Joshua 6:3

And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
compass	וְסַבֹּתֶ֣ם ve.sa.bo.Tem	H5437	to revolve · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine plural
city	הָעִ֗יר ha.'Ir	H5892	a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
men	אַנְשֵׁ֣י 'an.Shei	H582	a man in general (singly or collectively) · noun, common masculine plural construct
war	הַמִּלְחָמָ֔ה ha.mil.cha.Mah	H4421	a battle (i.e. the engagement) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
about	הַקֵּ֥יף ha.Keif	H5362	to strike with more or less violence (beat · verb, hiphil infinitive absolute
city	הָעִ֖יר ha.'Ir	H5892	a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
once	פַּ֣עַם Pa.'am	H6471	a stroke · noun, common feminine singular construct
do	תַעֲשֶׂ֖ה ta.'a.Seh	H6213	to do or make · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
six	שֵׁ֥שֶׁת She.shet	H8337	six (as an overplus beyond five or the fingers of the h… · cardinal number, both genders singular construct
days	יָמִֽים ya.Mim	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · noun, common masculine plural absolute

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

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
Numbers 14:9 Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them,…
Joshua 6:7 And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD.
1 Corinthians 1:21-25 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that belie…
Joshua 6:14 And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Joshua 6:1-5

We have here a contest between God and the men of Jericho, and their different resolutions, upon which it is easy to say whose word shall prevail. I. Jericho resolves Israel shall not be its master, Jos 6:1. It was straitly shut up, because of the children of Israel. It did shut up, and it was shut up (so it is in the margin); it did shut up itself, being strongly fortified both by art and nature, and it was shut up by the obstinacy and resolution of the inhabitants, who agreed never to surrender nor so much as sound a parley; none went out as deserters or to treat of peace, nor were any admitted in to offer peace. Thus were they infatuated, and their hearts hardened to their own destruction…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 6:3

ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war. . . . Thus shalt thou do six days, &c.--Directions are here given as to the mode of procedure. Hebrew, "horns of jubilee"; that is, the bent or crooked trumpets with which the jubilee was proclaimed. It is probable that the horns of this animal were used at first; and that afterwards, when metallic trumpets were introduced, the primitive name, as well as form of them, was traditionally continued. The design of this whole proceeding was obviously to impress the Canaanites with a sense of the divine omnipotence, to teach the Israelites a memorable lesson of faith and confidence in God's promises, and to inspire sentiments of respect and reverence f…

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Adam Clarke on Joshua 6:3

Ye shall compass the city - In what order the people marched round the city does not exactly appear from the text. Some think they observed the same order as in their ordinary marches in the desert; (see the note on Num 10:14, and see the plans, Num 2:2 (note)); others think that the soldiers marched first, then the priests who blew the trumpets, then those who carried the ark, and lastly the people.

John Gill on Joshua 6:3

The Church Fathers

For when they had passed over the Jordan, Joshua commanded them to go round Jericho seven days, each day once, and on the seventh day to go round seven times, and he and the priests were to go before them carrying horns and the ark of the Lord; and the whole people followed after Joshua and after the ark in simplicity, like children following their fathers.
— Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 4 -- On Faith: First Discourse on Simplicity

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

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…
Communion · .Joshua — .Joshua
Priests · Services of: Blowing the trumpets on various occasions — Services of: Blowing the trumpets on various occasions
Sieges · Mentioned in scripture: Jericho — Mentioned in scripture: Jericho
Theocracy, The, Or Immediate Government By God · Consisted in his: Proclaiming war — Consisted in his: Proclaiming war

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 6:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Joshua 6:1-5

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 6:3

Adam Clarke on Joshua 6:3

John Gill on Joshua 6:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Joshua 6:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Joshua 6:1-5

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 6:3

Adam Clarke on Joshua 6:3

John Gill on Joshua 6:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Joshua 6:1-19

Keil & Delitzsch on Joshua 6:1-5

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Joshua 6:2

Rashi on Joshua 6:1