Joshua 7:1

1 But Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the LORD . A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so the LORD was very angry with the Israelites. Achan was the son of Carmi, a descendant of Zimri son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah.

Joshua 7:1 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 7:1

But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the
accursed thing
Or concerning it, with respect to it, by taking part of what was devoted to another use, and forbidden theirs: this was done, not by the whole body of the people, only by one of them; but it not being discovered who it was, it was imputed to the whole, on whom it lay to find out the guilty person and punish him, or else the whole must suffer for it: this chapter begins with a "but", and draws a vail over the fame and glory of Joshua, observed in ( Joshua 6:27 ) ;

for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of
the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing;
of what was devoted to the Lord and to sacred uses; this he had taken to himself out of the spoil of the city of Jericho, for his own use, contrary to the command of God: his descent is particularly described, that it might be known of what family and tribe he was; and it is traced up to Zerah, who was a son of Judah, ( Genesis 38:30 ) ;

and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel;
because of the sin of Achan.

Joshua 7:1 In-Context

1 But Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the LORD . A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so the LORD was very angry with the Israelites. Achan was the son of Carmi, a descendant of Zimri son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah.

2 Joshua sent some of his men from Jericho to spy out the town of Ai, east of Bethel, near Beth-aven.

3 When they returned, they told Joshua, “There’s no need for all of us to go up there; it won’t take more than two or three thousand men to attack Ai. Since there are so few of them, don’t make all our people struggle to go up there.”

4 So approximately 3,000 warriors were sent, but they were soundly defeated. The men of Ai

5 chased the Israelites from the town gate as far as the quarries, and they killed about thirty-six who were retreating down the slope. The Israelites were paralyzed with fear at this turn of events, and their courage melted away.

Footnotes

• [a]. The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering; similarly in 7:11, 12, 13, 15 .
• [b]. As in parallel text at 1 Chr 2:6 ; Hebrew reads Zabdi. Also in 7:17, 18 .