Joshua 6 Footnotes

6:2-15 The Lord’s instructions to Joshua and the Israelites had more to do with worship and ceremony than military strategy. The Israelites marched around the city of Jericho once a day for six days. On the seventh day they marched around the city seven times. In the Bible, the number “seven” usually has ceremonial significance, as indicative of the covenant. The Sabbath, or seventh day, was a sign of the covenant, and the Hebrew verb “to swear” (i.e., take an oath of fidelity to a covenant), nishba‘, is based on the word for “seven.”

6:17 The words “set apart” translate the Hebrew cherem, which refers to “devoted things” belonging exclusively to the Lord (often called the “ban”). Jericho was the first city the Israelites took in their conquest of Canaan. As such, it and all its inhabitants were cherem to the Lord. Everyone except Rahab and her family were to be slain, and everything in the city was to be destroyed except the gold, silver, and articles of bronze and iron.

The concept of cherem can be difficult to understand today. How can the destruction of a city and the killing of all its inhabitants be justified, and how can one believe it was the Lord who specifically ordered these things? Part of the answer lies in recognizing the holiness of God and the sinfulness of the Canaanites. God is holy, and he created Israel to be a people totally consecrated to him (Ex 20:3; Lv 18:1-5; 19:1-2). The persistent sins of the Canaanites, which were an affront to the holiness of God, finally demanded that his judgment be executed through their complete removal from the land (Lv 18:24-28; 20:22-24). God would bless those who loved him and kept his commands, but he would punish those who hated him (Dt 7:9-10).

The sins of the Canaanites are catalogued in Lv 18:1–20:27, and Dt 9:1-6 gives the theological rationale for their extermination. The Canaanites were arrogant and proud because of their strength, and the Lord had determined to bring about their destruction, driving them out ahead of Israel (Dt 9:2-5). The concept of cherem demonstrates the utter seriousness of sin and its consequences—and points to the ultimate need for a Savior to rescue the human race.

6:22-25 Rahab and her family were spared from the cherem in keeping with the promise Joshua’s spies made to her. Her faith saved her and her family from certain death. The statement at the end of v. 25, “and she still lives in Israel today,” refers to the continuation of her family line. Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute, is included in the genealogy of the Savior, Jesus Christ (Mt 1:5), thereby participating in the Lord’s ultimate triumph of grace.

6:26-27 Joshua pronounced a curse upon anyone who would undertake to rebuild the city of Jericho. Jericho was cherem to the Lord and would be rebuilt at great cost to the builder. (see 1Kg 16:34 for the fulfillment of this prophecy). News of the defeat and destruction of Jericho spread throughout the Near East, and Joshua became famous.