Joshua 6:17

And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
city	הָעִ֥יר ha.'Ir	H5892	a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
accursed	חֵ֛רֶם Che.rem	H2764	physical (as shutting in) a net (either literally or fi… · noun, common masculine singular absolute
LORD	לַֽיהוָ֑ה la.Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · preposition + proper noun, a title
Rahab	רָחָ֨ב ra.Chav	H7343	Rachab · proper noun, a woman's name
harlot	הַזּוֹנָ֜ה ha.zo.Nah	H2181	to commit adultery (usually of the female · definite article + verb, qal active participle, feminine singular absolute
live	תִּֽחְיֶ֗ה tich.Yeh	H2421	to live · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
house	בַּבַּ֔יִת ba.Ba.yit	H1004	a house (in the greatest variation of applications · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
hid	הֶחְבְּאַ֔תָה hech.be.'A.tah	H2244	to secrete · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
messengers	הַמַּלְאָכִ֖ים ha.mal.'a.Khim	H4397	a messenger · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
sent	שָׁלָֽחְנוּ sha.La.che.nu	H7971	to send away · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common plural

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 20:17 But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusi…
Micah 4:13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many p…
James 2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
Genesis 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Matthew 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,…
1 Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things whi…
Galatians 3:12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Joshua 6:17–end

The people had religiously observed the orders given them concerning the besieging of Jericho, and now at length Joshua had told them (Jos 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 and perhaps the worst of all the cities of Canaan. 1. The city must be burnt, and all the lives in it sacrificed without mercy to the justice of God. All this they knew was included in those words, Jos 6:1…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 6:17

And the city shall be accursed--(See on Lev 27:28). The cherem, or "anathema," was a devotion to utter destruction (Deu 7:2; Deu 20:17; Sa1 15:3). When such a ban was pronounced against a hostile city, the men and animals were killed--no booty was allowed to be taken. The idols and all the precious ornaments on them were to be burned (Deu 7:25; compare Ch1 14:12). Everything was either to be destroyed or consecrated to the sanctuary. Joshua pronounced this ban on Jericho, a great and wealthy city, evidently by divine direction. The severity of the doom, accordant with the requirements of a law which was holy, just, and good, was justified, not only by the fact of its inhabitants being part o…

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Adam Clarke on Joshua 6:17

The city shall be accursed - That is, it shall be devoted to destruction; ye shall take no spoils, and put all that resist to the sword. Though this may be the meaning of the word חרם cherem in some places, see the note on Lev 27:29, yet here it seems to imply the total destruction of all the inhabitants, see Jos 6:21; but it is likely that peace was offered to this city, and that the extermination of the inhabitants was in consequence of the rejection of this offer.

John Gill

The Church Fathers

Pay attention to me; how strange was the preaching of God's love toward humanity! He who says in the law, "You shall not commit adultery" and "You shall not commit prostitution," changes the commandment by clemency and proclaims through the blessed Joshua, "Let Rahab the prostitute live." Joshua the son of Nun, who says, "Let the prostitute live," prefigured the Lord Jesus, who says, "The prostitutes and tax collectors go into the kingdom of the heavens before you." If she must live, how can she be a prostitute? If she is a prostitute, why should she live? "I speak about her previous condition," he says, "so you may marvel at her subsequent change." He asks, "What did Rahab, to whom he granted salvation, do?" She accepted the spies peacefully? Even an innkeeper does this. However, she reaped the fruits of salvation not only by speech but beforehand by faith and by her disposition before God.And so you may learn the abundance of her faith, listen to the very Scripture that describes in full and bears witness to her achievements. She was in a brothel, like a pearl mixed up in mire, like gold thrown in mud, the rose of piety hidden in thorns, a pious soul enclosed in a place of impiety. Pay attention so you may understand well. She accepted the spies and the One whom Israel denied in the desert; Rahab preached this One in the brothel.
— John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON REPENTANCE AND ALMSGIVING 7.5.15-16

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Anathema — Anything laid up or suspended; hence anything laid up in a temple or set apart as sacred. In this sense the form of the word is anath(ee)ma, once in plural used in the Greek New Testament, in Luke…
Harlot — (1.) Heb. zonah (Gen. 34:31; 38:15). In verses 21, 22 the Hebrew word used in kedeshah, i.e., a woman consecrated or devoted to prostitution in connection with the abominable worship of Asherah or…
Jericho — Place of fragrance, a fenced city in the midst of a vast grove of palm trees, in the plain of Jordan, over against the place where that river was crossed by the Israelites (Josh. 3:16). Its site was…
Accursed · What — What
Ark Of The Covenant · Miracles connected with: Fall of the walls of Jericho — Miracles connected with: Fall of the walls of Jericho
Harlot (Prostitute) · Rahab — Rahab
Miracles Wrought Through Servants Of God · Joshua: Jericho taken — Joshua: Jericho taken
Sieges · Mentioned in scripture: Jericho — Mentioned in scripture: Jericho
Trumpet · In the siege of — In the siege of

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Joshua 6:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Joshua 6:17–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 6:17

Adam Clarke on Joshua 6:17

John Gill

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Joshua 6:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Joshua 6:17–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 6:17

Adam Clarke on Joshua 6:17

John Gill

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Joshua 6:1-19

Keil & Delitzsch on Joshua 6:6–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Joshua 6:17

Rashi on Joshua 6:17