Joshua 6:26

26 In that time Joshua prayed heartily, and said, Cursed before the Lord be the man, that raiseth up and buildeth (again) the city of Jericho! Lay he the foundaments thereof in his first engendered son, and put he the gates thereof in the last of his free children. (And at that time Joshua heartily prayed, and said, Cursed be the man before the Lord, who raiseth up and buildeth again this city of Jericho! May he lay its foundations at the cost of the life of his first-born son, and may he put up its gates at the cost of the life of his last child.)

Joshua 6:26 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 6:26

And Joshua adjured [them] at that time
When the city was burnt and spoiled; not that he adjured the people individually, or one by one, which was not very practicable, but in a general way:

saying, cursed [be] the man before the Lord;
let him be cursed by him with the curses written in the book of the law; and let him be driven from him, from his presence, as Cain was:

that riseth up, and buildeth this city Jericho;
that rises up in future time, and rebuilds it; for it cannot be thought that after such an adjuration anyone would start up quickly, and rebuild it:

he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his
youngest [son] shall he set up the gates of it;
that is, while he is laying, or as soon as he has laid the foundation of the city, his eldest son should die; and as he went on with the building, other sons of his, if he had more than two, should be taken away by death likewise; and by the time he has finished it, signified by setting up the gates of it, both for ornament and security, his youngest and last son should die also; so that his whole posterity should be taken alway, as a curse of God upon him for rebuilding the city; which was fulfilled in Hiel the Bethelite, the rebuilder of this city in the times of Ahab, five or six hundred years after this adjuration was made, when either it was forgotten, or, however, little regarded: Maimonides observes {g}, that this was made that the miracle might remain in perpetual memory, for whoever should see the wall sunk in the earth, it would be plain and clear to him that this was not the form of a building demolished, but that it fell by a miracle; and yet this city became a very flourishing one in later times; we soon hear of the school of the prophets in it, ( 2 Kings 2:5 ) ; here, Strabo F8 says, was a royal palace, where, as Josephus F9 relates, Herod died, and who speaks of an amphitheatre and hippodrome in it; in this city sometimes the sanhedrim sat, and a great number of the stationary priests dwelt, even half a station, twelve thousand of them, all which is observed by Dr. Lightfoot F11; our Lord himself honoured it with his presence, ( Luke 19:1 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F7 Maimon. Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 50.
F8 Geograph. l. 16. p. 525.
F9 Antiqu. l. 17. c. 8. sect. 1. 2.
F11 Chorograph. Cent. c. 47.

Joshua 6:26 In-Context

24 And the men of Israel burnt the city, and all things that were found therein, except [the] gold, and silver, and brazen vessels, and iron (vessels), which they hallowed into the treasury of the Lord (which they put in the Lord's treasury).
25 Soothly Joshua made Rahab the whore to live, and her father's house(hold), and all things that she had; and they dwelled in the midst of Israel, unto this present day; for she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to espy Jericho. (And Joshua spared the lives of Rahab the whore, and her family, and all who belonged to her; and her descendants have lived in the midst of Israel unto this present day; for she hid the men, whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.)
26 In that time Joshua prayed heartily, and said, Cursed before the Lord be the man, that raiseth up and buildeth (again) the city of Jericho! Lay he the foundaments thereof in his first engendered son, and put he the gates thereof in the last of his free children. (And at that time Joshua heartily prayed, and said, Cursed be the man before the Lord, who raiseth up and buildeth again this city of Jericho! May he lay its foundations at the cost of the life of his first-born son, and may he put up its gates at the cost of the life of his last child.)
27 Therefore the Lord was with Joshua, and his name was published in each land. (And so the Lord was with Joshua, and his name was made known throughout the land.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.