Joshua 6

Jos 6:1 And Jericho was completely shut up because of the sons of Israel. None went out and none came in.

Now Jericho was straitly shut up, Or "it shut up", or "was shutting, and was shut up" that is, the king and the inhabitants shut it up within; the Targum says with iron doors, and bars of brass, and it was blocked up without by the children of Israel:

But before relating the message, the historian first of all inserts a remark concerning the town of Jericho, in the form of an explanatory clause, for the purpose of showing the precise meaning of the declaration which follows.

Jos 6:2 And Jehovah said to Joshua, See, I have given Jericho into your hand, and its king, and the mighty men of war.

And the Lord said unto Joshua - This is the same person who in the preceding chapter is called the captain or prince of the Lord’s host, the discourse being here continued that was begun at the conclusion of the preceding chapter, from which the first verses of this are unnaturally divided.

Note that the tense of the verb indicates that this is already done, even though it seems that the battle is yet to come.

Jos 6:3 And you shall go around the city, all the men of war. Go around the city once. So you shall do for six days.

Ye shall compass the city - In what order the people marched round the city does not exactly appear from the text. Some think they observed the same order as in their ordinary marches in the desert; (see the note on Num_10:14, and see the plans, Num_2:2 (note)); others think that the soldiers marched first, then the priests who blew the trumpets, then those who carried the ark, and lastly the people. Joshua their chief commander under the Lord, and all that were able to make war, even all above twenty years of age; these were to compass the city, not in the form of a siege, but by a procession around it:

The people followed the commands by faith. Hebrews 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been compassed seven days.

Jos 6:4 And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of ram's horns in front of the ark. And the seventh day you shall go around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

seven trumpets of ram's horns - The “jubilee trumpets” also called “trumpets of rams' horns” are the same as the “jubilee horn” (“rams' horn”) in Jos_6:5, for which the abbreviated form shophar (trumpet, Jos_6:5; cf. Exo_19:16) or jobel (jubilee: Exo_19:13) is used. They were not the silver trumpets of the priests (Num_10:2.), but large horns, or instruments in the shape of a horn, which gave a loud far-sounding tone. The trumpets employed were not the silver trumpets used for signalling the marshalling of the host and for other warlike purposes (compare Num_10:2), but the curved horns employed for ushering in the Jubilee and the Sabbatical Year.

seven times - The trumpets were borne by priests, and were seven in number; the processions round Jericho were to be made on seven days, and seven times on the seventh day, thus laying a stress on the sacred number seven, which was an emblem more especially of the work of God (the number of divine perfection or completeness). The ark of God also, the seat of His special presence, was carried round the city. All these particulars were calculated to set forth symbolically, and in a mode sure to arrest the attention of the people, the fact that their triumph was wholly due to the might of the Lord, and to that covenant which made their cause His.

Jos 6:5 And it shall be when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout. And the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up, each man straight before him.

make a long blast with the ram's horn,.... Continue blowing, and protracting, and drawing out the sound a long time; which they did only on the seventh day; on the other days it was but a short blast they made at a time.

Jos 6:6 And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven ram's horns in front of the ark of Jehovah.

called the priests,.... Not the Levites and Kohathites, whose business it was in common to bear the ark, but upon this occasion the priests; not all of them, but as many as were sufficient for the purpose:

Taking of Jericho. - In the account of this we have first of all a brief statement of the announcement of the divine message by Joshua to the priests and the people (Jos_6:6, Jos_6:7); then the execution of the divine command (Jos_6:8-20); and lastly the burning of Jericho and deliverance of Rahab (Jos_6:21-27).

Jos 6:7 And he said to the people, Pass on, and go around the city. And let him who is armed pass on in front of the ark of Jehovah.

Thus the order would be
(1) the warriors,
(2) the seven priests blowing the cornets,
(3) the ark,
(4) the rear-guard.

Jos 6:8 And it happened when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests bearing the seven ram's horns passed on before Jehovah and blew the ram's horns. And the ark of the covenant of Jehovah followed them.

