Joshua 6 · The Lantern

The Walls of Jericho

Now Jericho was shut up tight because of the sons of Israel; none went out and none came in.

And the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have given into your hand Jericho and its king, the mighty men of valor.

And you shall go around the city, all the men of war, circling the city one time. So you shall do for six days.

And seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark; and on the seventh day you shall go around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow on the trumpets.

And it shall be, when they sound a long blast on the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, each man straight ahead.”

And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Lift the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD.”

And he said to the people, “Cross over and go around the city, and let the armed men cross over before the ark of the LORD.”

And it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the LORD crossed over and blew on the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD going after them.

And the armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard went after the ark, going on and blowing on the trumpets.

And Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout, and you shall not let your voice be heard, and no word shall go out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.”

And the ark of the LORD went around the city, circling it one time; and they came into the camp and lodged in the camp.

And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests lifted the ark of the LORD.

And the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on steadily and blew on the trumpets; and the armed men went before them, and the rear guard went after the ark of the LORD, going on and blowing on the trumpets.

And they went around the city on the second day one time, and returned to the camp. So they did for six days.

And it was on the seventh day that they rose early, at the coming up of the dawn, and went around the city in this manner seven times; only on that day they circled the city seven times.

And it was at the seventh time, when the priests blew on the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout! — for the LORD has given you the city.

And the city shall be devoted to destruction, it and all that is in it, to the LORD. Only Rahab the whore shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers we sent.

But you — only keep yourselves from what is devoted, so that you do not devote and then take from what is devoted, and make the camp of Israel devoted to destruction, and bring trouble on it.

And all silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron — it is holy to the LORD; it shall go into the treasury of the LORD.”

And the people shouted, and they blew on the trumpets. And it was, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, that the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat; and the people went up into the city, each man straight ahead, and they captured the city.

But let us see what things follow. Jericho is surrounded; it must be taken by storm. How, then, is Jericho stormed? No sword is drawn against it, no battering-ram is directed, nor are missiles hurled; only the priestly trumpets are employed, and by these the walls of Jericho are undermined.

Human salvation is useless, and my strength lends me no strength if I lack the strength of God. What good was the boundless vigor of giants? Or the kings of Egypt? Or mighty Jericho? Their own inflated glory was the cause of death for all of them, and God's power broke them not by the strength of heroes but by that of the weak.

The divine reading attests that the walls of Jericho at once collapsed at the din of trumpets. So there is no doubt that the sounds of music, at the Lord's command or with his permission, have unleashed great forces.

And they devoted to destruction all that was in the city, from man to woman, from young to old, and to ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

And to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, “Go into the house of the woman, the whore, and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her, as you swore to her.”

And the young men, the spies, went in and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brothers, and all who belonged to her — all her family they brought out — and they set them outside the camp of Israel.

And the city they burned with fire, and all that was in it; only the silver and the gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they gave to the treasury of the house of the LORD.

And Rahab the whore, and her father’s house, and all who belonged to her, Joshua kept alive; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

And Joshua swore at that time, saying: “Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and builds this city, Jericho. With his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.”

And the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.

Joshua6

The Walls of Jericho