I ntroduction: Sooner or later, we have a topic that must be dealt with, and this might be the best time. There

Transcription

1 6 6:1 27 Isral Conqurs Jricho Outlin of Chaptr 6: Charts: vv. 1 5 God tlls how to conqur Jricho vv conqurs Jricho vv Rahab s family dlivrd/ pronouncs curs upon anyon who rbuilds Jricho v. 4 Th Invasion of Jricho and th Ark of God v. 15 God s Judgmnt of Jricho and Numrology v. 20 Evidnc of th Biblical Viw of th Dstruction of Jricho I ntroduction: Soonr or latr, w hav a topic that must b dalt with, and this might b th bst tim. Thr ar hav bn popl who wr anti-war for a long tim, but thr smd to b almost a gnration of popl from th 60 s who wr by and larg anti-war. Obviously, thr is nothing nic or kind about war. It is a vicious, filthy practic but it is invitabl. Our Lord told us that thr would b wars and rumors of wars until H rturnd (Matt. 24:6). Just bcaus a prson rcognizs th horrors of war, dos not mak that prson mor highly volvd or on som grat spiritual plan. Any soldir can tstify to th absolut horror of war. It is an outgrowth of th falln world that w liv in. All th pac dmonstrations and all th passiv or activ rsistanc in th world will not nd war. Bcaus of th incrdibl bravry of th grat mn of uniform in World Wars I and II, I hav livd during a priod of rlativ pac. Howvr, vn as I writ this, th Unitd Stats has bn at war a half a dozn tims sinc my birth and I would b hard-prssd to calculat th total numbr of wars which hav takn plac throughout th world ovr ths past fifty yars of rlativ pac. Th fact that God has blssd us and has kpt war from our country for all of this tim has lulld an incrdibl numbr of popl into thinking that this is a worldwid possibility. Lt m disabus you of that notion. As natural rsourcs bcom mor and mor in dmand, w will s mor and mor warfar ovr things as simpl as watr and oil. W hav bn a nation blssd unlik no othr bcaus of our rlationship to God, and part of that blssing has includd almost a cntury and a half without war at hom. Don t think that this will last forvr. Don t think that som nations don t hat us and that som nations don t nvy what w hav. W wr stoppd in our tracks by th littl nation North Vit Nam and don t think that th nations which hat us ar unawar of this fact. It has bn th blssing of God and our grat mn in uniform which hav prsrvd for us our frdom and prosprity till now but nvr, undr any circumstancs, should w tak this for grantd or think that w ar mor highly volvd than, for instanc, thos in th middl East who dspis us, and that w will forvr avoid war bcaus of our volvd stat. It is our strong military and valiant mn in uniform who hav affordd us this protction, and, in many cass, th illusion that w 1 ar imprvious to invasion. W hav alrady covrd th Doctrin of War in Dut. 31:2, but at a tim lik this in th book of, whn w ar about to obsrv th Jws invad this land and kill thousands of popl mn womn and childrn; w nd to paus for a momnt to undrstand this. Lt m quot th NIV Study Bibl: Many radrs of (and othr OT books) ar dply troubld by th rol that warfar plays in this account of God s dalings with his popl. Not a fw rliv thir thical scrupls by ascribing th author s prspctiv to a pr-christian (and sub-christian) stag of moral dvlopmnt that th Christian, in th light of Christ s taching, must rpudiat and transcnd. Hnc th main thrad of th narrativ lin of is an offns to thm. 1 Not finishd yt!!

2 Chaptr It must b rmmbrd, howvr, that th book of dos not addrss itslf to th abstract thical qustion of war as a mans for gaining human nds. It can only b undrstood in th contxt of th history of rdmption unfolding in th Pntatuch, with its intrplay of divin grac and judgmnt. Of that story, it is th dirct continuation. is not an pic account of Isral s hroic gnration or th story of Isral s conqust of Canaan with th aid of hr national dity. It is rathr th story of how God, to whom th whol world blongs, at on stag in th history of rdmption rconqurd a portion of th arth from th powrs of this world that had claimd it for thmslvs, dfnding thir claims by forc of arms and rlianc on thir fals gods. It tlls how God commissiond his popl, undr his srvant, to tak Canaan in his nam out of th hands of th idolatrous and dissolut Canaanits (whos masur of sin was not full; s G. 15:16). It tlls how h aidd thm in that ntrpris and gav thm conditional tnancy on his land in fulfillmnt of th ancint pldg. is th story of th kingdom of God braking into th world of nations at a tim whn national and political ntitis wr viwd as th cration of th gods and living proofs of thir powr. Thus th Lord s triumph ovr th Canaanits tstifid to th world that th God of Isral is th on tru and living God, whos claim on th world is absolut. It was also a warning to th nations that th irrsistibl advanc of th kingdom of God would ultimatly disinhrit all thos who opposd it, giving plac in th arth only to thos who acknowldg and srv th Lord. At onc an act of rdmption and of judgmnt, it gav notic of th outcom of history and anticipatd th schatological dstiny of mankind and th cration. Th battls of Canaan wr thrfor th Lord s holy war...god gav his popl undr no commission or licns to conqur th world with th sword, but a particular, limitd mission. Th conqurd land itslf would not bcom Isral s national possssion by right of conqust, but it blongd to th Lord. So th land had to b clansd of all rmnants of paganism. Its popl and thir walth wr not for Isral to siz as th booty of war from which to nrich thmslvs (as Achan trid to do, ch. 7) but wr placd undr God s ban (wr to b dvotd to God to dispns with as h plasd)...war is a trribl curs that th human rac brings on itslf as it sks to possss th arth by its own unrightous ways. But it pals bfor th curs that awaits all thos who do not hd God s tstimony...[and] his warnings [to] thos who oppos th rul of God and rjct his offr of grac. 2 Lt m stat this so thr is no confusion: th mn of uniform hav takn upon thmslvs a nobl profssion and thir sacrifics and ddication ar among som of th noblr human aspirations. Th ida that w will somhow, vn as Christians, lad th world to som grat millnnium of pac through our lov and highr moral principls is foolishnss. God Himslf will ushr in such a stat and it will immdiatly follow th gratst warfar that this world has vr sn. and Isral attackd Canaan out of obdinc to God and rmovd a popl who had bcom a cancr. What h and his mn did was nobl and rightous. Th soldirs who protct our country ar mn worthy of th highst honor and rspct. W will nvr rach a point in our history whr w do not nd thm. It is in 6 that w gt a much bttr fl for th writing styl of. God appars to in 5; H spaks to throughout chaptr 6. As has bn pointd out bfor, thr is no indication that God spaks to on svral diffrnt occasions, but it is mor apparnt that God spaks to at on tim, but intrsprss what God said with how saw that His words wr obyd. In this chaptr, w gt a longr than normal quotation from God and s ordrs ar constantly intrsprsd with th following of said ordrs. Although som of th ordrs of may hav bn givn at diffrnt tims, and crtainly to diffrnt groups, had to mak it clar arly on not to attack th hom of Rahab. W find th ordr dlivrd to th two spis lat in th chaptr, but crtainly somthing was said to th Isralits in gnral in ordr to prsrv Rahab and hr family (this of cours would hav bn an ordr dlivrd by to his fiv star gnrals who would thn pass th ordr on down th chain of command). 2 Th NIV Study Bibl; 1995 by Th Zondrvan Corporation; p. 284.