The procession was made in deep and solemn silence, conforming to the instructions given to the people by their leader at the outset, that they were to refrain from all acclamation and noise of any kind until he should give them a signal.

Before Jehovah - instead of “before the ark of Jehovah,” signifies that the ark symbolized God's presence.

Jos 6:9 And the armed men went before the priests who blew with the ram's horns. And the gathering army came after the ark, as the priests were going on and blowing with the ram's horns.

The rereward came after the ark - the gathering army in this translation, may signify the people who carried the baggage of the army; or the persons here intended might be such as carried the sacred articles belonging to the ark, or merely such people as might follow in the procession, without observing any particular order. Some Jewish scholars think the division of Dan is meant, which always brought up the rear because the tribe of Dan was the rereward in journeying, hence the Targum paraphrases the words,"and the tribe of the house of Dan went after the ark;'' Numbers 2:31 All those who were numbered in the camp of Dan were a hundred fifty-seven thousand, six hundred. They shall go last with their banners. Numbers 10:25 And the standard of the camp of the sons of Dan set forward, the rear guard of all the camps throughout their army. And over his army was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

Jos 6:10 And Joshua had commanded the people saying, You shall not shout nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word come out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.

nor make any noise with your voice; This profound silence was to be observed, to add to the gravity and solemnity of the procession; and on account of the surprising miracle that was to be wrought, and particularly because of the ark, the symbol of the divine Presence, borne before them; and when God in his providence was about to speak in so awful a manner, and to do such a surprising work, it was very fit and decent that they should be silent before him; Habakkuk 2:20 But Jehovah is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him.

Jos 6:11 And the ark of Jehovah went around the city, going around it once. And they came into the camp and stayed in the camp.

Jos 6:12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of Jehovah.

And Joshua rose early in the morning,.... Of the second day; to take care of, direct, and prepare everything for another procession on that day; so active and diligent was he to do the will and work of God, exactly and punctually:

Jos 6:13 And seven priests carrying seven ram's horns before the ark of Jehovah went on without stopping and blew with the ram's horns. And the armed men went in front of them. But the rear guard came after the ark of Jehovah as the priests were going on and blowing with the ram's horns.

Jos 6:14 And the second day they went around the city once, and returned to the camp. So they did six days.

Jos 6:15 And it happened on the seventh day they rose early, at the dawning of the day, and circled the city in the same way seven times. Only on that day did they go around the city seven times.

they rose early - The rising early would be necessary to give time for encompassing the city seven times.

And it came to pass on the seventh day – Several scholars claim this was the Sabbath day, but whether it was or not, it is certain that one of these seven days must be a sabbath, in which the several things ordered were done, and the procession made.

