Joshua 6:3-5 · Bible study
Joshua 6:3-5 Commentary: Faith and the Fall of Jericho
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why six days of silent marching before the seventh-day shout?
Research Summary
- Meaning: God tests and displays faith by commanding a ritual that defies human military logic, making the victory unmistakably His.
- Key words: sabab (march around, encircle); shofar/yovel (trumpet, jubilee horn, links to redemption); teruah (shout, war cry).
- Main debate: Whether the trumpets were literal rams' horns or 'jubilee trumpets' (the Hebrew yovel can mean either); scholars lean toward the jubilee meaning, tying the conquest to God's redemption calendar.
- Theological theme: Divine power manifested through human weakness and obedience (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:21, 2 Corinthians 4:7).
- Best use: A case study in faith, patient, repeated obedience to a counterintuitive command, trusting that God's promise will break through at His appointed time.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
3March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days.
4Have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark. Then on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the horns.
5And when there is a long blast of the ram’s horn and you hear its sound, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the wall of the city will collapse and all your people will charge straight into the city.”
WEB World English Bible 2000
3All of your men of war shall march around the city, going around the city once. You shall do this six days.
4Seven priests shall bear 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.
5It shall be that when they 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; then the city wall will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, every man straight in front of him.”
KJV King James Version 1769
3And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.
4And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.
5And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
3And ye shall compass the city, all the men of war, going about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.
4And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.
5And it shall be, that, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man straight before him.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
3and ye have compassed the city--all the men of battle--going round the city once; thus thou dost six days;
4and seven priests do bear seven trumpets of the jubilee before the ark, and on the seventh day ye compass the city seven times, and the priests blow with the trumpets,
5and it hath been, in the prolongation of the horn of the jubilee, in your hearing the voice of the trumpet, all the people shout--a great shout, and the wall of the city hath fallen under it, and the people have gone up, each over-against him.'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
3And ye shall go round the city, all the men of war, encompassing the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.
4And seven priests shall carry before the ark seven blast-trumpets; and on the seventh day ye shall go round the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.
5And it shall come to pass when they make a long blast with the blast-horn, that all the people on hearing the sound of the trumpet shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall flat, and the people shall go up, each one straight before him.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
3Go round about the city all ye fighting men once a day: so shall ye do for six days.
4And on the seventh day the priests shall take the seven trumpets, which are used in the jubilee, and shall go before the ark of the covenant: and you shall go about the city seven times, and the priests shall sound the trumpets.
5And when the voice of the trumpet shall give a longer and broken tune, and shall sound in your ears, all the people shall shout together with a very great shout, and the walls of the city shall fall to the ground, and they shall enter in every one at the place against which they shall stand.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Joshua 6:3
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that God's command to march around Jericho once daily for six days before the climactic seventh day was a deliberate test of faith. Calvin argues the method was so strange it would 'almost destroy the credibility' of the promise, forcing Israel to abandon reason and depend implicitly on God's word. Barnes insists the narrative intends a miracle, not a natural event: Israel had no siege engines, making Jericho impregnable by human means. The repeated use of the number seven, seven priests, seven trumpets, seven circuits on the seventh day, has symbolic weight. The Cambridge Bible notes that seven is 'the symbolic seal of the covenant between God and their nation.' Clarke and others point out that the long duration of the processions (six days, plus seven circuits on the seventh) deepened the impression on both besieged and besiegers, magnifying God's power when the walls finally collapsed.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: All traditions agree that God commanded an apparently illogical military procedure to test Israel's faith, and that He alone brought down the walls when the people obeyed.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the trumpets | They were not ordinary silver trumpets but a distinct instrument associated with the jubilee. | Some read 'trumpets of rams' horns' (literal shofar); others, following the Septuagint and the word <em>yovel</em>, interpret them as 'jubilee trumpets', possibly metal horns used for the Year of Jubilee. Both readings affirm a unique sacred instrument. |
| The fall of the walls: miracle or natural event? | The biblical text attributes the fall directly to God's intervention after the shout. | Most traditional commentators (Barnes, Calvin, Matthew Henry) insist on a direct miracle; a few modern interpreters have proposed natural causes (earthquake, undermining), but Barnes calls such explanations 'totally inconsistent' with the narrative. |
| Order of the procession | The ark led the march, accompanied by priests blowing trumpets and armed men. | Whether the armed men marched first or behind the priests is unclear from verses 3-5; verses 7-9 clarify that armed men went before the priests, but some older commentators (Adam Clarke) note ambiguity in the condensed command. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The city of Jericho at this time was a heavily fortified Canaanite stronghold, its gates shut tight after Israel crossed the Jordan. The Hebrew text emphasizes it was 'shutting its gates, and closely shut' (Joshua 6:1), indicating a state of siege readiness. Israel, by contrast, was a nomadic people fresh from the wilderness, lacking battering rams, scaling ladders, or any experience in assaulting walled cities. God's strategy removed every human contribution to the victory.