3 Th Book of 149 Zodhiats: This was not a mr military confrontation with popl who wr ntrnchd in a formidabl stronghold. Th implications ar mor spiritual than political. Whil God was bring judgmnt upon thos who had long rfusd Him, H was working on bhalf of th popl with whom H had just rnwd His covnant. Th fall of Jricho snt a powrful mssag to th Canaanits that Isral s succsss wr not mr human victoris of man against man, but victoris by th tru God of Isral ovr thir gods. This vnt, following closly upon th crossing of th Jordan by miraculous mans, imprssd upon th popl othat th sam God who had ld thir fathrs out of Egypt and through th Rd Sa was with just as surly as H had bn with Moss. 3 A summary of this chaptr is simpl: God tlls what h must do in ordr to conqur Jricho and follows God s ordrs. It is probably th most unusual attack vr plannd against an nmy. Th warriors of Isral wr to march around Jricho for svn days with th ark of God. Jricho, manwhil, quivrd in far within its walls. On th svnth day, th Isralits shoutd, th walls of Jricho cam crashing down, and th Isralits wnt into th city and dstroyd th ntir human population sav Rahab and hr family. Bcaus th sit of Jricho has bn xamind by archaologists with diffring opinions and bcaus thologians hav writtn diffrnt opinions concrning this book, w will xamin som of th vnts in this book mor closly than you might think thy would warrant. s mattr-of-fact, rptitious styl blis th richnss in th history which h has rcordd. Furthrmor, th actions of th Isralits, basd upon th dirctivs of God, rais som moral issus in th incidnts hrin dscribd. W will xamin thos moral issus as wll. Rturn to Chaptr Outlin Rturn to th Chart Indx God Tlls How to Conqur Jricho Litrally: (And Jricho was shut up and having bn shut up from th facs of sons of Isral; no going out and no going in). 6:1 Smoothr English rndring: (Now Jricho was sald up as tight as a drum bcaus of th prsnc of Isral; no on ntrd Jricho and no on wnt out). In gnral, this vrs is parnthtical. God is spaking to ( 5:13 15), which convrsation is continud in v. 2 of this chaptr. God is about to giv th city of Jricho into th hands of and his army. This parnthtical not tlls us that Jricho was not going to b an asy city to conqur. Th popl wr afraid and probably smallr in numbr than th Isralits; howvr, thir city was prtty much an imprgnabl fortrss to th Jws. Now in this vrs, w hav an unusual sntnc construction for. W hav four participls hookd togthr by wâw conjunctions. What is bing said is asy to undrstand, but I would lik you to s how othrs hav rndrd this: Th Amplifid Bibl Th Emphasizd Bibl NASB Young's Lit. Translation Now Jricho [a fncd down with high walls] was tightly closd bcaus of th Isralits; no on wnt out or cam in. Now Jricho was shut up and barrd bcaus of th sons of Isral, non cam out and non wnt in. Now Jricho was tightly shut bcaus of th sons of Isral; so no on wnt out and no on cam in. (And Jricho shuttth itslf up, and is shut up, bcaus of th prsnc of th sons of Isral non going out, and non coming in;) Sinc w hav four participls in this vrs, it might do us wll to xamin th Hbrw participl. A participl may b usd in a vry similar fashion to th English participl by adding an ing to th vrb. A participl may function 3 Th Complt Word Study Old Tstamnt; Dr. S. Zodhiats; 1994 AMG Publishrs; p. 583.

4 Chaptr as a noun, adjctiv or vrb. It prsnts a prson or subjct in th xrcis or xhibition of th action or condition 4 dnotd by th vrb. Gnrally, th participl is usd as an adjctival noun that is, it is a noun with gndr and numbr, but th action of th vrb dscribs th function of th noun. For instanc, a bakr. Somtims, it can function as a simpl adjctiv, its dscription intgral to th action of th vrb, as in sinful nation of Isa. 1:4. As an adjctiv, a participl may b usd attributivly or prdicativly. (a) Whn usd attributivly, thy gnrally follow th noun that thy dscrib and thy will agr in gndr, numbr and dfinitnss (a dfinit noun rquirs a dfinit adjctiv and an indfinit noun rquirs an indfinit adjctiv). Whn a participial adjctiv is usd attributivly, thy ar usually translatd as rlativ clauss, using such rlativ pronouns as who, which, that which is supplid by th translator and not found in th Hbrw. Dut. 22:22 could b rndrd th man laying with th woman or th man who lay with th woman. Jr. 22:11: For thus says Y howah, concrning Shallum, who rignd instad of Josiah his fathr or For thus says Y howah concrning Shallum, rigning instad of Josiah his fathr. (b) Whn a participl acts as an adjctiv in th prdicat position, it is oftn joind to th noun that it dscribs by som form of th vrb to b, although said vrb is rarly found in th Hbrw and must b supplid by th translator. Ths participial adjctivs can stand bfor or aftr th nouns that thy modify and must agr in gndr and numbr, although thy nvr tak th dfinit articl. Gn. 3:14: Cursd [ar] you abov all cattl. Isa. 1:7: Your citis [ar] burning with fir. It is oftn difficult to distinguish btwn a participl which functions as a prdicat adjctiv and on which is usd as a vrb. A participl can b usd as a vrb. Thy ar normally prcdd by an xprssd subjct with which thy must agr in gndr and numbr. A participl which is usd as a vrb will not tak a dfinit articl. Gnrally spaking, thy dscrib continuous action taking plac during th tim priod indicatd by th contxt, which may b past, prsnt or futur. Past participls ar mad vn mor xplicit whn prcdd by th vrb hâyâh ( ) [pronouncd haw-yaw] and futur participls gnrally rfr to th vry nar futur, particularly whn prcdd by th dmonstrativ particl bhold (which is hinnêh ( ) [pronouncd hin-nay]). A participial vrb in past tim: Ex. 3:2: And bhold, th bush was burning with fir. A participial vrb in prsnt tim: Gn. 37:16: I am sking my brothrs. A participial vrb in futur tim: I Sam. 3:13: For I am about to punish [or, judg] his hous forvr. A participl may also b usd as a noun. Participls usd in this way indicat th on who or th ons who ar prforming a crtain action or xist in a crtain stat or condition. Ths nouns may b dfinit or indfinit, masculin or fminin, singular or plural, dpnding upon to whom thy rfr. Such nouns can