The Bible Says
Joshua 6:1-5 Meaning

Joshua 6:1-5 begins the Israelites’ assault on Jericho. In the previous chapter, the Israelites observed the Passover for the first time in Canaan and ate some of the land’s produce. Then, Joshua encountered a divine messenger who identified himself as the Commander of the LORD’s army. The man urged Joshua to remove his sandals because he stood on holy ground (Joshua 5:1-15). In the present chapter, the story begins with the LORD instructing Joshua on how to conquer the first city standing in his way. Now, Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel (v. 1).

The city of Jericho is in the lower Jordan Valley, west of the Jordan River and about ten miles northwest of the Dead Sea. The Bible calls it the “city of palms” because it had abundant palm trees (Deuteronomy 34:3; Judges 1:16; 2 Chronicles 28:15). It was a secure fortress with formidable walls. Despite Jericho’s defenses, its inhabitants were fearful of the Israelites because “they heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan until they had crossed” (Joshua 5:1). Thus, the inhabitants of Jericho decided to reinforce their security by shutting and guarding the city gates; no one went out, and no one came in (v. 1). The people chose to prevent all incoming or outgoing traffic through the city to ensure their safety.

At that time, the LORD spoke to Joshua with encouraging words: See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors (v. 2). The use of the present perfect tense here to speak of a future action (I have given) communicates that something has already happened. It suggests that the Israelite victory was a fait accompli (something that has already occurred and cannot be changed). It also tells the reader that God played an important role in Israel’s victories. He was always the divine warrior who fought for them, when they obeyed His commands.

Having promised victory to His covenant people, the LORD gave them specific instructions on how to proceed with the conquest of Jericho. He said to them, You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days (v. 3). Rather than giving military advice and strategy to the Israelites, the LORD asked for a ritual ceremony. All the warriors were to march around the city once a day for six days. This goal would not be difficult to achieve because Jericho measured less than half a mile in circumference, approximately seven acres.

However, the processional pattern would be different on the seventh day. The LORD stated, Seven priests shall carry 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 (v. 4). The number seven is significant in Scripture and is prominent in this passage: seven priests, seven trumpets, seven days, and seven trips around Jericho. This number symbolizes completeness and perfection. For example, the LORD completed all His creative work in seven days (Genesis 2:1-2). Similarly, the march around Jericho would last seven days.

At the end of the procession, seven priests would walk in front of the ark while the people would march behind it. The ark was a wooden box overlaid with gold. It contained the stone tablets on which the LORD wrote the Ten Commandments. It was a sacred object that pictured the presence of God with His covenant people (Exodus 25:10-22). As such, the Israelites needed to follow the ark carried by the Levitical priests so God could guide them and grant them victory over the inhabitants of Jericho.

Seven men from the priestly line would also carry trumpets of rams’ horns. The Hebrew term for ram’s horn is “Shophar.” It refers to a curved musical instrument used mainly as a signal in military and ritual settings. Sometimes, the Israelites used it to sound the alarm of war (Jeremiah 4:19), stop battle and recall troops (2 Samuel 2:28), and declare victory (1 Samuel 13:3, Amos 2:2, Hosea 5:8). Other times, they used the “shophar” to praise Yahweh in worship (Psalm 98:6), proclaim the New Year Festival (Leviticus 23:24), and announce the arrival of the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 15:28). The prophets used it to warn the people of God’s judgment (Hosea 5:8; Amos 2:2). In our passage, the “shophar” signaled the start of the war against the inhabitants of Jericho.

Therefore, the LORD declared, It shall be that when they [the priests] 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 (v. 5).

The terms ram’s horn and trumpet refer to the same kind of instrument. It produced two to three tones, and its sound carried a long distance. The Hebrew word for trumpets here is “yovel” and is usually translated as “jubilee” as in “the year of jubilee” (Leviticus 25:10) But here it is translated as trumpets in the NASB-95. The phrase trumpets of rams’ horns (“shopharot ha’yovelim” in Hebrew) might be better translated as “the jubilant rams’ horns.” That is why the LORD commanded the priests to use it. Thus, once the Israelite community heard the sound, they would shout. Their war cry and the trumpet sound would evoke a scene of battle and the coming of the LORD as a divine warrior. As a result, the walls of Jericho would collapse, and the people would go up every man straight ahead. That means that the Israelites would enter Jericho.

In ancient Israel, warfare was a sacred event. The Israelites often fought battles at God’s command and in His presence. They were to consider battles as dependent on God’s provision and approval. When they undertook warfare that God forbade or did not permit, they failed (Deuteronomy 1:42-45, Joshua 7:1-12). The outcome of battle was determined by God, not by Israel’s size or strength (1 Samuel 17:47, 2 Chronicles 20:15). For this reason, they sometimes sacrificed animals to the LORD and consecrated themselves in preparation for the war (see 1 Samuel 13 and Joshua 3:5, respectively). Therefore, in our passage, God asked His covenant people to perform a seven-day ritual to conquer Jericho.

Joshua 6:1-5 shows that the LORD was the great warrior who fought on behalf of Israel to give them victory over their foes. The covenant people needed no military tactics and no weapons to break the walls of Jericho. They were to trust in God’s promises and obey the ritual requirements He gave them because He already secured their victory. Although the inhabitants of Jericho reinforced their borders, the LORD allowed His people to enter it effortlessly because He was with them.