The trumpet:
Seven priests went before the ark, bearing jubilee trumpets and blowing during the march. The first time that we read of a trumpet-blast is at Sinai, where the Lord announced His descent upon the mount to the people assembled at the foot to receive Him, not only by other fearful phenomena, but also by a loud and long-continued trumpet-blast.
Exodus 19:16 And it happened on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain. And the voice of the trumpet was exceedingly loud, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
Exodus 19:19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and became very strong, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice.
Exodus 20:18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. And when the people saw, they trembled, and stood afar off.
After this we find the blowing of trumpets prescribed as part of the Israelite worship in connection with the observance of the seventh new moon's day (Lev_23:24), and at the proclamation of the great year of jubilee (Lev_25:9). Just as the trumpet-blast heard by the people when the covenant was made at Sinai was as it were a herald's call, announcing to the tribes of Israel the arrival of the Lord their God to complete His covenant and establish His kingdom upon earth; so the blowing of trumpets in connection with the round of feasts was intended partly to bring the people into remembrance before the Lord year by year at the commencement of the sabbatical month, that He might come to them and grant them the Sabbath rest of His kingdom, and partly at the end of every seven times seven years to announce on the great day of atonement the coming of the great year of grace and freedom, which was to bring to the people of God deliverance from bondage, return to their own possessions, and deliverance from the bitter labors of this earth, and to give them a foretaste of the blessed and glorious liberty to which the children of God would attain at the return of the Lord to perfect His kingdom. But when the Lord comes to found, to build up, and to perfect His kingdom upon earth, He also comes to overthrow and destroy the worldly power which opposes His kingdom. The revelation of the grace and mercy of God to His children, goes ever side by side with the revelation of justice and judgment towards the ungodly who are His foes. If therefore the blast of trumpets was the signal to the congregation of Israel of the gracious arrival of the Lord its God to enter into fellowship with it, no less did it proclaim the advent of judgment to an ungodly world. This shows clearly enough the meaning of the trumpet-blast at Jericho. The priests, who went before the ark of the covenant (the visible throne of the invisible God who dwelt among His people) and in the midst of the hosts of Israel, were to announce through the blast of trumpets both to the Israelites and Canaanites the appearance of the Lord of the whole earth for judgment upon Jericho, the strong bulwark of the Canaanite power and rule, and to foretell to them through the falling of the walls of this fortification, which followed the blast of trumpets and the wary-cry of the soldiers of God, the overthrow of all the strong bulwarks of an ungodly world through the omnipotence of the Lord of heaven and earth.

Thus the fall of Jericho became the symbol and type of the overthrow of every worldly power before the Lord, when He will establish His kingdom upon earth. On the ground of this event, the blowing of trumpets is frequently introduced in the writings of the prophets, as the signal and symbolical omen of the manifestations of the Lord in great judgments, through which He destroys one worldly power after another, and thus maintains and extends His kingdom upon earth, and leads it on towards that completion to which it will eventually attain when He descends from heaven in His glory at the time of the last trump, with a great shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, to raise the dead and change the living, to judge the world, cast the devil, death, and hell into the lake of fire, create a new heaven and new earth, and in the new Jerusalem erect the tabernacle of God among men for all eternity.
1Corinthians 15:52 in a moment, in a glance of an eye, at the last trumpet. For a trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed.
1Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first.

The number seven:
The appointment of the march round Jericho, which was to be continued for seven days, and to be repeated seven times on the seventh day, was equally significant. The number seven is a symbol in the Scriptures of the work of God and of the perfection already produced or to be eventually secured by Him; a symbol founded upon the creation of the world in six days, and the completion of the works of creation by the resting of God upon the seventh day. Through this arrangement, that the walls of Jericho were not to fall till after they had been marched round for seven days, and not till after this had been repeated seven times on the seventh day, and then amidst the blast of the jubilee trumpets and the war-cry of the soldiers of the people of God, the destruction of this town, the key to Canaan, was intended by God to become a type of the final destruction at the last day of the power of this world, which exalts itself against the kingdom of God. In this way He not only showed to His congregation that it would not be all at once, but only after long-continued conflict, and at the end of the world, that the worldly power by which it was opposed would be overthrown, but also proved to the enemies of His kingdom, that however long their power might sustain itself in opposition to the kingdom of God, it would at last be destroyed in a moment.

Jos 6:16 And it happened, at the seventh time, when the priest blew with the ram's horns, Joshua said to the people, Shout! For Jehovah has given you the city!

Joshua said unto the people --This delay brought out their faith and obedience in so remarkable a manner, that it is celebrated by the apostle Hebrews 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been compassed seven days.

Jos 6:17 And the city shall be devoted to Jehovah, it and all in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.