b usd as subjcts, dirct objcts, prdicats, objcts of prpositions in short, in any way a normal noun may b usd. Oftn w find a prson s occupation or function namd by such a us: rdmr, inhabitant, scrib (writr), tc. W hav similar uss in th English,.g., writr, 5 tachr, farmr. Ths can occur in th absolut stat or in th construct. In this vrs, ths four participls function as vrbs. Th first is th Qal activ participl of çâgar ( ) [pronouncd saw-gahr] which mans shut up, to clos up. Strong s #5462 BDB #688. This is followd by th wâw conjunction and th Pual participl of th sam vrb. Th Pual is th passiv of th Pil (intnsiv) stm and likwis mphasizs an accomplishd stat. Th us of th Qal and th Pual mphasizs that not only had th Canaanits lockd th Isralits out, but thy had imprisond thmslvs. This is followd by from facs of sons of Isral. In this chaptr, mor than most, thr ar hug phrass missing from th Sptuagint (th arly Grk translation of th Bibl). This may xplain why your translation might xclud som phrass which ar found hr. From th prsnc of Isral (i.., fro th facs of Isral) is on of thos phrass. My ducatd guss is that th Grk vrsion did not rly havily upon th scinc of txtual criticism and probably whatvr manuscript a group had was all that cam into play whn it cam to translating a passag. That ths manuscripts may hav diffrd slightly probably was nvr a considration. Sinc th missing phrass in th Grk amount to lss than tn and ar fairly insignificant, I will not point out ach and vry on of thm. If you hav an intrst hr (although I can t imagin why you would), pick up ithr a Sptuagint translation (I 4 5 th J.C.L. Gibson, Davidson s Introductory Hbrw Grammar~Syntax; 4 Edition, by T&T Clark Ltd., 1994, p Most of this was takn almost word-for-word from Biblical Hbrw; by Pag Klly; William B. Erdmans Publishing Co., 1992, pp

5 Th Book of am quit happy with min, as it has th Grk and th English txt ), or, pick up a copy of th Nw Jrusalm Bibl, which placs ths portions of Scriptur in parnthss. Thn w hav th ngativ particl and th Qal activ participl of yâtsâ ( ) [pronouncd yaw-tzawh], which mans to go out, to com out, to com forth. Strong's #3318 BDB #422. This is followd by th wâw conjunction and th ngativ particl and th Qal activ participl of bô ( ) [pronouncd boh], which mans to com in, to com, to go in, to go. Strong s #935 BDB #97. Th participl was s way of mphasizing a continuing of vnts th city of Jricho continud as a prison. Th inhabitants of Jricho knw whr Isral was campd across th raging Jordan Rivr. Thy had assumd that no way could th Isralits cross th Jordan for svral months, so thy had bgun to mustr thir dfnss. Whn thy ralizd th Isral was suddnly on th othr sid of th Jordan rady to attack, th inhabitants of Jricho suddnly closd up th city, bringing vryon insid, and bgan thir prparations insid th city walls. Whn thir G-2 rportd back that Isral was crossing ovr th Jordan dry-shod, all of Jricho was in a panic. In th Hbrw, Jricho is y rêchô ( ) [pronouncd y ray-khoh] (thr ar two othr slightly diffrnt spllings and pronunciations as wll). Strong s #3405 BDB #437. In th Grk, it is Iricho (, pronouncd -r-- KHOH) (Strong s has th rough brathing; vrywhr ls I chckd has th soft Strong s #2410). Obviously, lik most propr nouns, this is translitratd and not translatd. Although th original maning of Jricho is opn to qustion, BDB conncts it with a rgion of fragranc and W.F. Albright conncts th nam to th arly Wstrn Smitic moon-god, Yarih. W crtainly today hav a much diffrnt viw of a city than what xistd at thos tims. In thos days, a city was any wall-in town. I hsitat to giv any numbrs in trms of a population, othr than to suggst that thy wr probably ovrwhlmd by th numbr of Isralits. In othr words, w ar not spaking of a city th siz of Houston whr it would tak a svral hours just to driv around th loop and th bttr part of a day to driv around th bltway. Th had guy of th city was calld a king. Th currnt stimations givn by svral archologists is that th city of Jricho was prhaps only svn acrs in ara and th primtr of th walls was prhaps 650 yards. Howvr, I should point out that ths wall-in citis wr not ncssarily th ntirty of th city, but th rfug ara. Th population crtainly would b scattrd around th city s walls for svral mils and th outsid population (which could hav vn bn th bulk of th population) would withdraw into th walls in cas of nmy attack. 7 Kllr: Th Jordan basin has a tropical climat. Th villag of Eriha, th modrn succssor of Jricho, givs th imprssion of bing an oasis on th dg of a barrn wast of chalk. Evn palm-trs grow hr although thy ar sldom found anywhr ls in Palstin, xcpt to th south of Gaza. Th Bibl too calls Jricho th city 13 of palm trs (Jud. 3 ). Goldn rd clustrs of dats shimmr among th grn foliag. From ancint tims th spring calld Ain s-sultan has producd as if by magic this lush patch of vgtation. North of prsnt day Jricho is a mount of ruins namd aftr it, Tll-s Sultan. This is a battlground of archaologists. Anyon wanting to xamin it must buy a tickt. Th sit of th xcavations lis bhind a barbd wir fnc. 8 Will Durant, who wrot th lvn volum rfrnc work, Th Story of Civilization, saw Jricho is bing prhaps a bit mor advancd. H wrot: Th tombs of ths kings, xcavatd by th Garstang Expdition, containd hundrds of vass, funrary offrings, and othr objcts indicating a sttld lif at Jricho in th tim of th 9 Hyksos domination, and a fairly dvlopd civilization in th days of Hatshpsut and Thutmos III. 6 It is Brnton s Th Sptuagint with Apocrypha Grk and English; publishd by Hndrickson in I hav no ida in what form ths nots will b in yars from now or who will rad thm, but I hav had th bst luck with slction and pric from Christian Book Distributrs at 1-Christian Book Distributors; PO Box 7000; Pabody MA 01961; This information cam from Th Amplifid Bibl, Th Lockman Foundation; 1965 by Zondrvan Publishing Hous; p. 264, which in turn got its information from Sir Charls Marston s Nw Bibl Evidnc, a book with which I am unfamiliar. 8 Wrnr Kllr, Th Bibl as History (scond rvisd dition), p Th Story of Civilization; Volum I Our Orintal Hritag; Will Durant; MJF Books; 1963; p. 300.

