Joshua 6:9

9 Some of the armed men marched in front of the priests with the horns and some behind the Ark, with the priests continually blowing the horns.

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 Then he gave orders to the people: “March around the town, and the armed men will lead the way in front of the Ark of the LORD .”

8 After Joshua spoke to the people, the seven priests with the rams’ horns started marching in the presence of the LORD, blowing the horns as they marched. And the Ark of the LORD ’s Covenant followed behind them.

9 Some of the armed men marched in front of the priests with the horns and some behind the Ark, with the priests continually blowing the horns.

10 “Do not shout; do not even talk,” Joshua commanded. “Not a single word from any of you until I tell you to shout. Then shout!”

11 So the Ark of the LORD was carried around the town once that day, and then everyone returned to spend the night in the camp.