Joshua 6:17 And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. (KJV)
Joshua 6:17 And the city shall be devoted, it and all things that are in it, to the Lord of Hosts: only do ye save Raab the harlot, and all things in her house. (Septuagint)
The word translated as accursed or devoted is the Hebrew word ḥērem: A masculine noun meaning devoted things, devoted to destruction, devotion, things under ban, cursed. The basic meaning of the word, to be set aside or devoted, is qualified in several ways. Things, including persons, were set aside or devoted to a special function or an area of service by a declaration of God or His servants. The entire city of Jericho was a deadly threat to the formation of God's people and fell under a ban, except for Rahab and her family (Jos_6:17-18), and was set aside for destruction. A person could be set aside for destruction
1Kings 20:42 And he said to him, So says Jehovah, Because you have let go out of your hand a man whom I devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people.
as well as an entire people, such as Edom
Isaiah 34:5 For My sword bathed in the heavens. Behold, it shall come down on Edom, and on the people of My curse for judgment.
The Lord set the Israelites apart for destruction when they turned to other gods
Deuteronomy 13:17 And let nothing of the cursed thing cling to your hand, so that Jehovah may turn from the heat of His anger and show you mercy, and give mercies to you, and multiply you as He has sworn to your fathers,
Isaiah 43:28 And I will defile rulers of the sanctuary, and will give Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.
the Israelites could not take idols of the conquered pagans into their houses, even when acquired in battle. These items were set aside for destruction only
Deuteronomy 7:26 And you shall not bring an abomination into your house, lest you be a cursed thing like it. You shall utterly hate it, and you shall utterly despise it. For it is a cursed thing.
This term was the last word in the text of the Prophets
Malachi 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to their fathers, that I not come and strike the earth with utter destruction.
and expressed a potential curse on the entire restored exilic community of Israel. Happily, the Lord also announced a time when the ban for destruction would be lifted from Jerusalem forever
Zechariah 14:11 And they shall dwell in it, and there shall never again be a shutting in, but Jerusalem shall dwell safely.

Because the Lord had given Jericho into the hands of the Israelites, they were to consecrate it to Him as a ban (cherem), i.e., as a holy thing belonging to Jehovah, which was not to be touched by man, as being the first-fruits of the land of Canaan. Rahab alone was excepted from this ban, along with all that belonged to her, because she had hidden the spies. The inhabitants of an idolatrous town laid under the ban were to be put to death, together with their cattle, and all the property in the town to be burned, as Moses himself had enjoined on the basis of the law in Leviticus 27:28-29 However, no devoted thing that a man shall devote to Jehovah of all that he has, either of man or animal, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed. Every devoted thing is most holy to Jehovah. Nothing devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed, but shall surely be put to death. The only exceptions were metals, gold, silver, and the vessels of brass and iron; these were to be brought into the treasury of the Lord, i.e., the treasury of the tabernacle, as being holy to the Lord. Whoever took to himself anything that had been laid under the ban, exposed himself to the ban, not only because he had brought an abomination into his house, as Moses observes in Deuteronomy 7:25 You shall burn the graven images of their gods with fire. You shall not desire the silver or gold on them, nor take it for yourself, so that you may not be snared in it. For it is an abomination to Jehovah your God, in relation to the gold and silver of idols, but because he had wickedly invaded the rights of the Lord, by appropriating that which had been laid under the ban, and had wantonly violated the ban itself. The words, “beware of the ban, that ye do not ban and take of the ban” (Jos_6:18), point to this.

Accursed – devoted in this translation, In other cases the inhabitants only of the towns were slain; their cattle and property became the booty of the victors. But Jericho, as the first Canaanite city that was captured, was devoted by Israel as first-fruits to God, as a token that Israel received all the land from Him. Every living thing was put to death (Rahab and her household excepted) as a sacrifice to God, and the indestructible goods were Jos_6:19 brought into the treasury of the sanctuary.

Accursed - The cherem, or "anathema," was a devotion to utter destruction
Deuteronomy 7:2 and Jehovah your God shall deliver them before you, you shall crush them, completely destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them.
Deuteronomy 20:17 But you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; as Jehovah your God has commanded you,
1Samuel 15:3 Now go and strike Amalek, and completely destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
When such a ban was pronounced against a hostile city, the men and animals were killed--no booty was allowed to be taken. The idols and all the precious ornaments on them were to be burned
Deuteronomy 7:25 You shall burn the graven images of their gods with fire. You shall not desire the silver or gold on them, nor take it for yourself, so that you may not be snared in it. For it is an abomination to Jehovah your God.
1Chronicles 14:12 And they left their gods there. And David commanded, and they were burned with fire.

