Joshua 6:1 · Bible study
Joshua 6:1 Commentary: Jericho's Double Shut
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why the Hebrew text calls Jericho 'shutting and shut up' (סֹגֶרֶת וּמְסֻגֶּרֶת) and how total isolation highlights God's supernatural victory.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Jericho was completely sealed, gates barred, movement stopped, to show human impossibility before God's miracle.
- Key words: ‘shutting’ (Qal active participle) + ‘shut up’ (Pual passive participle), emphasises total lockdown from both sides.
- Main debate: None, commentators agree the verse is a parenthetical explanation for God’s intervention.
- Theological theme: God’s power is perfected in human helplessness; salvation is entirely His work.
- Best use: Preaching on faith when all doors are closed; teaching God’s sovereignty over human fortifications.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the children of Israel. No one went out, and no one came in.
KJV King James Version 1769
Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
(And Jericho shutteth itself up, and is shut up, because of the presence of the sons of Israel--none going out, and none coming in;)
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Now Jericho was shut up and was barred, because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Now Jericho was close shut up and fenced, for fear of the children of Israel, and no man durst go out or come in.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
EMPERO Jericó estaba cerrada, bien cerrada, á causa de los hijos de Israel: nadie entraba, ni salía.
Porém Jericó estava fechada, bem fechada, por causa dos filhos de Israel: ninguém entrava, nem saía.
Jéricho était fermée et barricadée devant les enfants d’ Israël. Personne ne sortait, et personne n’entrait.
Jericho aber war verschlossen und verwahrt vor den Kindern Israel, daß niemand aus oder ein kommen konnte,
(Jericho nu sloot de poorten toe, en was gesloten, voor het aangezicht van de kinderen Israels; er ging niemand uit, en er ging niemand in.)
Or Gerico era ben chiusa e barricata per paura de’ figliuoli d’Israele; nessuno ne usciva e nessuno v’entrava.
A Jerycho było zamknione, i opatrzone przed synami Izraelskimi, i nikt z niego nie wychodził, ani do niego wchodził.
Тогда сказал Господь Иисусу: вот, Я предаю в руки твои Иерихон и царя его, [и находящихся в нем] людей сильных;
耶利哥 的城門因 以色列 人 就關得 嚴緊，無人 出 入。
(Now Jericho was all shut up because of the children of Israel: there was no going out or coming in.)
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Joshua 6:1
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree this verse is parenthetical, Barnes calls it 'strictly parenthetical,' inserted to explain the situation before God speaks in v2. The Hebrew piles up two participles: sōgeret (shutting itself) and mesuggeret (shut up). Gill and Calvin both note the active and passive forms emphasize a fortress sealed from inside and out, with Gill adding the Targum speaks of 'iron doors and bars of brass.' The phrase 'none went out and none came in' underscores total isolation, no deserters, no negotiators, no supplies. Keil & Delitzsch link this to the miracles at the Jordan: as God dried up the river, He will now knock down walls. Consensus: the verse sets an impossible human scenario so that God's intervention is unmistakable.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: Jericho was completely shut and isolated, creating the impossible situation that God alone could resolve.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Verse as parenthesis | The verse is an explanatory comment that interrupts the narrative to show the city's state (Barnes, Keil & Delitzsch, JFB). | No real debate, but some older commentators (e.g. Clarke) treat it as a simple chronological statement. |
| Double description 'shutting and shut up' | The Hebrew uses both active and passive participles to stress complete closure (Gill, Calvin, Lange). | Minor: whether the active refers to the city's own action (shutting its gates) and the passive to Israel's blockade (Lange) or simply rhetorical emphasis (Keil & Delitzsch). |
| Purpose of the verse | It sets the stage for the miracle, showing the city was humanly unassailable (all commentators). | Whether the focus is on Israel's helplessness (Matthew Henry) or on God's compassionate provision for His people's morale (Calvin). |
| Historical accuracy | The siege reflects standard ancient fortification and the fear described in Joshua 2:9-11. | Conservative vs critical views on the historicity of the wall-fall miracle, not addressed in supplied sources. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Jericho stood five miles west of the Jordan, guarding the passes into the central hill country. It was one of the oldest fortified cities in Canaan, with walls wide enough for houses (Joshua 2:15). After the spies' escape, the king doubled security, not just nightly gates, but round-the-clock lockdown (Clarke). The phrase 'straitly shut up' (KJV) carries military jargon: bars, bolts, sealed gates. In ancient warfare, a city under siege would send out messengers or sally forth to harass the enemy; Jericho did neither. The inhabitants 'melted with fear' (Joshua 2:9, 2:24), but fear did not lead to surrender, it led to paralysis. From Israel's side, the camp had just crossed the flooded Jordan on dry ground; now they faced a fortified city with no siege engines and no supply lines in hostile territory. The verse forces readers to see the situation as the Israelites saw it: hopeless. Into this deadlock God speaks: 'I have given Jericho into your hand' (v2). The historical context, total human impossibility, is the exact canvas for divine power.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Joshua 6:1. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts. The LXX (συγκεκλεισμένη καὶ ὠχυρωμένη) and Vulgate (clausa erat atque munita) reflect the same double emphasis of the MT. The verse presents no text-critical difficulties.
