Josué 6
Bob Utley · You Can Understand the Bible
Josué 6
CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS Joshua 6-12 describe the major military campaigns of Joshua. The first half of the book of Joshua, Joshua 1-12, describes the entering into (Joshua 1-5) and conquest (Joshua 6-12) of the Promised Land. There are three distinct geographical movements of Joshua's army. the central campaign, Joshua 6-8 Jericho Ai covenant ceremony at Shechem the southern campaign, Joshua 9-10 Gibeon ruse the five kings the northern campaign, chapters Jos. 11:1-15 Hazor summary, Jos. 11:16-23; 12:1-24 Notice the number of double VERBALS of the same root in this chapter. This is a characteristic of Joshua. "tightly shut," Jos. 6:1, BDB 688, KB 742, Qal PERFECT and Pual PARTICIPLE "take up," Jos. 6:6, BDB 669, KB 724, Qal IMPERATIVE and Qal IMPERFECT "blew," Jos. 6:9, BDB 1075, KB 1785, Qal PERFECT and Qal PARTICIPLE "walk," Jos. 6:9, BDB 229, KB 246, Qal PARTICIPLE and Qal INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE "shout," Jos. 6:10, BDB 929, KB 1206, Hiphil IMPERATIVE and Hiphil PERFECT "took up," Jos. 6:12-13, BDB 669, KB 724, Qal IMPERFECT and Qal PARTICIPLE "went," Jos. 6:13, BDB 229, KB 246, Qal PARTICIPLE and Qal INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE (twice) "brought out," Jos. 6:23, BDB 422, KB 425, Hiphil IMPERFECT and Hiphil PERFECT "was," Jos. 6:27, BDB 224, KB 242, Qal IMPERFECT and Qal IMPERFECT This kind of repetition is common throughout the book. See note at Jos. 3:15.
Josué 6:1-5
6:1 "Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel" The people had heard the reports and were fearful (cf. Jos. 2:11; 5:1). Usually at the first sign of danger people from the surrounding villages rushed into the walled city. 6:2 "The Lord said to Joshua" This is the theophany angel's message mentioned in Jos. 5:14. This angel, like the one in Exodus 3, speaks for God (cf. Exod. 3:2,4) and may be a physical manifestation of God (i.e., the Angel of the Lord). SPECIAL TOPIC: THE ANGEL OF THE LORD ▣ "See" The VERB (BDB 906, KB 1157, Qal IMPERATIVE) is characteristic of YHWH's revelations: to Moses, Deut. 1:8,21; 2:24; 4:5; 11:26; 30:15; 32:39 to Joshua, Jos. 6:2; 8:8 It is possibly another way of assuring Joshua that YHWH is with him as He was with Moses. ▣ "I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and its valiant warriors" YHWH is asserting the victory ("I have given," BDB 678, KB 733, Qal PERFECT) even before Jericho falls because He is on their side. However, there will be a test of obedience as they are commanded in verses 3ff to march around the city and perform certain acts. The theological emphasis on covenant obedience is recurrent (cf. Jos. 6:5). 6:4 Notice the repetition of the number "seven" (14 times, see SPECIAL TOPIC: SYMBOLIC NUMBERS IN SCRIPTURE, #4): seven priests, seven trumpets, seventh day, and seven times. Seven is the number of perfection or completion based on Gen. 1:1-2:4. The fall of Jericho is a supernatural act of YHWH, not Israel. ▣ "trumpet of rams' horns" The rabbis stipulate that this must be the left horn of a male flat-tailed sheep. It was used to remind the synagogue of the lamb that God used to provide as a substitute for Isaac, Gen. 22:13. It was primarily not a musical instrument, but a loud blast for religious (cf. Exod. 19:13; Lev. 25:9), and at times, military purposes. SPECIAL TOPIC: HORNS USED BY ISRAEL 6:5 "shout" The term (BDB 929, KB 1206, Hiphil IMPERFECT) is used to describe a characteristic "war cry" (cf. Jos. 6:10,20; Num. 10:5,9; Jdg. 7:20; 1 Sam. 17:52; 2 Chr. 13:14-15). YHWH used the daily marching around the city the trumpet sound the war cry an earthquake to deliver Jericho into Israel's hands (cf. Jos. 6:2)! Natural things but used with supernatural intensity, timing, and locality. One good example of a military cry can be seen in Num. 10:35-36 in connection with the ark. ▣ "the wall of the city will fall down flat" One can almost see the consternation on the part of the elders when Joshua explained this plan to them, for this was not normal military procedure! However, it was the word of God and throughout the Pentateuch we have seen that God has required His people to do that which seems illogical (cf. Numbers 2) as a test of obedience which shows their faith in His word and promises. The mechanism for the destruction of the wall was probably an earthquake, but the timing, intensity, and locality are supernatural (cf., Egyptian plagues and crossing the Jordan).
