Joshua 6:20 describes the moment the walls of Jericho collapsed after Israel shouted and the trumpets sounded. The verse tells us that the victory came as the people obeyed God’s instructions, not through military strength of their own. The narrator of the book of Joshua records this event, and the people in view are the Israelite army under Joshua’s leadership, moving into the Promised Land after forty years of wandering in the wilderness.
So the people shouted and the priests blew the trumpets. When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight in front of him, and they took the city.
Joshua 6:20 (WEB)
What Joshua 6:20 Means
The verse begins with the people shouting while the priests blow trumpets. This was not a battle cry in the usual sense. Israel had been told to march around the city once a day for six days, with seven priests carrying trumpets of rams’ horns, and then on the seventh day to circle it seven times before shouting. The noise was an act of trust, a way of announcing that the outcome belonged to the LORD.
The second half of the verse reports that the wall fell flat, and the people went straight up into the city. The wording suggests that the wall did not get broken through by battering rams or siege tools. It simply collapsed, so that the army walked in over the ruins. The verse makes clear that the fall was an act of God, and it does not describe any ongoing promise that every obstacle will fall at the sound of a shout.
What the verse does not do is offer a formula for guaranteed success. Israel had a specific command for a specific city at a specific moment in redemptive history. Reading it as a template for any challenge you face would misread the text. What it does show is that God keeps his word to his people when they follow what he has said.
The Context of Joshua 6:20
The book of Joshua is traditionally attributed to Joshua himself, though scholars note that the account of his death and some later details suggest an editor finished it. It was written for Israel as a record of how the people entered and settled the land God had promised to Abraham’s descendants. Its first readers would have been a community that needed to remember that their conquest was God’s gift and not merely a human achievement.
Just before verse 20, the text sets out strict instructions: Jericho and everything in it were devoted to the LORD, Rahab and her household were to be spared for protecting the spies, and the silver, gold, and metal vessels were to go into the treasury. Verses 21 through 23 then describe the destruction and Rahab’s rescue. Seeing verse 20 in that sequence shows that the fall of the walls is the hinge of a larger story about judgment, faithfulness, and grace toward someone who trusted God.
Key Phrases in Joshua 6:20
Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them; for the LORD your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.”
(WEB)
Moses gives this charge to Israel before they enter the land, and Joshua hears it directly. It sets the emotional backdrop for the march around Jericho, reminding the reader that the courage needed for the conquest rested on God’s presence rather than on Israel’s own confidence.
Hebrews 11:30
By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been encircled for seven days.
(WEB)
The writer of Hebrews lists the fall of Jericho among the acts of faith by which God’s people were commended. Reading it alongside Joshua 6:20 shows that the New Testament treats this event as an example of trust in God’s word, which is the thread running through the whole account.
A Short Prayer From Joshua 6:20
Lord, you kept your word to Israel when they obeyed your instructions around Jericho, and the walls that seemed so solid fell at your command. Help me to trust you the same way when the path ahead looks impossible. Teach me to act faithfully in the small things you have already shown me, and to leave the outcome in your hands.
When I feel tempted to rely on my own strength, remind me that the victory belongs to you. Give me steady courage to keep walking forward, one obedient step at a time, knowing that you go before me. Amen.
