JosuaKapitel 6

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Now Jericho was shut up tight because of the Israelites. No one went out, and no one came in.

And the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hand, along with its king and its fighting men.

March around the city with all your soldiers, circling it once. Do this for six days.

Seven priests shall carry seven ram's-horn trumpets before the ark. On the seventh day march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets.

When they sound a long blast on the ram's horn and you hear the trumpet, all the people are to give a great shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the people shall charge straight in, each man where he stands."

So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven ram's-horn trumpets before the ark of the LORD."

And he said to the people, "Move out and march around the city, and let the armed men go ahead of the ark of the LORD."

When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven ram's-horn trumpets before the LORD moved forward, blowing the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed behind them.

The armed men marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark, while the trumpets sounded on and on.

But Joshua had commanded the people, "Do not shout, do not let your voice be heard, do not let a single word leave your mouth until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!"

So he had the ark of the LORD carried around the city, circling it once. Then they returned to the camp and spent the night there.

Joshua rose early the next morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD.

The seven priests carrying the seven ram's-horn trumpets before the ark of the LORD went on, blowing the trumpets as they marched. The armed men went ahead of them, and the rear guard followed the ark of the LORD, while the trumpets sounded on and on.

On the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

On the seventh day they rose at daybreak and marched around the city in the same way, seven times. Only on that day did they circle the city seven times.

On the seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, "Shout! For the LORD has given you the city.

The city and everything in it are devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute shall live, she and all who are with her in her house, because she hid the messengers we sent.

But keep away from what is devoted to destruction, or you will bring destruction on yourselves by taking any of it. You would make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring disaster upon it.

All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are holy to the LORD; they must go into the LORD's treasury."

So the people shouted, and the trumpets sounded. When the people heard the blast of the trumpet, they raised a great shout, and the wall fell down flat. The people charged into the city, each man where he stood, and they captured it.

They devoted to destruction everything in the city, putting to the sword man and woman, young and old, ox, sheep, and donkey.

To the two men who had scouted the land Joshua said, "Go into the prostitute's house and bring her out, along with everyone belonging to her, as you swore to her."

So the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers, and everyone belonging to her. They brought out her whole family and left them outside the camp of Israel.

Then they burned the city and everything in it, but the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron they placed in the treasury of the LORD's house.

Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, her father's household, and all who belonged to her, and she has lived among Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers Joshua had sent to spy out Jericho.

At that time Joshua pronounced this oath: "Cursed before the LORD is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundation; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates."

So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.

Uppslag

Sammanfattning2

Kapitel 6

Main Theme: God gives Israel victory over Jericho through faith and obedience, not military strength.

Content: God instructs Joshua to march around the closed city of Jericho for six days, with priests carrying the ark of the covenant and blowing trumpets. On the seventh day, they circle seven times, and when the people shout, the walls fall down. The city is placed under the ban (cherem) – all life is destroyed and metal objects are consecrated to the Lord’s treasury. Only Rahab and her family are spared because she hid the spies. Joshua pronounces a curse on anyone who rebuilds the city.

Key Words/Images:

Ark of the Covenant: God’s presence goes before the people in battle – the victory is His, not theirs.
Shofars (trumpets): Symbolize God’s intervention and proclamation of victory.
Cherem (the ban): The city and everything in it belong to God as the firstfruits of the conquest.
Rahab: The Gentile who by faith is incorporated into Israel and saved from judgment.
The falling walls: God’s supernatural power brings down what is impregnable to humans.

Historisk kontext

Places

Jericho (יְרִיחוֹ)

Jericho was strategically located in the Jordan Valley and controlled important trade routes and water sources, making it key to further conquest of Canaan. Verse 1 describes the city as "shut up and shut tight" (סֹגֶרֶת וּמְסֻגֶּרֶת) – an intensive expression that emphasizes the total siege condition where no one could go in or out. The city's walls and defenses presented a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, highlighting the miraculous nature of God's intervention.

Events and Customs

The Procession Ritual

The seven-day procession around Jericho combines military and cultic practices in a way that is unique in biblical literature. The ark of the covenant, carried by priests, served as God's visible presence among the people. The procession resembles both triumphal marches known from surrounding cultures and Israelite cultic processions around sanctuaries. The number seven – seven priests, seven trumpets, seven days, seven circuits – emphasizes wholeness and divine perfection in Old Testament symbolism.

Herem (חֵרֶם) – The Ban

The chapter describes the practice of herem, total dedication to destruction. All living things and all property in the city were to be destroyed as an offering to the Lord (verses 17-21). This was not primarily a war booty strategy but a religious act where victory belonged to God alone. Parallels exist in the Mesha Stele from Moab (ca. 850-840 BC), where King Mesha describes how he carried out herem against Israelite cities for his god Chemosh. The practice marked that the conquest was a holy war, not ordinary territorial expansion. Verses 18-19 specify that metal objects were to go into the Lord's treasury – a detail that becomes important for understanding Achan's sin in chapter 7.

Key Terms

Shofar and Joblim (שׁוֹפְרוֹת הַיּוֹבְלִים)

The text specifically mentions "joblim trumpets" or "ram's horn trumpets." The expression shofrot hayovelim can mean either trumpets made from ram's horns or trumpets used at the Jubilee year. The shofar was not a musical instrument in the usual sense, but a signal instrument used to gather the people, proclaim holy times and – as here – mark God's presence in war. The sound was meant to evoke awe and signal divine intervention.

The Curse on Jericho (verse 26)

Joshua's oath that whoever rebuilds Jericho will lose his firstborn at its foundation laying and his youngest at its gate construction is a special form of prophetic curse. This was not unusual in the ancient Near East, where important buildings were sometimes dedicated with human sacrifice (foundation sacrifices). The curse is fulfilled according to 1 Kings 16:34 during King Ahab's time, when Hiel from Bethel rebuilt the city.

People

Rahab (רָחָב)

Rahab is described as zonah (זוֹנָה), usually translated "prostitute" or "harlot." Some scholars have suggested that zonah here may mean innkeeper, since such businesses were often combined in ancient cities. Her house in the city wall placed her literally on society's edge – a position that made rescue possible when the wall collapsed. That she and her family were spared and "lived among Israel to this day" (verse 25) shows that foreigners could be incorporated into the covenant community through faith and action. The New Testament mentions her in Jesus' genealogy (Matt 1:5) and as an example of faith (Heb 11:31; James 2:25).

Personer3

Joshua6 Rahab2 Nun (Joshua's father)1

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Nyckelord7

Jericho — An ancient city in Canaan that the Israelites conquered under Joshua's leadership.
Joshua — Israel's leader after Moses, who led the Israelites into the promised land.
The angel of the Lord — A divine messenger who gives instructions and guidance from God.
Trumpets — Musical instruments used by the priests to signal God's presence and power.
Circuits — Circular movements around Jericho performed by the Israelites as part of the siege.
Walls — Structures surrounding and protecting the city of Jericho, which eventually collapsed during the attack.
Rahab — A woman from Jericho who helped the Israelites and was spared because of her faithfulness to God.