Joshua 7:15

15 '1It shall be that the one who is taken with the things under the ban shall be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he 2has committed a disgraceful thing in Israel.' "

Joshua 7:15 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 7:15

And it shall be, [that] he that is taken with the accursed
thing shall be burnt with fire
He that is taken by lot, and the accursed thing found with him, this should be the death, burning, one of the four capital punishments with the Jews: this was ordered in this case, because the city of Jericho, accursed or devoted, was burnt with fire, ( Joshua 6:24 ) ;

he and all that he hath;
the particulars of which are enumerated, ( Joshua 7:24 ) ;

because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord;
(See Gill on Joshua 7:11);

and because he hath wrought folly in Israel;
as all sin and every transgression of the law is, and was the cause of Israel's turning their backs on their enemies; which, as Abarbinel says, was folly, and made the people of Israel look foolish, mean, and contemptible: the word has also the signification of a dead carcass, and may possibly have respect, to the thirty six men whose death he was the occasion of, ( Joshua 7:5 ) , and therefore justly ought to die himself.

Joshua 7:15 In-Context

13 "Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus the LORD , the God of Israel, has said, "There are things under the ban in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst."
14 'In the morning then you shall come near by your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes by lot shall come near by families, and the family which the LORD takes shall come near by households, and the household which the LORD takes shall come near man by man.
15 'It shall be that the one who is taken with the things under the ban shall be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD , and because he has committed a disgraceful thing in Israel.' "
16 So Joshua arose early in the morning and brought Israel near by tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken.
17 He brought the family of Judah near, and he took the family of the Zerahites; and he brought the family of the Zerahites near man by man, and Zabdi was taken.

Cross References 2

  • 1. 1 Samuel 14:38
  • 2. Genesis 34:7; Judges 20:6
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