Joshua 6:7

7 And he said to the people, "Go forward and march around the city, and let the armed [men] pass before the ark of Yahweh.

Joshua 6:7 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 6:7

And he said unto the people, pass on, and compass the city,
&c.] The women and children, the young men under twenty years of age, the unarmed part of the camp, as distinguished from the armed men:

and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the Lord;
to guard the ark, protect the priests, and defend the people, should any sally be made by the enemy upon them. These seem to design all the males that were above twenty years of age able to bear arms, and fit for war; though some restrain it to the forty thousand of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, ( Joshua 1:14 ) ( 4:12 ) .

Joshua 6:7 In-Context

5 And when they blow long on the horn of the ram, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people will shout [with] a great war cry, and the wall of the city will fall flat, and {the people will charge, each one straight ahead}."

6 So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry the trumpets of the rams' horns before the ark of Yahweh."

7 And he said to the people, "Go forward and march around the city, and let the armed [men] pass before the ark of Yahweh.

8 {And when Joshua spoke} to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the presence of Yahweh went forward and they blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of Yahweh followed behind them.

9 And the armed [men] went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while they were blowing the trumpets.

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew "they said"