Joshua 6:17 says that Jericho belongs entirely to the LORD, so that its people and goods are set apart for God and given over to judgment. It also says that one woman, Rahab, and her household are to be kept alive because she protected Israel’s spies. Joshua speaks these words to the Israelite army as they stand before the walls of Jericho, just before the city falls.
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.
Joshua 6:17 (WEB)
What Joshua 6:17 Means
The phrase “devoted to the LORD” describes something set apart for God in a special way. In the context of holy war, it means the city and its inhabitants are handed over to God as a judgment, not taken as plunder for Israel. The word carries the sense of something dedicated completely, belonging to God and to no one else.
The verse then makes a specific exception. Rahab the prostitute is to live, along with her family in the house, because she hid the Israelite messengers. The reason given is her act of protection toward God’s people, not any claim of merit on her own account. Her survival rests on a particular act of faith and courage.
The verse does not promise that anyone who helps God’s people will always be spared, or that Israel’s victories are a template for ordinary life. It describes one event at one moment in the conquest of the land. What it does show is that God keeps his word to those who act in good faith toward his purposes.
The Context of Joshua 6:17
The book of Joshua recounts Israel’s entry into Canaan after the death of Moses, and the Jewish and Christian traditions have generally associated it with Joshua himself, though its final form includes later editorial material. Its first audience was the people of Israel, who needed to understand how God had brought them into the promised land and what faithfulness required of them there.
Verses 14 through 16 describe the army marching around Jericho for six days and then seven times on the seventh day, ending with the trumpets and Joshua’s command to shout. Verses 18 through 20 follow with a warning that the Israelites must not take any of the devoted goods, and then describe the collapse of the wall. Read in that sequence, verse 17 is the moment where the destiny of the city and of Rahab is announced, just before the shout that brings the walls down.
Key Phrases in Joshua 6:17
Hebrews 11:31
By faith, Rahab the prostitute, didn’t perish with those who were disobedient, having received the spies in peace.
(WEB)
This verse names Rahab among the examples of faith in the New Testament, highlighting her welcome of the spies as an act of trust. It shows how later readers understood her story as more than a rescue, presenting her as someone whose faith was active and whose decision was honored by God.
James 2:25
In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way?
(WEB)
James points to Rahab as an example of a faith that results in action, linking her protection of the messengers with the reality of the faith she professed. Read alongside Joshua 6:17, it makes clear that the courage she showed was an expression of her trust in the God of Israel.
A Short Prayer From Joshua 6:17
Lord, you are holy and you hold every person and every city accountable before you. Thank you that you also make room for those whom others would count out, as you did for Rahab. Give me the courage to act in faith when it costs me something, and help me trust that you see what I risk for your sake. Teach me to belong fully to you in the small choices of ordinary days. Amen.
