Joshua 6:9

9 and he who is armed is going before the priests blowing the trumpets, and he who is gathering up is going after the ark, going on and blowing with the trumpets;

Joshua 6:9 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 6:9

And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the
trumpets
Whom Jarchi, Kimchi, and Abarbinel, interpret of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh; that is, as many of them as Joshua took with him over Jordan; though rather all the armed men in the camp are meant; at least along with those mentioned went the standards of Judah and Ephraim:

and the rereward came after the ark;
because the tribe of Dan was the rereward in journeying, ( Numbers 2:31 ) ; hence the Targum paraphrases the words,

``and the tribe of the house of Dan went after the ark;''

and so both Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it: but rather the body of the people unarmed are designed; at least these were brought up by the standard of Dan; or otherwise no place in this procession is appointed for them, whose business it was to make the great shout on the seventh day with the rest:

[the priests] going on and blowing with the trumpets;
the word "priests" is not in the text, but is rightly supplied; for, as Kimchi and Abarbinel observe, this is not said of the rereward, but of the priests, for they only bore and blew the trumpets; and so the Targum reads,

``the priests going on''

Joshua 6:9 In-Context

7 and He said unto the people, `Pass over, and compass the city, and he who is armed doth pass over before the ark of Jehovah.'

8 And it cometh to pass, when Joshua speaketh unto the people, that the seven priests bearing seven trumpets of the jubilee before Jehovah have passed over and blown with the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah is going after them;

9 and he who is armed is going before the priests blowing the trumpets, and he who is gathering up is going after the ark, going on and blowing with the trumpets;

10 and the people hath Joshua commanded, saying, `Ye do not shout, nor cause your voice to be heard, nor doth there go out from your mouth a word, till the day of my saying unto you, Shout ye -- then ye have shouted.'

11 And the ark of Jehovah doth compass the city, going round once, and they come into the camp, and lodge in the camp.