Joshua7
New King James Version
1But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel.
2Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the country.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.
3And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few.”
4So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai.
5And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water.
6Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.
7And Joshua said, “Alas, Lord God, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all—to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan!
8O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies?
9For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?”
10So the Lord said to Joshua: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face?
11Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff.
12Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you.
13Get up, sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the Lord God of Israel: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.”
14In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the Lord takes shall come according to families; and the family which the Lord takes shall come by households; and the household which the Lord takes shall come man by man.
15Then it shall be that he who is taken with the accursed thing shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he has done a disgraceful thing in Israel.’ ”
16So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken.
17He brought the clan of Judah, and he took the family of the Zarhites; and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man, and Zabdi was taken.
18Then he brought 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.
19Now Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I beg you, give glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.”
20And Achan answered Joshua and said, “Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I have done:
21When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.”
22So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it.
23And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord.
24Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor.
25And Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The Lord will trouble you this day.” So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.
26Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to 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