Joshua7
American Standard Version · Public Domain
1But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the devoted thing; for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the devoted thing: and the anger of Jehovah was kindled against the children of Israel.
2And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and spy out the land. And the men went up and spied out Ai.
3And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; make not all the people to toil thither; for they are but few.
4So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.
5And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men; and they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them at the descent: and the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
6And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of Jehovah until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust upon their heads.
7And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord Jehovah, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over the Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to cause us to perish? would that we had been content and dwelt beyond the Jordan!
8Oh, Lord, what shall I say, after that Israel hath turned their backs before their enemies!
9For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and will compass us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do for thy great name?
10And Jehovah said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore art thou thus fallen upon thy face?
11Israel hath sinned; yea, they have even transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: yea, they have even taken of the devoted thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also; and they have even put it among their own stuff.
12Therefore the children of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, because they are become accursed: I will not be with you any more, except ye destroy the devoted thing from among you.
13Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow: for thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, There is a devoted thing in the midst of thee, O Israel; thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the devoted thing from among you.
14In the morning therefore ye shall be brought near by your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which Jehovah taketh shall come near by families; and the family which Jehovah shall take shall come near by households; and the household which Jehovah shall take shall come near man by man.
15And it shall be, that he that is taken with the devoted thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath; because he hath transgressed the covenant of Jehovah, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.
16So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel near by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken:
17and he brought near the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zerahites: and he brought near the family of the Zerahites man by man; and Zabdi was taken:
18and he brought near his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
19And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to Jehovah, the God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.
20And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Of a truth I have sinned against Jehovah, the God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:
21when I saw among the spoil a goodly Babylonish mantle, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.
22So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.
23And they took them from the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel; and they laid them down before Jehovah.
24And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the mantle, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them up unto the valley of Achor.
25And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? Jehovah shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire, and stoned them with stones.
26And they raised over him a great heap of stones, unto this day; and Jehovah turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Joshua 7.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The Israelites smitten at Ai. (1–5). Joshua's humiliation and prayer. (6–9). God instructs Joshua what to do. (10–5). Achan is detected, He is destroyed. (16–26).
vv1-5
Achan took some of the spoil of Jericho. The love of the world is that root of bitterness, which of all others is most hardly rooted up. We should take heed of sin ourselves, lest by it many be defiled or disquieted, Heb 12:15; and take heed of having fellowship with sinners, lest we share their guilt. It concerns us to watch over one another to prevent sin, because others' sins may be to our damage. The easy conquest of Jericho excited contempt of the enemy, and a disposition to expect the Lord to do all for them without their using proper means. Thus men abuse the doctrines of Divine grace, and the promises of God, into excuses for their own sloth and self-indulgence. We are to work out our own salvation, though it is God that works in us. It was a dear victory to the Canaanites, whereby Israel was awakened and reformed, and reconciled to their God, and the people of Canaan hardened to their own ruin.
vv6-9
Joshua's concern for the honour of God, more than even for the fate of Israel, was the language of the Spirit of adoption. He pleaded with God. He laments their defeat, as he feared it would reflect on God's wisdom and power, his goodness and faithfulness. We cannot at any time urge a better plea than this, Lord, what wilt thou do for thy great name? Let God be glorified in all, and then welcome his whole will.
vv10-15
God awakens Joshua to inquiry, by telling him that when this accursed thing was put away, all would be well. Times of danger and trouble should be times of reformation. We should look at home, into our own hearts, into our own houses, and make diligent search to find out if there be not some accursed thing there, which God sees and abhors; some secret lust, some unlawful gain, some undue withholding from God or from others. We cannot prosper, until the accursed thing be destroyed out of our hearts, and put out of our habitations and our families, and forsaken in our lives. When the sin of sinners finds them out, God is to be acknowledged. With a certain and unerring judgment, the righteous God does and will distinguish between the innocent and the guilty; so that though the righteous are of the same tribe, and family, and household with the wicked, yet they never shall be treated as the wicked.
Key Words
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
מָעַל: properly, to cover up; used only figuratively, to act covertly, i.e. treacherously
מַעַל: treachery, i.e. sin
חֵרֶם: physical (as shutting in) a net (either literally or figuratively); usually a doomed object; abstractly extermination
עָכָן: Akan, an Israelite
כַּרְמִי: Karmi, the name of three Israelites
זַבְדִּי: Zabdi, the name of four Israelites
זֶרַח: Zerach, the name of three Israelites, also of an Idumaean and an Ethiopian prince
מַטֶּה: a branch (as extending); figuratively, a tribe; also a rod, whether for chastising (figuratively, correction), ruling (a sceptre), throwing (a lance), or walking (a staff; figuratively, a support of life, e.g. bread)
Cross References
Joshua 7Explicit warning concerning the accursed/devoted thing (cherem) which Achan violated, bringing trouble on Israel.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
The Mosaic warning that bringing an accursed thing into one's house makes them accursed like it.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Prophetic reversal where the 'Valley of Achor' (trouble) is transformed into a 'door of hope'.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Genealogical record designating Achan as 'Achar, the troubler of Israel' for his trespass.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
New Testament warning against a root of bitterness defiling many, applied to Achan's communal impact.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Parallel use of the divine lot to systematically narrow down a hidden national transgressor.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Verbal idiom 'give God the praise' (or glory) used as a solemn oath to confess truth.
Supported by JFB
Parallel progression of sin (saw, coveted, took) matching Eve's temptation in Eden.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Classic expression of mourning and deep distress shown by renting clothes.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Ananias and Sapphira's secret sacrilege and dissimulation early in the New Covenant era.
Supported by John Calvin
The warning that 'your sin will find you out' realized in Achan's exposure.
Supported by JFB
Gehazi's secret greed, theft, and subsequent hiding of silver and garments mirror Achan's sin.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Law requiring destruction of devoted things so that the Lord may turn from His fierce anger.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Moses appeals to God's great name and reputation among Egyptians, mirroring Joshua's intercession.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Jacob's lament that Simeon and Levi had 'troubled' him, using the same Hebrew root.
Supported by Matthew Henry