6 Chaptr Th NIV Study Bibl and ZPEB both idntify th modrn Tll s-sultan as th sit of oldn Jricho, as wll as two dozn othr ancint citis built on abov th othr. Bcaus of this, th mound is now approximatly fifty ft abov th bdrock. Svral of thm had grat, doubl walls, and non of ths walls which hav bn xcavatd 10 hav bn positivly idntifid as ancint walls of Jricho. Th tll (which mans mound) is roughly 400 x 200 yds., or approximatly 10 acrs in ara. This sit is about 10 mils NW of th ntry of th Jordan into th Dad Sa and 17 mils ast-northast of Jrusalm. Nowadays, thr is a modrn road which cuts through th ast sid of th Tll and on th othr sid of th road is a natural spring, which would indicat why Jricho was built thr. This spring provids th watr for th modrn oasis. Howvr, th watr has to b carfully administrd and distributd throughout th city, in ordr to b of any sustaining valu. Th aquduct systm in this ara vn rcntly was insufficint to maintain a city of any siz. Th city itslf was probably th cntr of worship of th moon-god, as it is supposd that Jricho mans moon-city. Th attack by God upon this city was both an attack on th dgnrat Canaanits and upon thir rligion and rligious practics. 11 th Archaology placs inhabitants in th ara of Jricho in th 8 millnnium B.C., bnath th strata of th Bronz Ag lis th strata of th Ston Ag. At this point in tim, w do not vn know whthr human history gos that far back; but suffic to say that Jricho was on of th arlist sits for inhabitation. Th oldst xcavations hav rvald a wall, a towr, round houss and vidnc of th attributs of civilization, apart from a writtn languag (not that on did not xist w just don t hav th vidnc of on and th ancints oftn found vry long-lasting ways to rcord information). Kllr said that ths round walls rsmbld Bdouins tnts and that no pottry from th this ra has bn discovrd. ZPEB placs th tim priod of this villag in th 7 millnnium B.C. Dr. Kathln M. Knyon, dirctor of th 1953 British xcavations, proclaimd, Jricho can lay claim to bing by far th oldst 12 city in th world. My thinking is that thr wr villags in Msopotamia which probably pr-datd Jricho, but w apparntly hav no archological vidnc of any citis lik Jricho in that ara which pr-dat Jricho. What is nic about this dat is that most scholars who tak th Bibl litrally plac man on this arth ,000 yars ago. Th Biblical stand is that man bgan gathring in groups and building citis vry arly human history (Gn. 11). Latr, an apparntly smi-nomadic popl populatd th ara of Jricho. Ths popl did not build prmannt houss, but flimsy huts (prhaps thir building skills suckd). Th arlist pottry found in this ara sms to b tracabl to this scond group. Th nxt vidnc of occupation is a groups of popl from approximatly 3000 B.C., th Early Bronz Ag. Thy built dfns walls and a towr. Thr appars as though thr was a lot of activity during this tim priod of building and rbuilding du to various catastrophs,.g., arthquaks and firs. Somtims nw foundations wr laid and somtims th prvious foundations wr utilizd. Som of th walls from this tim priod ar rronously associatd with. On th othr hand, if th dating mthods mployd on th prvious occupants was inaccurat, it is possibl that th dating of this tim priod is inaccurat as wll. In any cas, thr appars to b no clar agrmnt among archologists and scholars as to which walls could b idntifid with th Jricho that w will study throughout this chaptr. In 2300 B.C., th last group of sttlrs from th arly Bronz Ag wr apparntly dstroyd by an invasion of nomadic popl which som idntify as Amorits. Thr was apparntly a nomadic invasion which nvlopd much of this ara, th archological vidnc having bn basd upon th study of tombs in Jricho. In th Middl Bronz Ag, around 1900 B.C., thr appars to b anothr wav of nw invadrs, which apparntly ar th Canaanits, and vidnc of thir cultur is found up and down th Palstinian-Syrian coast around th 2 nd millnnium B.C. Archological vidnc indicats that this occupation lastd for about 700 yars. During this tim, 10 You will s anothr, conflicting opinion latr. 11 This paragraph was paraphrasd from Th NIV Study Bibl; 1995 by Th Zondrvan Corporation; p. 295, and intrsprsd with matrial from Zondrvan Pictorial Encyclopdia of th Bibl; 1976; Vol. 3, p. 451, which was th sourc for most of th additional matrial on Jricho.. 12 Wrnr Kllr, Th Bibl as History (scond rvisd dition), p. 160.