The processional order described in verses 3-5 and detailed later in Joshua 6:7-9 mirrors the wilderness march: armed men first, then priests blowing trumpets, then the ark of the covenant, then the rear guard. The trumpets were not the ordinary silver signal trumpets (Num 10:2) but the shofar or 'jubilee trumpet' (Hebrew yovel), curved horns traditionally used to proclaim the Year of Jubilee (Lev 25:9). The presence of the ark, symbol of God's throne and covenant leadership, declared that Yahweh himself was directing the assault. The circuits themselves were a religious procession, not a military maneuver, a silent, daily act of faith proclaiming that Jericho already belonged to the Lord.
Six days of marching followed by a seventh day of completed work echo the creation pattern (Genesis 2:3). The repeated circling also mimicked the ritual of the Sabbath year and the Jubilee cycle, linking conquest to worship.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for these verses. The main lexical variation concerns the translation of Hebrew yovel ('rams' horns' or 'jubilee trumpets'), but this is a matter of interpretation, not a manuscript difference.
Reception History
Christian readers across traditions have seen the Jericho march as a paradigm of faith. John Calvin used it to illustrate how God's commands often appear foolish to reason, calling the Israelites to 'play the fool for a short time' in obedience. Matthew Henry emphasized the discipline of silent waiting and the certainty of God's promise. In Wesleyan circles, the story has been read as a type of salvation by grace through faith, the walls fall not by human effort but by trusting God's appointed means. The account also inspired the African American spiritual 'Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho,' which stresses the power of the shout and the trumpet. In Catholic tradition, the procession with the ark prefigures the Eucharist carried in solemn procession, and the jubilee trumpets connect to the Church's jubilee years of grace.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God chooses weakness to display His strength. The walking, the horns, the silence, none of it made military sense. Paul later writes that 'the foolishness of God is wiser than men' (1 Corinthians 1:25). Faith trusts the commander, not the plan.
- Obedience must be sustained before it is rewarded. Six days of the same routine, no visible progress, no enemy surrender. The test was patience as much as belief. Hebrews 11:30 credits the fall of Jericho to 'faith,' not to the walking itself.
- The shout of victory comes after the work of waiting. On the seventh day, the silence broke. The long blast and great shout unleashed the promise. When God's time fully comes, the walls fall fast.
Five-point outline
- The absurdity of the command: Circumventing a fortress without weapons. This forces the question: will you trust God or your own wisdom?
- The rhythm of six days: Daily obedience without visible results. Faith is proved in the routine, not only in the breakthrough.
- The significance of the number seven: Priests, trumpets, circuits, a holy number sealing the covenant promise.
- The silence before the shout: The people were commanded not to speak or shout until the signal (Joshua 6:10). Restraint is part of worship.
- The complete collapse: The wall fell 'under itself', no breach made by human hands. God's work is thorough and unmistakable.
Illustration hooks
- A family drives the same route to the hospital every day for six months of chemo, seeing no change, then one day the scan is clear. The daily obedience made no sense until the outcome.
- A student studies for an exam by reading the same material aloud each day, while friends use cram sessions. The repetitive method looks foolish until the test day comes and the knowledge is solid.
- A church holds weekly prayer walks around a troubled neighborhood for years, with no visible change, then a new community program starts, and the walls of division begin to crack.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does God make us wait so long when He could act instantly?
- How do I know if I should keep doing a spiritual discipline that seems pointless or fruitless?
- If the victory is entirely God's, what is the role of our effort and obedience?
