1 Sam 15:3 ^af.

• son of Zerah: Achan belonged to a prominent family (Num 26:19-20 ^ag) and was a leader or a potential leader, so his actions would be influential.
7:2 ^ah As he did before the battle for Jericho, Joshua sent some of his men to assess the situation at Ai. This town stood about ten miles west of Jericho at the entrance to a plateau north of Jerusalem called the Plateau of Benjamin; conquering Ai would open the way for Israel to control the hill country.

• Beth-aven, “house of iniquity,” was probably an intentionally derogatory wordplay on the name Bethel, the “house of God.” A pagan shrine stood on this site later in Israel’s history (1 Kgs 12:28-33 ^ai).
Summary for Josh 7:3-4: 7:3-4 ^aj God’s provision of victory at Jericho apparently bred complacency and overconfidence; Joshua did not even consult with God before sending a small contingent of troops to Ai.
7:5 ^ak Ai’s defenders left through the town gate and attacked Israel’s troops directly (see 8:5 ^al).

• as far as the quarries: An otherwise unknown place.
7:6 ^am Israel’s leaders tore their clothing and threw dust on their heads, common public gestures of grief or despair in the ancient Near East. By falling face down before the Ark of the Lord, Joshua belatedly acknowledged that Israel needed God’s direction in the battle against Ai.
7:7 ^an Joshua expressed his anger toward God; this explains the sharp tone of God’s reply (7:10-15 ^ao). Though the battle had been lost because of Achan’s sin, Joshua and Israel’s elders had neglected to seek God’s guidance (7:3 ^ap).

• Joshua did not really believe that Israel should have stayed on the other side of the Jordan. Rather, he used hyperbole to show that he was at a loss over what to do next.
Summary for Josh 7:8-9: 7:8-9 ^aq Joshua’s fears were realistic. All Canaan had thought that Israel was invincible. However, because tiny Ai had defeated Israel, the Canaanites might think it could happen again.

• If God allowed the wicked to wipe his people off the face of the earth, the nations would not have a witness that God continues to be involved with his world.

• your great name: Cp. Exod 32:11-12 ^ar; Num 14:13-19 ^as.
Summary for Josh 7:10-11: 7:10-11 ^at Get up! God’s command was abrupt, stern, and outwardly unsympathetic. For Israel to regain God’s favor, Joshua needed to act swiftly and decisively.
7:12 ^au Israel itself has been set apart for destruction: With his individual sin, Achan made all Israel liable to destruction.
7:13 ^av Command the people to purify themselves: See study note on 3:5.
7:14 ^aw Israel’s twelve tribes were descendants of Jacob’s sons. A clan represented a smaller unit within the tribes; later, as Israel’s allotments in the land were distributed, a clan usually received possession of a town and its surrounding fields, forest, and pastureland. A man’s family included his sons and their dependents.
7:15 ^ax God had commanded that all the stolen goods were to be destroyed by fire. Now they would be, because Achan and everything he had would be burned with fire. Breaking the covenant of the Lord was treason, a capital offense (e.g., Exod 22:20 ^ay; Deut 4:25-27 ^az).
Summary for Josh 7:16-18: 7:16-18 ^ba Achan might have been singled out by use of the Urim and Thummim, a God-given system of sacred lots. These items remained in the care of the high priest, probably in a bag or a pouch (see Exod 28:30 ^bb; Num 27:21 ^bc). They might have been two different-colored objects, perhaps stones or gems. Inquiries were phrased as “yes” or “no” questions.
Summary for Josh 7:19-20: 7:19-20 ^bd My son: This gentle, compassionate form of address reveals Joshua as a caring leader, sorry for this young man trapped by impulsive greed. Although Joshua and Achan both knew that Achan would die for his crime, Joshua entreated him to repent. Achan responded with a full confession.
7:21 ^be The robe should have been burned with the rest of Jericho’s goods. It was from Babylon, evidence that long-distance trade was a significant part of life in the ancient Near East.

• 200 silver coins: Achan took pieces or lumps of silver that functioned as money; coinage per se was not invented until the 600s BC.

• I wanted them so much is translated “covet” in the tenth commandment (Exod 20:17 ^bf). Achan’s coveting had prompted his theft.
7:22 ^bg Because the matter was urgent, Joshua’s messengers ran to the tent to confirm Achan’s confession.
7:24 ^bh This careful listing of Achan’s relatives and possessions, including the stolen items, has the tone of a legal statement. Achan compromised all that pertained to him through his contact with the stolen items; thus, all had to be included in his judgment.
7:25 ^bi Stoning was one prescribed means of execution (see, e.g., Exod 19:13 ^bj).
7:26 ^bk God had not been angry without basis. God’s people must be holy. To trifle with things belonging to God signifies rebellion against God, and such sin always brings trouble (‘akor) upon God’s people. Achan’s sin brought disaster on Israel, so the severe punishment he received was just.

Thematic note: Complete Dedication
The Hebrew word kherem (“specially set apart”) is difficult to translate because it represents a concept for which there is no exact parallel in modern English. In the conquest of Canaan under Joshua, kherem designated something that was dedicated to a pagan god and therefore hostile to the Lord. Such things were to be destroyed (see Josh 6:18 ^bl). In the case of valuable metal items, they were brought to the sanctuary, where they became holy to the Lord (Lev 27:28 ^bm; see also Josh 6:19 ^bn, 24 ^bo). The concept of being “specially set apart” was also applied to Israel’s enemies when they and their property were destroyed (Josh 6:17-19 ^bp; 1 Sam 15:2-3 ^bq).
In Leviticus 27:21 ^br, 28 ^bs, kherem indicates an acceptable vow devoting something to the Lord for use in the sanctuary (see Num 18:14 ^bt). This made the item, land, or person holy. The thing or person could not be bought back; it remained in the Lord’s service permanently.
The concept of complete dedication through total destruction underlies several passages in the apostle Paul’s writings. In Romans 9:3 ^bu, Paul was even willing to be declared anathema (the Greek equivalent of kherem) if it would bring about the salvation of his fellow Jews. In Galatians 1:8-9 ^bv, the same Greek word indicates an appropriate end for those who preach a false gospel. In 1 Corinthians 12:3 ^bw, Paul warns that no one speaking in the Spirit can call Jesus anathema, that is, no one who has God’s Spirit will interpret Jesus’ crucifixion as a sign of God’s rejection of him, as the Jews of Paul’s day did. Instead, they will recognize it as an act of atonement for sinful humanity.

Passages for Further Study
Exod 22:20 ^bx; Lev 27:28-29 ^by; Num 18:8-14 ^bz; 21:2-3 ^ca; Deut 7:1-6 ^cb, 26 ^cc; 13:12-18 ^cd; Josh 6:17-19 ^ce, 24 ^cf; 7:11-15 ^cg; 1 Sam 15:2-3 ^ch; 1 Kgs 20:42 ^ci; Isa 43:26-28 ^cj; Mal 4:5-6 ^ck; Rom 9:3 ^cl; 1 Cor 16:22 ^cm; Gal 1:8-9 ^cn