7 Th Book of 153 thr appars as though thr was som outsid rulrship by th Hyksos, who smd to offr littl by way of cultur, othr than improvd, sloping dfnsiv walls, as opposd to th fr-standing dfns walls. W gain som insight as to th day-to-day lif of th occupants of Jricho at th tim of th Patriarchs through th xamination of thir tombs. Many of th artifacts usd by th living wr burid with th dad and th prsnc of mthan gas in th tombs has prsrvd som of ths artifacts vn until today. W hav found xcllnt pottry, thr and four lggd woodn tabls, stools and bds, baskts, trinkt boxs mad with bon inlay, mtal daggrs, and vn som plattrs of fruits and mat hav bn prsrvd bcaus of th mthan gas. th In 1550 B.C., Jricho was violntly ovrthrown, probably by th 18 dynasty of th Hyksos. On of th archaological bnfits of such an invasion is that many of th artifacts ar prsrvd by th flld walls and th 13 walls thmslvs ar hardnd by th firs which ar st. For this rason, w hav discovrd cobbld roads throughout th city and on-room shops which opnd out into th strts all from this tim priod. A two-story hous with living quartrs downstairs and a grain milling complx along with storag aras has bn uncovrd from this tim priod. Th popl of this ara wr not walthy, as vidncd by both thir tombs and homs, indicating that this was a typical town of that ra, rathr than som walthy trad cntr. W will xmain in mor dtail th walls of Jricho in v. 20. Finally, th book of nvr nams a particular group of popl as th occupants of Jricho spcifically. H has mntiond that th Amorits dwlt in th hill country and that th Canaanits dwlt along th ocan, but that only implis that th mn of Jricho ar Amorits, but dos not stat that outright. And so Y howah said to, S, I hav givn into your hand Jricho and hr king, mighty ons of th valour. 6:2 And Jhovah had said to, Obsrv, I hav givn into your hand Jricho and hr king and hr profssional soldirs. In this vrs, w hav a continuation of th Captain of th army of Jhovah spaking to. This prson is non othr than Jsus Christ. His first ordr as Commandr in Chif is to tak this city of Jricho. Th first word which God says to is th Qal imprativ of râ âh ( ) [pronouncd raw-awh], which mans to s. Strong's #7200 BDB #906. Th imprativ mans that this is a command; God commands, Look... or S... Evn th rndring Obsrv... would b rasonabl. Th nxt vrb is th Qal prfct of nâthan ( ) [pronouncd naw-thahn], which mans giv, grant, plac, put, st. Th prfct tns indicats a compltd action. W liv in tim and as our Lord spok to, was in tim and th conquring of Jricho was futur. Howvr, God xists outsid of tim and th conquring of Jricho had bn compltd as H dcrd th falling of Jricho s walls in trnity past. Strong's #5414 BDB #678. Th last two words in this vrs ar as follows: th masculin plural construct of th adjctiv gibbôwr ( ) [pronouncd gib-boar], which mans strong, mighty, valiant. Strong s #1368 BDB #150. It is followd by th dfinit articl and th masculin singular substantiv of chayil ( ) [pronouncd CHAH-yil ] and it mans fficincy, army, strngth, valour, powr; as wll as that which is gottn through strngth i.., walth, substanc. Strong s #2428 BDB #298. Th two word togthr ar rndrd mighty ons of valour (Young); th mighty mn of valour (Rothrham); [and] th valiant warriors (NASB). Evn in all of this, w miss what has bn givn into th hand of : th profssional soldirs of Jricho. Ths soldirs workd with wapons and thy killd as thir profssion. Thy wr good at it, which is why this group of Amorits ownd a prim pic of ral stat. Rahab confirmd this som tim ago, in 2:9: I know that Jhovah has givn you th land and that th trror of you has falln upon us, and that all th inhabitants of th land hav mltd away bfor you. Th spis also confirmd this in 2:24: And thy said to, Crtainly Jhovah has givn all th land into our hands, and all th inhabitants of th land, morovr, hav mltd away bfor us. And Moss mad th sam 13 Which, I am gussing is th rsult of Colman lantrns which hav tuppd ovr nxt to laky gas mains.

8 Chaptr promis to th Isralits in his swan song: And H will dlivr thir kings into your hand so that you will mak thir nam prish from undr havn; no man will b abl to stand bfor you until you hav dstroyd thm. (Dut. 7:24). And you will ncircl th city all mn of th war going around th city on tim. Thus you will do six of days. 6:3 And you will ncircl th city; all th mn of war with go around th city just on tim. You will do this for six days. b b b B Th first vrb is th masculin plural, Qal prfct of çâ va v ( ) [pronouncd saw -VAH V], which mans to turn onslf, to go around, to surround, to ncircl. Strong s #5437 BDB #685. This is followd by all of [th] mn of th war. Whn it coms to th mn of war, w ar talking a hug numbr of soldirs somwhr btwn 100,000 and 200,000 (rcall that 2½ tribs alon contributd 40,000 soldirs 4:13). This was crtainly not singl fil march. Such a manuvr would hav rquird grat organization and planning. It would rquir mor of thm than bing pointd in th corrct dirction. You will rcall that th forcs of Isral had bn givn captains ovr 1000's; ovr hundrds, ovr fiftis and ovr tns. Whn I first rad that, I thought to myslf that sms lik a bit much. Howvr, with a simpl-sounding manuvr lik this, grat organization is rquird. Th mn of Jricho had lockd up thir town to whr no on could ntr and no on could lav. Thy wr frightnd. It was a combination of th hug numbr of popl which mad up Isral and thir allgianc with God. Thn w hav th Hiphil absolut of nâqaph ( ) [pronouncd naw-kahf], which mans go around, compass about, complt a circuit, ncompass for th othr occurrncs. Strong s #5362 BDB #668. This is followd by th city and thn two words: th fminin singular substantiv pa am ( ) [pronouncd PAH-ahm or PAHgahm], which mans bat, foot, anvil, occurrnc, tim; obviously a prtty unusual array of manings. Strong s #6471 BDB #821. With that, w hav th numral on. This is followd by th advrb kôh ( ) [pronouncd koh], which mans thus, hr, hnc. Strong s #3541 BDB #462. Th rmaindr of th vrs rads: you will do six of days. What occurs in this vrs is a ritual which indicats Isral s rst in God. Thy ncircl Jricho and walk around it for six days, making claim to th trritory givn thm by God. God is about to dstroy this popl and H is giving thm on last chanc. At any tim, a man could xit th city and throw himslf at th mrcy of th Isralits. At any tim, a man could join Rahab and hr family in th safty of thir sanctifid hous. God taks th dstruction of a popl vry sriously. H nvr ntrs into such action capriciously. You can rst assurd that ths popl hav bn givn th chanc to com to Him. Th ordr givn in vv. 2 5 by th Commandr and Chif of th Army of Isral is th condnsd vrsion. Ths ordrs will b xpandd upon throughout th rst of this chaptr, intrsprsd with th obdinc to sam. This is th writing styl of, who rcalld ths vnts in his mind topically rathr than chronologically, and thn rcordd thm in that way. And svn prists will carry svn horns th jubilations (horns) [or, possibly, th ram s horns ] bfor facs of th ark and in th day of th svn, you will ncompass th city svn tims and th prists will b blowing in th trumpts. 