Joshua chapter 6
6:2-7 The strange battle strategy must have seemed ridiculous to the inhabitants of Jericho, but Israel was to learn
from the outset that the campaign for Canaan would be successful only if fought at God’s direction. It was to be a
spiritual experience. Victory could come only on the basis of spiritual obedience. Jericho was a strategic Canaanite
stronghold. Archaeological excavations reveal that Jericho was the oldest known city in ancient Canaan. Its age and
location made it the most prominent city in that region. Its fall would open up the whole center of the land to the
invaders.
6:17 Jericho was put under a divine ban. Accursed translate, is the Hebrew cherem a “consecrated/devoted thing” so
that the city and all that are therein were under divine disposition. None was to be left alive except Rahab and those
in her house, and nothing was to be taken as a spoil of war (cf. 7:1, 11). Some have questioned the property of such
a near total extermination of the populace. However, the complete degradation of the Canaanites had received
divine condemnation previously (cf. Num. 21:1-3; Deut. 7:1, 2; 12:29-32; 13:15-17; 20:17, 18). Because the time for
their judgment had come (cf. Gen. 15:16) and because such wickedness could only spell spiritual disaster for the
Israelites (cf. Deut. 7:23-26), nothing short of a total extermination could suffice. As such Jericho serves as are
reminder and prelude of God’s final annihilation of evil.
6:21-25. The general details of Jericho's fall have been illustrated by various archaeological excavations. Although
the archaeological date relative to Jericho and the date of its conquest have undergone divergent interpretations at
the hands of archaeologists and biblical chronological framework given in 1 Kings 6:1. Adequate evidence exists for
the destruction of Jericho in Joshua's time.
6:26. The curse was designed to keep Jericho from again becoming a walled stronghold. Although Jericho's environs
were subsequently occupied to some extent (cf. 18:21; Judg. 3:13; 2 Sam. 10:5), the full weight of the curse was
literally carried out against those who attempted to build it as a fortified city (1 Kin. 16:34).
Joshua chapter 7
7:1. Achan's trespass (lit., "treacherous-secret act"), while personally condemnable (vv. 20, 21), also compromised
the holiness of the entire nation. As a covenant nation, Israel functioned under the twin mandates of corporate
solidarity (cf. Deut. 6:18) and individual responsibility (Deut. 24:16). Accordingly, Israel had committed a trespass (cf.
v. 11) in Achan's sin. The incident was serious because such transgressions bring the holy name and reputation of
God into disrepute (cf. Deut. 9:26-29).
7:2. The location of Ali has been disputed. The most commonly held theory that Ali was to be identified with Et Tell
ran into the problem that this site was not occupied during the time of the conquest. However, recent archaeological
evidence convincingly suggests that Et Tell is not the site of ancient Ai. Rather, the biblical data but is in harmony
with the location of Ai given by the early historian Eusebius. Ai was also famous as one of the geographical places for
the spot where Abram first pitched his tent and built an altar to the Lord (Gen. 12:8; 13:3, 4).
7:14. For the casting of lots, see the note at 1 Samuel 14:41, 42.
7:24-26. All Israel bore Achan's guilt, so it must participate in carrying out the divine sentence. Two different Hebrew
words are used for the act of stoning: ragan (v. 25a) stresses that the act was a form of capital punishment; saqal (v.
25b) emphasizes that the resultant heap of stones (v. 26) would serve as a grim memorial of the fruits of selfish lust
and willful disobedience. Achan means "Trouble." Achan's name is rendered Achar in 1 Chronicles 2:7.
Joshua chapter 8
8:2. Possibly as a reward for collective obedience, the ban is not applied strictly to Ai as it had been to Jericho, but
the more customary war regulations are (cf. Deut. 2:34, 35; 3:6, 7).
8:3-12. The variance in numbers of the men assigned to the ambush as well as the difficulty in determining the
precise chronology of the details of the campaign caused some doubt as to the trustworthiness of the scriptural
record. Assuming that the figures in verses 3 and 12 refer to the same group, since Ai's casualty figures are a mere
"twelve thousand" (v. 25), a force in ambush of thirty thousand men seems disproportionate. The word translated
"thousand" may also be understood in the sense of "leaders" or even "contingents." Thus, there could be 30 leaders
or contingents that made up the five thousand men in ambush. The logistics of concealing five thousand men also
seems difficult. Accordingly, some have suggested that the force was still smaller, being made up of 30 commandos,
constituting a first-rate military force divided into five units. No textual change is necessary with either solution.
8:29. These details are in harmony with the scriptural injunctions in Deuteronomy 21:22, 23 and the action taken
against Achan (7:26; see also 10:26, 27). With this, the shameful campaign for Ai ended.
8:30. The erection of the altar of mount Ebal, as the initial phase of the conquest ends, may be a conscious
repetition of Abraham's earlier practices as he entered Canaan (cf. Gen. 12:7, 8). In any case, it was in clear
obedience to the Mosaic command (cf. Ex. 20:24, 25; Deut. 27:2-6). The building of the altar, the offering of
sacrifices, the inscribing of the law, and the reading of what Moses had ordered all point to a ceremony of covenant
renewal at this time. Having come into the Land of Promise, the people were entering a new phase of existence that
called for worship and obedience to their God and King. In a distinctive way they were to consider themselves on
active duty in His service.
Joshua chapter 9
9:3, 4. Although Israel was commanded to destroy the Canaanites cities, she could enter into a peace treaty with
more distant people (Deut. 7:1, 2:20:10-17). Hence, Gibeon, which lay close at hand, hoped to preserve its existence
by sending ambassadors of peace who feigned their arrival as being after a long journey. The Gibeonites' wily tactics
were successful because the Israelites failed to ask counsel of the Lord (v. 14). Israel's failure to seek divine
guidance in the matter led to a formal treaty with the Gibeonites (v. 15). Although they had been tricked, since
Joshua and the leaders had sealed the covenant with a solemn oath, the Israelites were obliged to keep its terms (cf.
