Jericho and the Trumpets

The words

1. Accursed

   Reserved for destruction or sacred use.

   Joshua calls the city accursed: its inhabitants are killed, Rahab’s household is spared, and specified metals are reserved for the LORD’s treasury.

   Joshua 6:17–19 (opens a new tab) · Joshua 6:21–25 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Joshua 6:17-19 (opens a new tab)

2. Armed Men

   The armed men march ahead of the priests and ark; after the city falls, Israel’s force kills its inhabitants.

   Joshua 6:8–9 (opens a new tab) · Joshua 6:20–21 (opens a new tab)

3. Compass

   The LORD tells Joshua to have the fighting men compass Jericho, making one circuit each day for six days.

   Joshua 6:2–3 (opens a new tab)

4. Days

   For six days the people go around Jericho once and return to camp; on the seventh day they circle it seven times.

   Joshua 6:14–15 (opens a new tab)

5. Fall

   The LORD promises that Jericho’s wall will fall flat when the people shout after the long horn blast, allowing them to enter.

   Joshua 6:2–5 (opens a new tab)

6. Jericho

   Joshua describes Jericho shut against Israel, then captured after its wall falls; the account says the inhabitants are killed.

   Did you know?

   UNESCO added Tell es-Sultan to its World Heritage List in 2023 for its prehistoric settlement remains, including a tower.

   Joshua 6:1 (opens a new tab) · Joshua 6:20–21 (opens a new tab) · UNESCO: Tell es-Sultan (opens a new tab)

7. Ram's Horn

   The long blast of a ram’s horn marks the moment for the people to shout, following the LORD’s instructions to Joshua.

   Joshua 6:2; Joshua 6:4–5 (opens a new tab)

8. Seven

   Seven priests carry seven trumpets ahead of the ark; on the seventh day, the procession circles the city seven times.

   Joshua 6:4 (opens a new tab) · Joshua 6:15 (opens a new tab)

9. Shout

   Joshua commands silence during the march until he gives the signal; at his command, the people are to shout.

   Joshua 6:10 (opens a new tab) · Joshua 6:16 (opens a new tab)

10. Sound

    The trumpet’s sound is the signal for a great shout, after which the wall is promised to fall flat.

    Joshua 6:5 (opens a new tab)

11. Treasury

    Silver, gold and objects of brass and iron are reserved for the LORD’s treasury, while the city is burned.

    Joshua 6:19 (opens a new tab) · Joshua 6:24 (opens a new tab)

12. Trumpets

    Seven priests blow trumpets of rams’ horns ahead of the ark, with armed men before them and the rear guard following.

    Did you know?

    Leviticus also uses a trumpet blast to announce the Jubilee, linking its sound with the proclamation of liberty throughout the land.

    Joshua 6:8–9 (opens a new tab) · Leviticus 25:9–10 (opens a new tab)

13. Utterly

    Utterly describes the killing of Jericho’s men and women, young and old, along with its livestock, in Joshua’s account.

    Joshua 6:21 (opens a new tab)

14. Vessels

    Metal items, in the NET Bible.

    The KJV’s vessels of brass and iron are metal goods reserved for the LORD’s treasury, together with silver and gold.

    Joshua 6:19 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Joshua 6:17-19 (opens a new tab)

15. Walls

    Joshua says the wall falls flat at the shout, allowing entry; Hebrews later recalls the walls falling after seven days of encircling.

    Joshua 6:20 (opens a new tab) · Hebrews 11:30 (opens a new tab)