6:4 And svn prists will carry svn ram s horns [or, horns of jubilation] bfor th prsnc of th ark and on th svnth day, you will circl th city svn tims whil th prists blow on th trumpts. Aftr th words svn horns w find th dfinit articl and th masculin plural yôbêl ( ) [pronouncd yohb- VAYL], which appars to man rams ( 6:4 6) whn plural and jubil whn in th singular (s Lv. 25:10 13). Howvr, Gsnius dos not vn mntion th rndring of ram; and my prfrnc is to stay with as fw manings as possibl for any givn word. So, I will rndr this word jubil, jubilation(s). It s a tough call, as this word has bn primarily translitratd from languag to languag. Strong s #3104 BDB #385. Barns claims that th instrumnt hr is bttr dscribd as a cornt rathr than a horn. Howvr, th most important

9 Th Book of 155 point is that ths ar not th trumpts of war, but ths ar th cornts usd to ushr in th Sabbatical Yar and th Yar of Jubil. In othr words, thy wr crmonial trumpts which signifid Isral s rst and rlianc upon God. Right about now would b a good tim to study th Doctrin of Horns (th Musical Instrumnts) not finishd yt!! Sinc God rstord th arth in six days and rstd on th svnth (bcaus H was finishd, not bcaus h bcam tird) and man s work wk sinc tim immmorial has bn a rflction of that. Svn rprsnts th prfction of God s work. On of th qustions that I hav had nagging m is, why was all of this don? Why th Ark? Why th six days? Isral had bn instructd by God to offr any city a shot at salvation first, bfor dstroying thm. Isral was wll-known to th popl of that land; th story of Isral bing takn out of Egypt was known throughout th ancint world, and som popl, simply on th basis of that information, blivd in thir God, Jhovah Elohim. So, w may rasonabl assum svral things at this point: Th Invasion of Jricho and th Ark of God 1. Sinc th Jws had bn instructd to offr trms of surrndr to any city bfor dstroying it which trms would hav includd th gospl of Jhovah Elohim w may rst assurd that it was don hr as wll. 2. Th inhabitants of Jricho could s th Ark as it was carrid around th city. 3. Evn though th gospl information hr is somwhat limitd, God th Holy Spirit, through th rputation of th Jws and through th vision of th Ark, mad ral to th inhabitants of Jricho th gospl. 4. Th inhabitants of Jricho obsrvd this for 6 days. Any on could hav com out and surrndrd to th Jws. Anyon within Jricho could hav xrcisd faith in Jhovah Elohim. Anyon in Jricho could hav rjctd thir own gods for th God of Isral, whos tstimony was th vry Ark itslf. Apparntly, non chos to (apart from Rahab and hr family). 5. Six days wr givn; that indicats that w hav a comfortabl amount of tim during which to bliv in Jsus Christ, but it is not an unlimitd amount of tim. 6. What was availabl to thm, if thy rjctd th Lord during all thir livs, was bing burnd with fir. 7. Th numbr six is th numbr of man; th six days rprsnts man and his tim hr on arth. During this tim, h may rciv th gospl of Jsus Christ; h may bliv in Jsus Christ. Howvr, aftr that, th judgmnt, and aftr that, burning in hll for trnity. 8. Th burning of Jricho rprsntd all of this. 9. God mad th choic clar to th inhabitants of Jricho. Notic that thir army did not com out to fac Isral. 10. Thy could trust in man or thy could trust in th Living God. 11. Thy could trust in thir works (th walls of Jricho) or thy could trust in th God of Isral. 12. Thir walls did not kp thm saf; but thir walls only mad thm think that thy wr saf. 13. Thir walls did not prsrv thir livs; thir walls kpt Jsus Christ out. 14. Th burning of Jricho rprsnts th burning of hllfir. 15. On mor thing: Who tlls us mor about hllfir than anyon ls in Scriptur? Jsus Christ. Our Lord, as our Judg, is mor qualifid than any man to tll us about burning forvr in th Lak of Fir. No book of Scriptur and no prson in Scriptur spok mor about th burning of th body and soul in hll than Jsus Christ. Our Lord ndurd th quivalnt of trnity in hll for vry singl on of us. All of th trnal misry which w dsrv was gathrd into 6 hours of tim and pourd out on our Lord. No on was mor qualifid to spak of hllfir than Jsus Christ, our Lord and our Judg; and th On who would ndur hll for vryon of us. Rturn to Chaptr Outlin Rturn to Charts, Maps and Short Doctrins

10 Chaptr And it has com to pass, in a drawing out [or, prolongation] of in a horn of th jubilation, in your haring a sound of th trumpt; all th popl shout a grat shout and wall of th city will fall down undr it [lit., hr] and th popl will go up a man straight bfor him. 6:5 And it has com to pass, during th prolongation of th horn of th jubilation, whil you ar haring th sound of th trumpt; th popl will shout loudly, causing th wall of th city to collaps. Thn, ach man will advanc on th city. What w find hr is a mor complx vocabulary and a slightly mor complx sntnc structur than w find in most of, although th gnral maning is asy to ascrtain. Lt s bgin with a fw othr rndrings: Th Emphasizd Bibl NASB Young's Lit. Translation And it shall com to pass whn th ram s horn soundth, whn y har th sound of th horn that all th popl shall shout with a grat shout, and thn shall th wall of th city fall down undr it, and th popl shall go up vry man straight bfor him. And it shall b that whn thy mak a long blast with th ram s horn, and whn you har th sound of th trumpt, all th popl shall shout with a grat shout; and th wall of th city will fall down flat [lit., in its plac], and th popl will go up vry man straight ahad [lit., bfor himslf]....and it hath bn, in th prolongation of th horn of th jubil, in your haring th voic of th trumpt, all th popl shout a grat shout, and th wall of th city hath falln undr it, and th popl hav gon up, ach ovr-against him. Now, you will notic that I don t list fiv to tn diffrnt rndrings. W ar not as intrstd in gtting a grasp of what is bing said hr, which is fairly obvious, xcpt to garnish a fw of th