Joshua 6 tells how Israel took the fortified city of Jericho, and it is one of the best-known stories in the Bible. People read it to understand what happened at the walls, why God chose such an unusual method, and what the chapter asks of those who trust him. The short answer is that Jericho fell because God gave the city into Israel’s hand, and Israel’s part was to walk, wait, and obey until the moment he commanded them to shout.
Joshua 6 Summary
The chapter opens with a stark picture: Jericho is shut tight, no one going out or coming in. God then speaks to Joshua and states plainly that the city has already been given into Israel’s hand, along with its king and its warriors. The instructions that follow are strange by any military standard. For six days the armed men are to march around the city once each day, with seven priests carrying trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day they are to march seven times, and at the signal the people are to shout.
Joshua passes the orders along, and the people obey in silence, not even allowed to speak a word until the appointed moment. On the seventh day they circle the city seven times, and when the trumpets sound and the shout goes up, the wall falls flat. Israel enters the city and destroys its inhabitants, but Rahab and her household are spared because she had sheltered the spies. The chapter closes with a solemn curse on anyone who would rebuild Jericho, and a note that the LORD was with Joshua and his fame spread through the land.
Background and Setting
The book of Joshua takes its name from its central figure, Joshua son of Nun, who succeeded Moses and led Israel into the land of Canaan. Jewish tradition and most Christian readers have long attributed the book to Joshua himself, at least in its core, with a later editor or editors often assumed to have added the final material, including the notice about Rahab living “to this day.” The events are usually dated to the late second millennium BC, roughly in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, though scholars debate the precise chronology.
The book was written for an Israelite audience who needed to understand how they came to possess the land promised to their ancestors and how they were to live once they had it. Chapter 6 sits near the beginning of the conquest narrative, right after Israel crosses the Jordan River, and it sets the pattern for what follows: God leads, Israel responds in faith, and the outcome belongs to the LORD.
Joshua 6 Section by Section
Verses 1-5: A City Shut Up and a Strange Command
2 The LORD said to Joshua, “Behold, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the mighty men of valor. 3 All of your men of war shall march around the city, going around the city once. You shall do this six days. 4 Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day, you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 It shall be that 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 city wall shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up, every man straight in front of him.”
Joshua 6:2-5 (WEB)
The chapter begins by describing Jericho as tightly sealed against Israel, a city that looks impossible to take. Into that scene God speaks with a declaration that changes how we should read everything after it: the city has already been given into Joshua’s hand. The command to march, to blow the trumpets, and to shout is not presented as a plan Israel must invent, but as instructions for responding to a victory God has already promised.
What stands out is how ordinary the actions are. Walking, carrying trumpets, and shouting are not the tools of siege warfare. They ask Israel to trust that God’s power works through obedience rather than through their own ability to batter a wall. The rest of the chapter unfolds that trust step by step.
Verses 6-14: Obedience in Silence and Repetition
10 Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout, nor let your voice be heard, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.” 11 So he caused the LORD’s ark to go around the city, going about it once. Then they came into the camp, and stayed in the camp.
Joshua 6:10-11 (WEB)
Joshua gives the orders to the priests and the people, and the people respond by moving as they were told. The silence imposed on them is striking. For six days they are to march without a sound, and the restraint would have required discipline and a steady kind of patience. The ark of the covenant, the visible sign of God’s presence, goes before and around the city, a reminder that the march belongs to the LORD.
The repetition matters too. Day after day the same circuit is made, and day after day the people return to camp without any apparent result. Faithfulness in this chapter is not measured by visible progress but by doing what God said, again and again, even when nothing seems to be happening.
Verses 15-21: The Seventh Day and the Falling Wall
16 At the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city! 17 The city shall be devoted, even it and all that is in it, to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. 18 But as for you, only keep yourselves from what is devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted it, you take of the devoted thing; so you would make the camp of Israel accursed, and trouble it. 19 But all the silver, gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are holy to the LORD. They shall come into the LORD’s treasury.” 20 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 6:16-20 (WEB)
On the seventh day the pattern intensifies. They rise early and march seven times around the city, and at the final circuit Joshua tells the people to shout, because the LORD has given them the city. When the trumpets sound and the people shout with a great shout, the wall falls flat, and the people go straight up into the city. The text credits the victory to God’s action, and the timing of the shout shows that Israel’s response was tied to his word.