Everything was either to be destroyed or consecrated to the sanctuary. Joshua pronounced this ban on Jericho, a great and wealthy city, evidently by divine direction. The severity of the doom, accordant with the requirements of a law which was holy, just, and good, was justified, not only by the fact of its inhabitants being part of a race who had filled up their iniquities, but by their resisting the light of the recent astonishing miracle at the Jordan.

Jos 6:18 And you surely shall keep clear of the cursed thing, lest you make yourselves cursed when you take of the cursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.

lest ye make yourselves accursed; or a "cherem", also devoted to destruction: All of Israel would suffer by the action of one person. A theme in the Old Testament is that the sin of one person has consequences for the community. See story of Achan in chapter 7.

Jos 6:19 But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are devoted to Jehovah. They shall come into the treasury of Jehovah.

they shall come into the treasury of the Lord; be brought into the tabernacle, into some apartment there destined for such service, and which is clear from Joshua 6:24 And they burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and the gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of Jehovah the same where the offering of the officers was brought after the battle with Midian, Numbers 31:54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the sons of Israel before Jehovah.

Jos 6:20 And the people shouted when the priests blew with the ram's horns. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the ram's horns, and the people shouted with a great shout, the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, each man straight before him. And they took the city.

So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets--Towards the close of the seventh circuit, the signal was given by Joshua, and on the Israelites' raising their loud war cry, the walls fell down, doubtless burying multitudes of the inhabitants in the ruins, while the besiegers, rushing in, consigned everything animate and inanimate to indiscriminate destruction Deuteronomy 20:16-17 But of the cities of these people, which Jehovah your God gives you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes. But you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; as Jehovah your God has commanded you, Jewish writers mention it as an immemorial tradition that the city fell on the Sabbath. It should be remembered that the Canaanites were incorrigible idolaters, addicted to the most horrible vices, and that the righteous judgment of God might sweep them away by the sword, as well as by famine or pestilence. There was mercy mingled with judgment in employing the sword as the instrument of punishing the guilty Canaanites, for while it was directed against one place, time was afforded for others to repent.

Jos 6:21 And they completely destroyed all in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.

They utterly destroyed - As this act was ordered by God himself, who is the Maker and Judge of all men, it must be right: for the Judge of all the earth cannot do wrong. Nothing that breathed was permitted to live; hence the oxen, sheep, and asses, were destroyed, as well as the inhabitants. As mankind is condemned by sin, God has the right to exact punishment at His choosing for the unrepentant.

And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city - All the inhabitants of it, by the direction of Joshua, and according to the order of the Lord, Deuteronomy 7:1-2 When Jehovah your God shall bring you into the land where you go to possess it, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you, and Jehovah your God shall deliver them before you, you shall crush them, completely destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them.

Jos 6:22 And Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house, and bring the woman out from there, and all that she has, as you swore to her.

Jos 6:23 And the young men who were spies went in and brought Rahab out, and her father and her mother, and her brothers, and all that she had. And they brought out all her kindred and set them outside the camp of Israel.

made to rest outside the camp of Israel - indicate that being still in their paganism, they were separated from the camp of the Lord. They were considered as persons unclean. Leviticus 13:46 All the days in which the plague is in him he shall be defiled. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp; Numbers 12:14 And Jehovah said to Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received. This was only for a time. They desired, and eventually obtained, admission to the covenant of the chosen people of God Jos_6:25. When they had abjured heathenism, were purified, and the males had received circumcision, they were doubtless admitted into the camp, and became incorporated with Israel.

All that she had does not mean all her possessions, but all the persons belonging to her house; and “all her kindred” are all her relations by birth or marriage, with their dependants.

and they brought out all her kindred; her father's household might be branched out into various families, and become numerous, and so be an emblem of the number of Gentile sinners saved by Christ the antitype of Joshua.

