Joshua 6:20 tells how the walls of Jericho collapsed after Israel obeyed God’s strange instructions: march around the city, then shout when the trumpets sounded. The verse describes the moment the wall fell flat and the people went straight into the city and took it. The words are narrated by the book’s author, speaking about Joshua’s army as they stood before the walls of Jericho in the land of Canaan.
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 their trumpets. The shout is not a battle cry in the usual sense. It is an act of obedience, carried out in the exact way God had commanded for six days of marching in silence and then this final sound on the seventh day. Israel did not fight with siege engines or ladders. They trusted the word they had been given and acted on it.
The phrase “the wall fell down flat” describes a sudden, complete collapse. The text does not say the men knocked the wall down or that it was weakened over time. It credits the event to the sound and the shout, which the wider chapter makes clear was God’s doing. The result was that “the people went up into the city, every man straight in front of him,” a picture of an army moving forward in order, with nothing standing in its way.
What the verse does not promise is a formula that works for every problem. It does not turn shouting or music into a technique for getting what we want. It tells one specific story of God giving a specific city into the hands of a specific people for a purpose he had already announced.
The Context of Joshua 6:20
The book of Joshua is traditionally attributed to Joshua himself, though it may have been compiled later, and it recounts Israel’s entry into and settlement of the promised land after the death of Moses. Its first audience was the Israelite people who had come out of the wilderness and were now crossing into Canaan. The book serves as a record of God keeping his promise to bring them into the land.
Verses 17 through 19 show that the city was “devoted” to the LORD, meaning its people and goods were set apart for God’s judgment, while Rahab and her household were spared because she had sheltered the spies. Verses 21 through 23 then describe the destruction of the city and the rescue of Rahab. Read in this setting, verse 20 is one step in a larger account of judgment, mercy and God’s faithfulness to his word.
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 speaks these words to Israel before they cross the Jordan, reminding them that the LORD goes with them. This assurance of God’s presence is the foundation for the courage the people show when they march around Jericho.
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. He looks back on this event as a model of trust in God’s word, showing that the victory belonged to faith in action.
A Short Prayer From Joshua 6:20
Lord, you have kept your promises to your people across many generations, and you are faithful still. Teach me to hear your word clearly and to act on it even when I cannot see how it will turn out. Where I am tempted to rely on my own strength, remind me that the walls I face are yours to bring down. Give me courage to step forward in obedience, and steady my heart to trust you with the results. Amen.