Leading a Discussion
This passage shows God giving Joshua a battle plan that made no earthly sense. Before you look at the details, imagine you were a soldier on the first day, walking around a walled city with no weapons drawn. What would you have thought? What would have kept you from turning back? Let the text challenge your ideas about how God works.
Discussion questions
- What stands out to you about the instructions God gave in verses 3-5? Does anything seem surprising or odd?
- Israel had to march for six days before anything happened. Why do you think God commanded a six-day wait before the seventh day's action?
- The trumpets used were not ordinary war trumpets but 'jubilee' horns (the word yovel suggests the Year of Jubilee). How does that connection change the meaning of the march?
- Joshua later told the people to remain silent until the signal to shout (Joshua 6:10). What spiritual discipline is being taught through that silence?
- God says, 'I have given Jericho into your hand' (Joshua 6:2), the victory is already declared before the march begins. How does faith receive a promise before seeing it fulfilled?
- In what area of your life right now are you waiting for a 'wall to fall'? What would it look like to walk in patient obedience while you wait?
- How does this story help you trust God even when His methods seem strange or inefficient?
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)
| Numbers 14:9 | Only don’t rebel against Yahweh, neither fear the people of the land; for they are bread for us. Their defense is removed from over them, and Yahweh is with us. Don’t fear them.” |
| Joshua 6:7 | They said to the people, “Advance! March around the city, and let the armed men pass on before Yahweh’s ark.” |
| Joshua 6:14 | The second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. They did this six days. |
| I Corinthians 1:21 | For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom didn’t know God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe. |
| I Corinthians 1:25 | because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. |
| II Corinthians 4:7 | But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves. |
| Genesis 2:3 | God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because he rested in it from all his work of creation which he had done. |
| Genesis 7:2 | You shall take seven pairs of every clean animal with you, the male and his female. Of the animals that are not clean, take two, the male and his female. |
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
11 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke clarifies that the trumpets blown were not rams' horns but the same jubilee trumpets used in Leviticus. He also explains that the phrase "the wall shall fall down flat" literally means falling from its foundations, not the ground opening up, and the seven circuits allowed both armies to witness God's supernatural power.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes insists the fall of Jericho must be accepted as a direct miracle, rejecting any natural explanations like earthquakes or assault. He notes the use of jubilee trumpets rather than war trumpets, the repeated number seven, and the ark's presence all symbolically taught Israel that their victory came wholly from the Lord.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin stresses that God’s command to circle Jericho seemed like child's play, deliberately testing the Israelites’ faith by making them trust His word against all human reason. The method was a deliberate concealment of divine power under weakness, so that God’s apparent folly would prove stronger than any human wisdom.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator emphasizes that the procession around Jericho was arranged to make plain that God, not human strength, would win the victory. The Ark represented the true Champion, while the priests carried festival trumpets, not weapons. The repeated use of the number seven throughout the ritual symbolized divine perfection and completeness.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes emphasize that God deliberately chose weak and ordinary means for this victory. Rams' horns, marching and shouting had no military power in themselves, but God used them to display His own strength and to test the people's obedience. They were to trust not in their own ability but in God's promise.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill notes that the trumpets were called "jubilee" trumpets, possibly named after Jubal or used in the year of jubilee, but he also cites Rabbi Akiba's report that in Arabia a ram was called "jobel" and the horn trumpet was named from it. He further explains that the wall fell "under itself," swallowed into the earth with a small portion left visible as a memorial of the miracle.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown explain that the seven-day circuit around Jericho served a dual purpose: to awe the Canaanites with God's power and to teach Israel reliance on His promises. They also note that the "horns of jubilee" trumpets likely began as animal horns before metal versions appeared, and that the number seven symbolized the covenant between God and Israel.
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.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange treats the devoted thing as an object removed from common use and given entirely to God, either destroyed or placed in the treasury. He emphasizes that this ban protected Israel's holiness from idolatry and points to similar practices among other ancient peoples, showing the institution was not unique to Israel.
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 stresses that God intentionally chose a method that seemed foolish to human reason, teaching Israel to expect success only from His appointment and blessing. The wall fell flat on its own, not by force, to test their faith and patient obedience.