This guide offers Bible study questions for Joshua 6, the account of Israel’s march around Jericho and the fall of its walls. The questions are written for a small group, a Sunday class, or personal study, and each one comes with a leader’s note to help the discussion move forward.
Joshua 6 at a Glance
Jericho is sealed shut against Israel. God then gives Joshua a strange plan: the armed men and seven priests with trumpets march around the city once a day for six days, and on the seventh day they circle it seven times. At the final blast and shout, the walls collapse, and the city is taken and devoted to the LORD.
The chapter ends with Rahab and her household spared because she protected the spies, and with a solemn curse on anyone who would rebuild Jericho. The narrative closes by noting that the LORD was with Joshua and his fame spread through the land.
Observation Questions
Use these questions first to establish what the text actually says before anyone offers an interpretation. Read the passage aloud once, then let the group answer from the text itself, returning to specific verses whenever a claim is made.
Joshua 6:1-5
1 Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the children of Israel. No one went out, and no one came in. 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.”
(WEB)
This opening passage sets the scene and gives God’s plan, so reading it aloud helps everyone hear the unusual nature of the instructions before the discussion begins.
Joshua 6:10
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.”
(WEB)
Reading Joshua’s command to keep silent until the right moment brings the test of obedience into focus and prepares the group for the questions about trust and timing.
Joshua 6:16
At the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city!
(WEB)
The moment Joshua declares that the LORD has given the city is the turning point of the chapter, and reading it slowly lets the group feel the weight of that announcement.
Joshua 6:17-19
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.”
(WEB)
These verses hold together the devotion of the city, Rahab’s rescue, and the warning about the treasure, which makes them rich material for interpretation and for a conversation about holiness.
Joshua 6:25
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.
(WEB)
Reading this verse aloud lets the group hear that Rahab lives among Israel to this day, which opens a natural discussion about grace, faith, and belonging.
Memory Verse for Joshua 6
Joshua 6:20
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.
(WEB)
This verse captures the whole chapter in one line: the people obey, the trumpets sound, the shout rises, and the wall falls. It is short enough to memorize and vivid enough to recall whenever the group faces a difficult barrier.
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we thank you that you are the God who brings down walls that no human effort could move. Give us the courage to keep walking in obedience when we cannot see the result, and the patience to wait for your voice before we speak. Make us faithful with what is set apart for you, and open our hearts to people who need shelter and welcome, as you showed mercy to Rahab. Let the story of Jericho remind us that victory belongs to you, and that your presence goes with those who trust you. Lead us in the days ahead, and help us to hold on to what we learn here. Amen.
