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Matthew Henry on Joshua 5:13-15
We read not of any appearance of God's glory to Joshua till now. There appeared to him one as a man to be noticed. This Man was the Son of God, the eternal Word. Joshua gave him Divine honours: he received them, which a…
The Captain of the Lord's Host. (b. c. 1451.)
THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD'S HOST. (B. C. 1451.) We have hitherto found God often speaking to Joshua, but we read not till now of any appearance of God's glory to him; now that his difficulties increased his encouragements…
Matthew Henry on Joshua 6:1-5
Jericho resolves Israel shall not be its master. It shut itself up, being strongly fortified both by art and nature. Thus were they foolish, and their hearts hardened to their destruction; the miserable case of all that…
The Siege of Jericho. (b. c. 1451.)
THE SIEGE OF JERICHO. (B. C. 1451.) We have here a contest between God and the men of Jericho, and their different resolutions, upon which it is easy to say whose word shall prevail. I. Jericho resolves Israel shall not…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:1-21
EXPOSITION THE VICTORY.—
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:1-21
We come now to the command that was laid on Joshua. And hero we may observe three points. I. SUCCESS WAS CERTAIN IF GOD'S COMMANDS WERE OBEYED. God does not say, "I will give," but, "I have given" Jericho into thine han…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:1
This verse (see above) is parenthetical. It explains why the captain of the Lord's host appeared unto Joshua. The inhabitants of Jericho, though in a state of the utmost alarm, were nevertheless fully on their guard aga…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:2
And the Lord said. This is no new source of information for Joshua. Jehovah is here obviously identical, as commentators are generally agreed, with the "Captain of the Lord's host" in the last chapter (comp. Genesis 18:…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:4
And seven priests shall bear before the ark. The Vulgate puts "on the seventh day" in connection with this part of the sentence; Luther also translates thus. The LXX; which Calvin and our translators and the majority of…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:5
When they make a long blast with the ram's horn. Literally, as they draw out with the horn of jubilee, i.e; blow a prolonged blast (of. Exodus 19:13). Here the word used is horn of jubilee, but not necessarily of ram's…
Matthew Henry on Joshua 6:6-16
Wherever the ark went, the people attended it. God's ministers, by the trumpet of the everlasting gospel, which proclaims liberty and victory, must encourage the followers of Christ in their spiritual warfare. As promis…
Matthew Henry on Joshua 6:6-16
We have here an account of the cavalcade which Israel made about Jericho, the orders Joshua gave concerning it, as he had received them from the Lord and their punctual observance of these orders. We do not find that he…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:7
And he said. The text has they said. Our translators follow the Masoretic emendation. If we follow the original we must suppose that the priests, or, as with Keil and Knobel, the Shoterim (Joshua 1:10), conveyed Joshua'…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:8
Siege of Jericho. The Red Sea; a land where there was no water; want of food; terrors of the spies; the warlike people of Bashan; Jordan impossible; a Jericho impregnable. Such are the successive strains made on the fai…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:8
He that is armed, or rather disencumbered, i.e; prepared for battle (see Joshua 4:13). Similarly, in the next verse, "the armed men," i.e; the host in marching order, as we say. Kimchi and Jarchi refer this to the Reube…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:10
Ye shall not shout. No sign of triumph was to be raised; but the Israelites, their priests, and the ark of their covenant were in solemn silence to encompass the city day by day, until they were commanded to raise the s…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:13
The rereward (see Joshua 5:9). Literally, the gathering together and then the body of troops which collects the stragglers, the rear guard, as in Numbers 10:25; Isaiah 52:12; Isaiah 58:8. Calvin renders here by quia cog…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:15
And it came to pass on the seventh day. Why did God command this long pause of suspense and expectation? Even to teach us that His ways are not as our ways, and that we had far better leave the issue in His hands, than…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:16
When the priests. There is no "when" in the original, nor is it needed (see Keil).
Matthew Henry on Joshua 6:17-27
Jericho was to be a solemn and awful sacrifice to the justice of God, upon those who had filled up the measure of their sins. So He appoints, from whom, as creatures, they received their lives, and to whom, as sinners,…
Jericho Destroyed; Preservation of Rahab. (b. c. 1451.)
JERICHO DESTROYED; PRESERVATION OF RAHAB. (B. C. 1451.) The people had religiously observed the orders given them concerning the besieging of Jericho, and now at length Joshua had told them (Joshua 6:16), "The Lord hath…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:17
Accursed. Rather, devotea, ἀναθεμα LXX. The original meaning of this word is derived from הרם to "shut up." Hence it originally means "a net." With this we may compare the well known Eastern word harem, meaning the enc…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:18
Accursed thing. Better," thing devoted," as this keeps up the idea of something solemnly set apart to God, to be dealt with as He thinks fit. Lest ye make yourselves accursed when ye take of the accursed thing. Rather,…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 6:19
Consecrated unto the Lord. Literally, as margin, holiness unto the Lord (cf. Exodus 28:36; Exodus 39:30; Le Exodus 27:14, Exodus 27:21; Jeremiah 2:3). An expression used of anything specially devoted to God.