Joshua 6:20

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 6:17-27

The people had religiously observed the orders given them concerning the besieging of Jericho, and now at length Joshua had told them (Josh. 6:16), ?The Lord hath given you the city, enter and take possession.? Accordingly in these verses we have, I. The rules they were to observe in taking possession. God gives it to them, and therefore may direct it to what uses and intents, and clog it with what provisos and limitations he thinks fit. It is given to them to be devoted to God, as the first... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 6:20

So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets ,.... As Joshua had charged them, Joshua 6:16 , and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet , and the people shouted with a great shout ; that is, gave a loud shout, on hearing the long blast of the trumpets blown by the priests the seventh time, as they were no doubt directed by Joshua, agreeably to the order given to him; see Joshua 6:5 , that the wall fell down flat ; the wall of the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 6:20

The people shouted with a great shout , that the wall fell down - There has been much learned labor spent to prove that the shouting of the people might be the natural cause that the wall fell down! To wait here, either to detail or refute any such arguments, would be lost time: enough of them may be seen in Scheuchzer. The whole relation evidently supposes it to have been a supernatural interference, as the blowing of the trumpets, and the shouting of the people, were... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 6:20

Verse 20 20.So the people shouted, etc Here the people are praised for obedience, and the faithfulness of God is, at the same time, celebrated. They testified their fidelity by shouting, because they were persuaded, that what God had commanded would not be in vain, and he, in not allowing them to lose their labor, vindicated the truth of what he had said. Another virtue of not inferior value was displayed by the people, in despising unlawful gain, and cheerfully suffering the loss of all the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 6:1-21

We come now to the command that was laid on Joshua. And hero we may observe three points. I. SUCCESS WAS CERTAIN IF GOD 'S COMMANDS WERE OBEYED . God does not say, "I will give," but, "I have given" Jericho into thine hand. Not only has the fiat gone forth, but the work is done, when the soldier of the Lord has made up his mind to obey the Lord's commands. Thus, whatever be the work to which we set our hands, be it public or private, in the world or in our own hearts, so... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 6:20

So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets, and it came to pass. Literally, and the people shouted, and they blew with the trumpets, and it came to pass as soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet. The latter part of this sentence is a more full and accurate repetition of what is stated in the former. The shouting and the blowing with the trumpets were all but simultaneous, but the latter was in reality the signal for the former—a signal which was immediately... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 6:20

The taking of Jericho. The taking of Jericho is the first great victory of the Israelites over the Canaanites. It is a type of the victory of the people of God over their adversaries. We learn from it the secret and the method of success in this conflict. I. The first thing demanded of the people of Israel is A GREAT ACT OF FAITH . It was no slight exercise of faith to believe that the sounding of the sacred trumpets would suffice to overthrow those massive walls which rose... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 6:20

Strongholds. When the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews says, "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been compassed about seven days" ( Hebrews 11:30 ), he sets his seal to the supernatural character of this event. Not by any kind of natural force—undermining, storming, or even earthquake—but by the faith that lays hold on the unseen power of God, was the effect produced. It was a link in the chain of marvellous Divine manifestations by which those times were... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 6:20

Delusive trust. "The wall fell down fiat." A strong city besieged; yet no trenches opened, no batteries erected against it, no engines of assault employed. Armed men in two divisions, separated by the ark and priests who precede it, compass the city once a day in silence, save for the sound of the horns blown by the seven priests. After six days the marching commences early in the morning, and the circuit is completed seven times, when the priests blow a long peculiar blast, the whole host... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Joshua 6:1-27

Click image for full-size version6:1-12:24 CONQUEST OF THE LANDDestruction of the CanaanitesThe following chapters show that the Israelites’ conquest of Canaan was well planned. First they won control of the central region (Chapters 6-9). This created a division between the northern and southern regions, and so prevented Canaanite tribes throughout the country from joining forces. Israel then had a much easier task in conquering the rest of Canaan, first the south (Chapter 10), then the north... read more

Group of Brands