Reception History
Early Christian writers saw Jericho as a type of the world locked in sin, its walls falling through faith (Hebrews 11:30). In medieval allegory, the sealed city represented the soul held captive by vice. Reformers like Calvin and Matthew Henry read the verse as a lesson in God's sovereignty: human fortifications are nothing before divine command. Wesley's Notes connect the command to remove sandals (Joshua 5:15) with the holy ground of God's presence, the real Captain of the host. Across traditions, the verse has been sung in hymns of deliverance and preached as assurance that no wall is too high for God to bring down.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The sealed city, human fortification at its strongest (v1). Fear can lock people in as much as it locks enemies out.
- The silent camp, Israel had no military solution. God's strategy (v2-5) bypasses every human plan.
- The falling walls, what fear sealed, faith unseals. God's victory is complete and unconventional.
Five-point outline
- Parenthesis: the narrator pauses to show the odds
- Double shut: active resistance + passive lockdown
- No exit, no entry: total isolation
- God's 'I have given' (v2), the only certainty
- March of faith: God's means look foolish until they work
Illustration hooks
- Locked out of the house: You forget your keys. Every window is closed. You can see your phone inside. That feeling of helplessness, that's Jericho from Israel's side.
- The final exam you didn't study for: You walk into the room and the test is on material you've never seen. But then the teacher says, 'Don't worry, I'm giving you the answers.' God says, 'I have given Jericho into your hand.'
- A friend's impossible marriage: The relationship is sealed shut, no communication, no trust. You pray but see no way in. Then something changes. Not your strategy, God acts.
Questions your congregation is asking
- How do I know when a closed door is from God's protection or from my own fear?
- Why does God sometimes let us face impossible situations before He acts?
- If God promised the land, why didn't He just make the walls fall immediately without the march?
Leading a Discussion
This verse is a single frame in a bigger story: Israel has just crossed the Jordan, and now they stand before an impregnable city. The narrator zooms in on Jericho's locked gates. In small group, let the weight of that moment settle before reading the miracle.
Discussion questions
- What does the double description 'shutting and shut up' tell you about the people of Jericho? What might they be feeling?
- From Israel's perspective, what does this verse communicate about their situation? Are they anxious, confident, or something else?
- Read verse 2 immediately after verse 1. How does God's claim, 'I have given Jericho into your hand', change the meaning of the locked gates?
- The verse says 'none went out and none came in.' What might have been lost to Israel if some had been able to sneak out or negotiate?
- Think of a situation in your life that feels 'shut up' with no way in or out. How does God's timing in the Jericho story speak into that?
- Joshua 6:1 is often read as bad news, but in light of v2 it becomes the setup for good news. How does the Bible sometimes arrange bad news before good news?
- What does this verse teach about human power versus God's power when it comes to the obstacles we face?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Joshua 2:7 | The men pursued them along the way to the fords of the Jordan River. As soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate. |
| Joshua 2:9 | She said to the men, “I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. |
| Joshua 2:14 | The men said to her, “Our life for yours, if you don’t talk about this business of ours; and it shall be, when Yahweh gives us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.” |
| Joshua 2:24 | They said to Joshua, “Truly Yahweh has delivered all the land into our hands. Moreover, all the inhabitants of the land melt away before us.” |
| II Kings 17:4 | The king of Assyria discovered a conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria seized him, and bound him in prison. |
| Psalms 127:1 | A Song of Ascents. By Solomon. Unless Yahweh builds the house, they who build it labor in vain. Unless Yahweh watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that after the spies escaped, the king of Jericho took stricter precautions than before: the city gates stayed barred both day and night, and the city was stocked with enough supplies to hold out against a siege. Every measure was taken to keep the Israelites out entirely.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes treats this verse as a brief explanatory pause, inserted to clarify that the city was not merely closed but completely barred and bolted. The comment interrupts the narrative flow between Joshua's response to the commander and the Lord's resumed instructions in the following chapter.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin stresses that Jericho was not just closed but sealed tight, making a surprise attack impossible. This forces Israel into a long, hopeless siege. God’s miracle of collapsing the walls demonstrates His power over human defenses and spares Israel from starvation, giving them confidence for future battles.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible notes that Joshua 6:1 is a parenthetical statement, setting the scene for the extraordinary event that follows. Jericho was completely sealed off and strongly defended, which explains why only divine intervention could open the city to Israel.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes observe that Jericho was completely sealed off because of the Israelites' presence. The city was so tightly besieged that no one could go in or out, emphasising the total isolation of the city before its fall.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill emphasises the double isolation of Jericho: the city was sealed from inside with iron doors and brass bars, while Israel's camp blocked every approach. No soldiers could sally out, no neighbours could bring supplies or aid, and no one could even negotiate for peace. The city was cut off completely on both sides.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB treats this verse as a parenthetical note that explains why Jericho was tightly sealed,
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch argue that the conventional chapter break at Joshua 6:1 is misleading. The angelic commander's appearance at the end of chapter 5 does not conclude there; rather, verse 6:1 is a parenthetical note inserted to explain how strongly Jericho was fortified, heightening the wonder of what follows—the Lord's promise to deliver the city.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry sees Jericho's closed gates as a deliberate act of defiance, not mere military caution. The people hardened themselves against God, refusing even to discuss terms of surrender. This obstinate self-reliance, he notes, only hastened their ruin, a pattern he compares to anyone who strengthens themselves against the Almighty.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley draws attention to the exact repetition of the command God gave Moses at the burning bush. For him this is no coincidence: the identical wording is meant to assure Joshua that the same divine presence and power that worked through Moses will now work through him.