Hbrw nuancs and usags. This rd vrs bgins with th oft-tims usd wâw conjunction and th Qal prfct, 3 prson masculin singular of hâyâh ( ) [pronouncd haw-yaw] simply mans to b. Without a spcific subjct and objct, it oftn mans and it will com to pass, thn it cam to pass (with th wâw conscutiv), or it has com to pass. Strong's #1961 BDB #224. Th prfct tns indicats a compltd action, which indicats a crtainty in futur tim. That is, God knows that this is how it will play out. H dos not hav to indicat that this is an incomplt action, as w oftn do, as it has not com to pass, but in His viw, this vrs had com to pass in trnity past whn H st His plan in motion. Nxt w hav th vry common bêyth prposition. Th prposition b ( ) [pronouncd b' ] and it dnots proximity. It is translatd in, among, into, against, with, at, through, by. Whn bêyth is followd by an infinitiv construct (as it is hr), it forms a priphrasis for th grund, gnrally translatd as a vrb and conjunction in th English. Th proximity implid is mor on of tim. Thrfor, th litral in thir bing cratd of Gn. 2:4 could b rasonably rndrd whil thy wr cratd or whn thy wr cratd. What w hav hr in this vrs is a proximity of tim. No Strong s # BDB #88. What follows is th Qal infinitv construct of mâshak ( ) [pronouncd maw-shahk ], which mans, in gnral, to draw out, to drag, to continu with somthing. Its application is only a bit mor difficult than that. It can man to draw up and lift out; to draw [a bow]; to procd, to march; to draw out a sound, to mak a continuous sound; to draw out, to prolong a condition, to continu; and to trail sd ( to draw out sd whil you ar sowing). Strong s #4900 BDB #604. As w hav sn many tims, th infinitiv construct is gnrally rndrd in a drawing out of; but w hav th bêyth prposition again. My ducatd guss is that this continus th tmporal natur of this futur vnt, and would not b translatd in th Egnlish. In any vnt, this striks m as bing a bit mor complx grammar than sms to us. Th nxt phras is in a horn of th ram (or, horn of th jubilation). And, again, w hav th bêyth prposition followd by th Qal infinitiv construct of haring. What follows nxt is, litrally, a sound of th trumpt. This givs us: And it has com to pass, in a drawing out [or, prolongation] of in a horn of th jubilation [or, in a horn of th ram], in your haring a sound of th trumpt. To giv a bttr ida of th tmporal natur of th us of bêyth, w could rndr this: And it has com to pass, during th prolongation of th horn of th jubilation, whil you ar haring th sound of th trumpt. rd th nxt sntnc bgins with th 3 masculin plural, Hiphil imprfct of rûwa ( ) [pronouncd roo-ah ], which mans to rais a shout, to giv a blast. This vrb is found primarily in th Hiphil and not in th Qal, so our

11 Th Book of 157 application of th causal maning of th Hiphil is to b infrrd only inasmuch as th popl ar causd to shout basd upon what is in thir souls. In othr placs whr this indicats a shout of victory, a shout of xaltation, tc., this is mor clarly undrstood. Strong s #7321 BDB #929. Th subjct of th vrb is all of th popl, which is followd by a grat shout. This givs us: All of th popl will shout a grat shout... As th NIV Study Bibl rightly points out, ths loud noiss ar as much psychological warfar as anything ls, dsignd to strik panic into th harts of th Amorits within th city of Jricho. You will notic that throughout th book of, w hav a prsrvation of th livs of th Isralits. Evn a prfunctory dfns against th Isralits would rsult in th dath of many of thm. Th inhabitants of Jricho wr fully familiar with thir own city and would hav bn abl to tak th livs of many Isralits had thy bn cool and calm about th attack of Isral. Howvr, thy saw no hop in thir situation and wr causd by that and th loud noiss to rmain in a stat of unthinking, powrlss panic. This is followd by a conjunction and th Qal prfct of nâphal ( ) [pronouncd naw-fahl], which mans to fall, to li, to di a violnt dath, to b brought down, to sttl, to slp dply. Strong's #5307 BDB #656. Th subjct is a wall of th city. Th Hbrw dos not us th dfinit articl bcaus th city was surroundd by on wall; so thr is not a particular wall which is bing rfrrd to (with rfrnc to Jricho). In th English, w ar most comfortabl with th dfinit articl (as you will notic in vn th most litral of translations). What follows is th prposition tachath ( ) [pronouncd TAH-khahth], which mans undrnath, blow, undr rd bnath. Strong s #8478 BDB #1065. With it is th 3 prson fminin suffix (which matchs a wall of th city; giving us undr hr. Rothrham suggsts that th wall fll mostly into th moat surrounding Jricho, noting that Jricho was built upon a hill. 14 Th subjct of th nxt vrb is th popl, and th vrb is âlâh ( ) [pronouncd aw-lawh] and it mans to go up, to ascnd, to ris. Strong's #5927 BDB #748. This indicats that Jricho was probably built upon a hill or a platau. This is followd by, litrally, a man, which is oftn takn for vry man or ach man. This vrs nds with th prposition ngd ( ) [pronouncd NEH-gd], which mans what is conspicuous whn it is a substantiv and, as a prposition, in front of, in th sight of, opposit to. Strong s #5048 BDB #617. With th prposition is th masculin singular suffix, which mans that ach man will advanc straight ahad. This is absolutly important for th conquring of Jricho. Th mn of Jricho wr frightnd nough as it was; howvr, if th Isralits did not immdiatly advanc upon th falling of th walls, thir hsitation would hav bn prcivd corrctly as far. Also, notic that God is not tlling that thr would a brach of th walls hr or thr but that vry man would walk straight ahad, indicating that th ntir wall surrounding Jricho would com down. Rturn to Chaptr Outlin Rturn to th Chart Indx Conqurs Jricho And so bn Nun calld to th prists and so h said to thm, Lift up [th] ark of th covnant and svn prists will lift up svn trumpts of jubilations bfor facs of [th] ark of Y howah. 6:6 And son of Nun calld to th prists, saying to thm, Lift up th ark of th covnant and lt s hav svn prists lift up svn ram s horns bfor th ark of Jhovah. Now that w ar back to s narrativ, th vocabulary and sntnc structur is asir. W hav on vrb usd in two slightly diffrnt ways hr: nâsâ ( ) [pronouncd naw-saw], which mans to tak up, to lift up, to bar up. Strong s #5375 (and Strong s #4984) BDB #669. Thy ar both physically lifting up th ark and svn prists ar lifting up and sounding thir trumpts (or, cornts). 14 Josph Bryant Rothrham s Th Emphasizd Bibl; h1971 by Krgl Publications; p. 240.