11:19). The ill-advised alliance was to be a source of constant trouble for Israel (cf. 10:1-15; 2 Sam. 21:1-14).
9:7. Hivites (probably means Horites as read in the Septuagint) are to be associated with the ancient Hurrians. Note
that in Genesis 36:2, 20, Zibeon, the son of the Horite Seir, is called a Hivite.
9:21. Although the Gibeonites' lives are spared, they are reduced to the status of virtual servitude (cf. Deut. 29:11).
Joshua chapter 10
10:5 The league with Gibeon was to be the propelling cause that opened the southern campaign for Canaan.
Repulsing the Amorite thrust into Canaan’s center at Gibeon, the follow-up battles would take Israel into Canaan’s
southland.
10:9 Armed with the Lord’s promise of victory, even an all-night march up from Gilgal to great hailstones that killed a
majority of the enemy was evidence of the Lord’s intervention (v.11; cf. Job 38:22,23).
10:12-15 Clarity Israel’s “long day,” by which Joshua’s forces were able to defeat the enemy fully, was something
miraculous and an answer to prayer, Various scientific and literary explanations have been proposed, such as the
slowing or stopping of the earth on its axis, the prolonging of daylight by a special refraction of the sun’s ray, or the
prolonging of darkness (e.g, by a solar eclipse or by the hailstorm), so the battle might be fought in the shade, but
the best explanation is simply that the event was a miracle. Just as the Bible presents it. Joshua’s poetical
exclamation and the report of the miraculous victory were preserved in the book of Jasher, apparently an early
collection of poetic songs commemorating Israel’s heroic deeds (cf. 2 Sam. 1:18).
10:28 After the final defeat of the five Amorite kings at Makkedah, Joshua pushed still further south and west in a
great expedition that took him into lower Canaan. He took strategic cities far to the south and west of Jerusalem (vv.
29-42), before returning to the field headquarters in Gilgal (v. 43).
Joshua chapter 11
11:1. Jabin is apparently a hereditary throne name used by successive kings of Hazor (cf. Judg. 4:2).
11:2-5. While the collection of Canaanite kings is headed by Jabin of Hazor, the call for a climactic showdown against
the Israelite invaders went out to the remaining Canaanite people. The assembled Canaanite forces gathered
together and camped at Merom, northwest of the Sea of Galilee and southwest of Hazor. The campaign for the north
was about to be engaged.
11:9. Joshua's hamstringing (houghing) of the Canaanite horses after the victory and the burning of the vaunted
Canaanite chariots would signify Israel's trust in God alone and lack of reliance on pure military strength. The
burning of Hazor was an exception to the Israelite military strategy.
11:15. Joshua's faithfulness to the Lord's will and Moses' directions is constantly underscored (cf. vv. 12, 20, 23).
Joshua's own farewell testimony emphasizes the faithfulness and goodness of God (cf. 23:15).
11:23. The chief resistance of the entire land was now broken. Further conflict with the Canaanites would yet
continue for some time (cf. Ex. 23:29, 30; Deut. 7:22; Judg. 2:20-23). The land resting periodically from war will form
a major theme in the Book of Judges.
Joshua chapter 12
12:1 The list of conquered kings in chapter 12 forms a logical expansion of the closing verses of chapter 11.
12:24 the mention of the numerous kinglets in Canaan at this time is confirmed by the Amarna Tablets, in which
many of the same names occur.
Joshua Chapter 13
13:1 Chapters 13-19 deal with the careful allotment of land to the tribes of Israel. The division was to be carried out
on spiritual grounds (cf. v. 6: 14:2: 18:6), as well as on the basis of the needs of the tribes. The whole process was
presided over by Joshua. Eleazer the priest, and by the heads of the tribes (14:1). It was carried out carefully by a
committee of men specially selected to study the land and determine its boundaries (18:4-9).
13:2,3 The mention of the Philistines and the five lords of their principal cities has been considered anachronistic by
some due to the omission of the Philistines from the inheritance list of 12:8. And the statement in 11:21, 22 that the
Anakim were still the chief force in southwestern Canaan. However, the presence of small numbers of Philistines in
the area was noted as early as the patriarchal period (Gen. 21:32; cf Ex. 13:17), so that some Philistine presence
was already known by Joshua’s day. The precision regarding the discussion concerning the Philistines here may be
an editorial updating, detailing the conditions of the territory that would be dominated by the Philistines after Joshua’s
time. Indeed, the Philistines would become a source of increasing irritation to Israel during the era of the Judges (cf
Judg. 3:3, 4, 31). By the time of Samson (a century-and-a-half later). They became a distinct threat (Judg. 13-16).
13:5 The divinely promised child was to be a Nazarite, one separated from the world and consecrated to the Lord. In
addition to the prohibition against cutting the hair mentioned here, the regulations concerning the Nazarite vow
detailed in Numbers 6:1-21 prohibited also using products of the vine and the touching of any dead body. Samson’s
actions violated all three of these regulations (cf. 14:8, 9, 17; 16:17). Because of the unique child she was to bear,
Samson’s mother was also commanded to share in the terms of the Nazarite vow (vv. 13,14).
13:18 The secret name of the angel of the Lord comes from a root meaning “separate,” “surpassing,” or “beyond
apprehension,” and hence is often translated “wonderful” (cf. Ex 15:11; Is. 9:6).