Jos 6:24 And they burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and the gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of Jehovah.

Only the silver, and the gold - The people were to have no share of the spoils, because they had no hand in the conquest. God alone overthrew the city; and into his treasury only the spoils were brought.

Jos 6:25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had. And she lives in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

And she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day - This is one proof that the book was written in the time to which it is commonly referred; and certainly might have been done by the hand of Joshua himself,

Jos 6:26 And Joshua charged them at that time, saying, Cursed before Jehovah is the man who rises up and builds this city of Jericho. He shall lay the foundation of it in his first-born, and in his youngest son he shall set up the gates of it.

Adjured - put an oath upon them; or, perhaps, actually caused them themselves to take an oath. The words of the oath have in the original a rhythmical character which would tend to keep them on the lips and in the memory of the people.

Buildeth this city - rebuilds the fortifications. Jericho was at once occupied by the Benjamites. Joshua 18:21 And the cities of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, and Beth-hoglah, and the valley of Keziz, and the natural advantages of the situation were such that it would not be likely to be left long desolate. Joshua speaks in the text as a warrior. He lays a ban on the re-erection of those lofty walls which had bidden defiance to God’s host, and been by God’s signal interposition overthrown. Hiel, the Bethelite, reckless of the prophecy recorded in our text, began and completed the circumvallation of the city a second time. Hiel did not found a new city but only fortified an existing one. 1Kings 16:34 In his days Hiel the man of Bethel built Jericho. He laid the foundation of it in Abiram his first-born, and set up the gates of it in his youngest son Segub, according to the Word of Jehovah which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun. Hiel who rebuilt Jericho under the reign of Ahab, and laid the foundation of it in Abiram, his first-born, and set up its gates in his youngest son Segub: this was 550 years after Joshua pronounced the curse. It has been taken that to mean he lost every son, eldest to youngest during the course of rebuilding. The two last clauses express the thought that the builder of the town would pay for its restoration by the loss of all his sons, from the first-born to the very youngest. The word “buildeth,” however, does not refer to the erection of houses upon the site of the town that had been burnt to ashes, but to the restoration of the town as a fortification

After Hiel had rebuilt this city, it became of considerable consequence in the land of Judea: the courses of priests lodged there, who served in their turns at the temple; see Luk_10:30. There was a school of the prophets there, which was visited by Elijah and Elisha, 2Ki_2:4, 2Ki_2:5, 2Ki_2:18; and it was at this city that our Lord miraculously healed blind Bartimeus, Mar_10:46; Luk_18:35, etc

He shall lay the foundation thereof in his first-born - i. e. when he begins this work his eldest son shall die, when he completes it his youngest shall die

This chapter read in the light of the New Testament has indications of a further import and bearing than such as concerned Joshua and the Jews. As Joshua, the leader and captain of the Jewish theocracy, is a type of Christ, so is Jericho to be taken (with all Christian expositors) as a type of the powers opposed to Christ and His cause. The times which prepare for the close of God’s present dispensation are signified in the days during which the people obeyed and waited; as the number of those days, seven, the number of perfection, represents that “fullness of time,” known only to God, at which His dispensation will culminate and close. Thus the circumstances which lead up to the fall of Jericho are an acted prophecy, as was that fall itself, which sets forth the overthrow of all that resists the kingdom of which Christ is the head; and particularly the day of judgment, in which that overthrow will be fully and finally accomplished. Paul, in describing that day, seems to borrow his imagery from this chapter (see 1Th_4:16).

Jos 6:27 And Jehovah was with Joshua. And his fame was in all the country.

With this, Joshua is firmly established as leader. Recall Joshua 1:17 Just as we listened to Moses in all things, so we will listen to you. Only may Jehovah your God be with you as He was with Moses where the people said as long as God is with you, we will follow you. This shows that God is with Joshua, for the miracles and definitive victory over Jericho prove the divine providence watching over the people of Israel.