Joshua 6:9

9 And the armed men went before the priests who blew with the trumpets, and the rearguard came after the ark; they blew with the trumpets in marching.

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 to the people, Pass on, go round the city, and they that are armed shall pass on before the ark of Jehovah.

8 And it came to pass when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests carrying the seven blast-trumpets before Jehovah passed on and blew with the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah went after them.

9 And the armed men went before the priests who blew with the trumpets, and the rearguard came after the ark; they blew with the trumpets in marching.

10 And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor let your voice be heard, neither shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, Shout; then shall ye shout.

11 And the ark of Jehovah went round the city, encompassing [it] once; and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.