The chapter then records the devotion of the city to the LORD, a term meaning given over to God for destruction. Israel is told to take nothing for themselves from the city’s spoils, except the precious metals, which go into the treasury of the LORD’s house. The account is hard to read, and readers often wrestle with it honestly, noticing that the text presents this as a unique act within the conquest and tied to God’s specific command at this moment.
Verses 22-27: Rahab Spared and a Solemn Word
25 But Rahab the prostitute, her father’s household, and all that she had, Joshua saved alive. She lives in the middle of Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers, whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. 26 Joshua commanded them with an oath at that time, saying, “Cursed is the man before the LORD, who rises up and builds this city Jericho. With the loss of his firstborn he will lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he will set up its gates.”
Joshua 6:25-26 (WEB)
Joshua honors the promise made to Rahab, who had hidden the spies, and her family is brought out safely and set outside the camp. The mention that she lives in the middle of Israel “to this day” shows the narrator looking back on her lasting place among God’s people. Her story is a sharp reminder that God’s mercy reaches people who once stood far outside Israel.
The chapter closes with Joshua’s oath against anyone who would rebuild Jericho, a curse that in the book of 1 Kings is later linked to the cost of such a rebuilding. Then the narrator returns to the central truth of the whole account: the LORD was with Joshua, and his reputation spread through the land. The victory is a testimony to God’s presence, not to Israel’s strength.
Key Themes in Joshua 6
- Divine initiative: The city is given by God before Israel moves, so the victory is grounded in his word rather than in human strategy.
- Faithful obedience: The people march, wait, and shout exactly as instructed, even when their actions make little obvious sense.
- Holiness and devotion: The city and its spoils are set apart for the LORD, showing that God’s victories carry moral weight and call for reverence.
- Mercy for Rahab: A woman outside Israel is spared because of her faith in the God of Israel, pointing to the wider reach of God’s grace.
- God’s presence with his servant: The chapter ends by affirming that the LORD was with Joshua, and that his faithfulness was visible to the nations.
Lessons From Joshua 6 for Today
Many people face a problem that looks as solid as Jericho’s walls: a diagnosis, a stalled career, a relationship that seems closed off, or a debt that feels immovable. Joshua 6 suggests that the first step is not to calculate a clever way through, but to ask what God has said and to act on it. The march around the city looked foolish from the outside, and faithfulness often looks the same way when we are asked to pray steadily, keep a commitment, or serve quietly without seeing results.
The chapter also speaks to those who feel that their obedience is unseen. The people marched six days in silence before anything visibly changed. A parent who keeps showing up for a child, a volunteer who keeps teaching a class with few signs of fruit, or a believer who keeps praying for a long-hard family situation can take encouragement from the people who kept walking. The wall fell on the seventh day, but the faithfulness had been building all along.
Questions for Reflection
- What “walls” in your life feel impossible to move, and what has God already said about them?
- Where do you find it hard to act on God’s word when the steps seem unusual or slow?
- How does the idea that the city was “given” to Israel change the way you think about victory?
- What does Rahab’s story teach you about God’s willingness to welcome outsiders who turn to him?
- Is there a place in your life where you need to keep faithfully walking, even when nothing visible seems to be happening yet?
A Prayer From Joshua 6
Lord, I confess that the walls in front of me often look bigger than your promises. I want to hear what you have already said and to trust you enough to act on it, even when my steps seem slow or strange to others. Give me patience to keep walking when nothing seems to change, and a clear ear to recognize the moment you ask me to speak or act. Thank you that the outcome belongs to you and that you are with those who follow you. Help me to honor you in both the small obedience and the large victories. Amen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Israel march around Jericho instead of attacking the walls directly?
The text presents the march as a direct command from God, not as a military strategy Israel devised. The unusual method made clear that the victory came from the LORD, not from Israel’s skill with weapons or siege tactics.
What does it mean that the city was “devoted” to the LORD?
Devoted means set apart for God, which in this context involved giving the city and its inhabitants over to destruction as an act of holy judgment. The precious metals were placed in the LORD’s treasury instead, showing that they too belonged to him.
Why was Rahab spared, and what does her story teach?
Rahab was spared because she had hidden the Israelite spies and expressed faith in the God of Israel, as recorded earlier in the book. Her story shows that God’s mercy extends to people from outside Israel who turn to him in trust.