12 Chaptr And so thy said unto th popl, Advanc and ncircl th city and armd ons will pass bfor facs of an ark of Y howah. 6:7 And so thy said to th popl, You will advanc on th city and ncircl it and armd military typs will pass bfor th ark of Jhovah. In this vrs, it is found as thy said in th Masortic txt, but it is rad h said. It is both writtn and rad h said in fiv arly printd ditions, in th Aramaic, Syriac and Vulgat codics. Howvr, what is going on is that givs th ordrs to th fiv star gnrals and thy passd th ordrs on down through th ranks. So, although w do not know how for crtain this rad in th original txt, both h and thy corrctly rflct th rality of what occurrd. 15 With rgards to th guard which accompanid th ark, th NIV Study Bibl writs: Th Hbrw for this trm diffrs from that in v. 3 but may b synonymous with it. It is to b xpctd that th ark ld th procssion. If so, th 16 prsnt rfrnc may b to a kind of royal guard. Howvr, thy rvrs thmslvs whn thy call th armd mn th main body of troops in thir footnot for v. 9. Thrfor, w ought to look at th Hbrw word, which is th dfinit articl and th Qal passiv participl of châlats ( ) [pronouncd khaw-lahtz], which mans to b radily prpard for war, to b quippd for war. As a participl, it is found svral tims in conjunction with th main army (Num. 31:5 32:21 4:13). Strong's #2502 BDB #323. For this rason, w should not xpct that this is a spcializd usag hr, but, rathr, a rfrnc to th main body of troops. Barns and I diffr slightly hr h ss th warriors marching first, th svn prists nxt, th ark and thn th rar guard as bing th ordr of th procssion. I s th ark following bhind th svn prists with a rar guard or a royal guard bhind it. Bhind all of this would b th troops. At som point in tim, thos baring th ark and thos marching with th ark will stop and th troops will march on past thm in rviw, as it wr. Th ky words hr ar th lâmd prposition (BDB #510) and pânîym ( ) [pronouncd paw-neem], which mans facs (it is always in th plural); togthr, thy man in th sight of, in th prsnc of, in your fac, bfor th fac of. It dos not indicat, howvr, that th royal guard wnt bfor or in front of th ark, but wnt in its prsnc, maning that thy wr an attachmnt with th ark. Strong s #6440 BDB #815. And so it cam to pass as a command of unto th popl and svn th prists lifting up svn trumpts of jubilations bfor facs of Y howah. Thy advancd and thy blw in [or, with] th trumpts and an ark of a covnant of Y howah following aftr thm. 6:8 And os it cam to pass as commandd th popl and th svn prists who liftd up th svn trumpts of jubilation bfor th ark of Jhovah. Thy advancd, blowing into thir trumpts, with th ark of th covnant of Jhovah following aftr thm. This rads bfor th facs of Y howah in th Masortic txt, but, as abov, in fiv arly printd ditions, in th Aramaic, th Syriac and in th Vulgat codics, it is writtn bfor th facs of th ark of Y howah. On vrb which w hav rarly sn is th Qal prfct of tâqa ( ) [pronouncd taw-kah ], which mans to thrust, to clap, to giv a blow, to giv a blast. It is usd a numbr of diffrnt ways in th Bibl. Th ky to th vrb is its dirct objct. Strong s #8628 BDB #1075. As th NIV Study Bibl rightly points out, th focus of th attack upon Jricho is th ark. Th armd mn who will attack th city onc th walls com down ar mntiond svral tims in this chaptr, but mor oftn w har about th ark of Jhovah. It is th God of Isral Who is bsiging th city. It is th Holy God of th Univrs who is using Isral as His arm to liminat this group of trribly dgnrat popl from th arth, but it is God who is making th attack. 15 In cas you ar wondring, Kil and Dlitzsch go with thy said, citing th fact that would not spak dirctly to th armis to lvy such an ordr, but to his shotrim, thos appointd to command his divisions. Givn th incrdibl siz of th army of th Isralits, would nvr issu an ordr dirctly to th grunts. 16 Th NIV Study Bibl; 1995 by Th Zondrvan Corporation; p. 295.

13 Th Book of 159 And th armd mn wr going bfor facs of th prists blowing th trumpts and th rar guard was coming aftr th ark marching and blowing th trumpts. 6:9 And th armd military typ wnt bfor th prsnc of th prists, who wr blowing th trumpts, and th rar guard cam up aftr th ark, marching and blowing thir trumpts. Only on vrb which is difficult hr: th Pil participl of âçaph ( ) [pronouncd aw-sahf], which mans transfr, transport, rlocat, gathr, to gathr and rmov, to rmov. This is a rfrnc to thos who ar following th ark thy ar gathring up th rar, you might say. This is translatd th rar guard (Own, Rothrham, NASB, NRSV and almost vryon ls) and h who is gathring up (Young). Strong s #622 BDB #62. Edrshim prsnts his viw: And now a marvllous sight would b witnssd from th walls of Jricho. Day by day, a solmn procssion lft th camp of Isral. First cam lightly armd mn, thn followd svn prists blowing continually, not th customary silvr trumpts, but larg horns, th loud sound of which pntratd to th far distanc, such as had bn hard at Sinai...Th sam kind of horns wr to b usd on th first day of th svnth month (Lv. 23:24), and to announc th yar of Jubil (Lv. 25:9). Thus hraldd, cam th Ark of Jhovah, born by th prists, and aftr it th rrward of Isral. So thy did for six days, ach day onc ncompassing th walls of Jricho, but in solmn silnc, sav for th short sharp tons, or th long-drawn blasts of th prists horns. Th imprssion mad by this long, solmn procssion, which appard and disappard, and did its work, in solmn silnc, only brokn by th loud shrill nots of th horns, must hav bn pculiar. 17 And th popl commandd, saying, You will not shout and your voic will not b causd to b hard and a word will not go out of your mouth until th day I say unto you, Shout, and [thn] you will shout. 6:10 And thn commandd th popl, saying, You will not shout and your voics ar not to b hard not vn a word from your mouth until th day I tll you, Shout! Thn you will shout! thr will b a crtain amount of jubilation and xcitmnt flt by th popl, particularly aftr marching around Jricho awhil and sing that th inhabitants do not com out to do battl with thm. In ordr to maintain ordr and to follow God s spcific dirctions, maks it clar that th popl ar not to shout until h givs th command. Again, this is psychological warfar. Th inhabitants of Jricho gt to think this ovr and ovr in thir minds, whil thr is dathly quit outsid. For six days, any man will hav th chanc to b savd. I lik to think that during that tim, som of th family of Rahab finally joind hr, having thought through thir altrnativs. W ar all givn tims of quit rflction with which w can xamin our livs and our souls and all unblivrs who hav any sort of positiv volition toward God at all ar givn that tim and givn th gospl. And so h causd an ark of Y howah to ncircl th city, going around it on tim and so thy cam to th camp thn spnt th night in th camp. 6:11 And so ordrd th ark of Jhovah to ncircl th city, going around it but on tim; thn thy rturnd to th camp and spnt th night thr. b b b B Aftr th wâw conscutiv, w hav th Hiphil imprfct of çâ va v ( ) [pronouncd saw -VAH V], which mans to turn onslf, to go around, to surround, to ncircl. Strong s #5437 BDB #685. Th Hiphil is th causativ stm, and I so translatd it. Kil and Dlitzsch suggst that th Hiphil taks a mor activ maning in this vrs, and rndr this So th ark of th Lord compassd th city... On th on hand, city is prcdd by th b b mark of a dirct objct; but, on th othr, çâ va v occurs infrquntly in th Hiphil as compard to th Qal, indicating th propr us of th stm hr. Crtainly th ark compasss th city as a rsult of th ordr of, who is only obying th command of God, making th common undrstanding of th Hiphil stm apropos. 17 Alfrd Edrshim, Bibl History Old Tstamnt; 1995 by Hndrickson Publishrs, Inc.; p. 308.