Josué 6:6-11
6:6-11 This paragraph contains several IMPERATIVES. As YHWH commands Joshua, he passes them on. "take up the ark," Jos. 6:6, BDB 669, KB 724, Qal IMPERATIVE "go forward," Jos. 6:7, BDB 716, KB 778, Qal IMPERATIVE "march around," Jos. 6:7, BDB 685, KB 738, Qal IMPERATIVE "shout," Jos. 6:10, BDB 929, KB 1206, Hiphil IMPERATIVE 6:6 "the ark of the covenant" After the crossing of the Jordan, the Cloud which had represented YHWH's presence with the people was removed. Now the ark was the visible symbol of His presence. SPECIAL TOPIC: THE ARK OF THE COVENANT 6:7 "Then he said to the people" The Masoretic text has "they," which may refer to the officers mentioned in Jos. 1:10 and 3:2. 6:9 "The armed men went before the priests" Two Jewish commentators of the Middle Ages, Kimchi and Rashi, say that this refers to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh mentioned in Jos. 4:12-13. This would not have been the normal marching order of the camp. The term "armed men" (BDB 323, KB 321, Qal PASSIVE PARTICIPLE) means "fully equipped for battle" (cf. Jos. 6:7,9,13; 4:13; 2 Chr. 20:21; 28:14). 6:10 "You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard, nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, 'Shout!'" This same truth must be related to Jos. 6:8,13. Some people say that this shows that there are two composite accounts, but really what we have are the priests who could blow the horn every day or at will, and the fighting men who could not speak until the seventh day!
Josué 6:12-14
6:13 "ram's horns" It (BDB 385, see note at Jos. 6:4) was the left horn of a male flat-tailed sheep. ▣ "went" Notice how many times this VERB (BDB 229, KB 246) is used in this verse—five times. This literary style seems repetitive to moderns.
Josué 6:15-21
6:17 "The city shall be under the ban" This is the word herem (BDB 356), which means "devoted to God for destruction." It is the concept of holy war where everything in the city that breathed must die because it is given to God and, therefore, it becomes too holy for human use. The one exception is Rahab, the harlot, and her family, because of the help she gave to the spies and their oath in YHWH's name to protect her. SPECIAL TOPIC: CURSE (OT) 6:18 "keep yourselves from the things under the ban" YHWH's people must restrain (BDB 1036, KB 1581, Qal IMPERATIVE) themselves. Joshua 7 will describe the consequences of disobedience! 6:21 This is a description of holy war. It seems very cruel to us in our day, but one must remember that it was a common military practice in the day in which it was done (e.g., Moabite inscription from Mesha, KAI 181:17). It was also an act of divine judgment based on Gen. 15:16. That which was given to YHWH became holy and could not be used by humans (cf. Lev. 27:28-29).
Josué 6:22-25
6:22 "Go. . .bring" These are two more IMPERATIVES. Joshua is present and directing the course of events. "go into," BDB 97, KB 112, Qal IMPERATIVE "bring out," BDB 422, KB 425, Qal IMPERATIVE 6:23 "the young men" This term (BDB 654) denotes a young person under the supervision of another. However, in Jos. 2:1,3; 6:22, they are called "men" (BDB 35). It is possible that the term does not refer to age in this context, but to these spies who must report back to Joshua. ▣ "and placed them outside the camp of Israel" Because Rahab, at this point, was still a Canaanite, and, therefore, ceremonially unclean, she was removed from the holy people for a time (cf. Deut. 23:14). However, Jos. 6:25 shows that she was later fully included in the covenant community (people can change/be changed!). 6:24 Burning was a sign of the herem (ban, cf. Deut. 13:16). That which was physical was turned into the invisible and rose up in smoke to God. Several cities were burned by Joshua (Jericho, Ai, 8:28; Hazor, 11:6,9,11,13). However, not all cities were dedicated to YHWH. Israel inhabited many Canaanite cities. SPECIAL TOPIC: FIRE ▣ "the house of the Lord" This obviously refers to the tabernacle here (cf. Exod. 25-27), but in the OT it usually refers to the temple in Jerusalem.
Josué 6:26-27
6:26 "Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time" This oath would involve calling YHWH's name into play on someone who acted in the way that was cursed. We learn from 1 Kgs. 16:34 that this curse was literally fulfilled in the life of Hiel, the Bethelite. SPECIAL TOPIC: "THE NAME" OF YHWH 6:27 This refers to the fear of the Canaanite population ("their hearts melted").