Joshua 7:1-19

Achan Sins and is Punished

7:1 But the Israelites disobeyed the command about the city’s riches. ¹  Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, ²  son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, stole some of the riches. ³  The Lord was furious with the Israelites. ⁴ 

7:2 Joshua sent men from Jericho ⁵  to Ai (which is located near Beth Aven, east of Bethel ⁶ ) and instructed them, “Go up and spy on the land.” So the men went up and spied on Ai. 7:3 They returned and reported to Joshua, ⁷  “Don’t send the whole army. ⁸  About two or three thousand men are adequate to defeat Ai. ⁹  Don’t tire out the whole army, for Ai is small.” ¹⁰ 

7:4 So about three thousand men went up, but they fled from the men of Ai. 7:5 The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them and chased them from in front of the city gate all the way to the fissures ¹¹  and defeated them on the steep slope. ¹²  The people’s ¹³  courage melted away like water. ¹⁴ 

7:6 Joshua tore his clothes; ¹⁵  he and the leaders ¹⁶  of Israel lay face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening ¹⁷  and threw dirt on their heads. ¹⁸  7:7 Joshua prayed, ¹⁹  “O, Master, Lord! Why did you bring these people across the Jordan to hand us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us? 7:8 If only we had been satisfied to live on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say now that Israel has retreated ²⁰  before its enemies? 7:9 When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will turn against us and destroy the very memory of us ²¹  from the earth. What will you do to protect your great reputation?” ²² 

7:10 The Lord responded ²³  to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying there face down? ²⁴  7:11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenantal commandment! ²⁵  They have taken some of the riches; ²⁶  they have stolen them and deceitfully put them among their own possessions. ²⁷  7:12 The Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they retreat because they have become subject to annihilation. ²⁸  I will no longer be with you, ²⁹  unless you destroy what has contaminated you. ³⁰  7:13 Get up! Ritually consecrate the people and tell them this: ‘Ritually consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, because the Lord God of Israel says, “You are contaminated, ³¹  O Israel! You will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove what is contaminating you.” ³²  7:14 In the morning you must approach in tribal order. ³³  The tribe the Lord selects ³⁴  must approach by clans. The clan the Lord selects must approach by families. ³⁵  The family the Lord selects must approach man by man. ³⁶  7:15 The one caught with the riches ³⁷  must be burned up ³⁸  along with all who belong to him, because he violated the Lord’s covenant and did such a disgraceful thing in Israel.’”

7:16 Bright and early the next morning Joshua made Israel approach in tribal order ³⁹  and the tribe of Judah was selected. 7:17 He then made the clans of Judah approach and the clan of the Zerahites was selected. He made the clan of the Zerahites approach and Zabdi ⁴⁰  was selected. ⁴¹  7:18 He then made Zabdi’s ⁴²  family approach man by man ⁴³  and Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was selected. 7:19 So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, honor ⁴⁴  the Lord God of Israel and give him praise! Tell me what you did; don’t hide anything from me!”

[7:1]  ¹ tn Heb “But the sons of Israel were unfaithful with unfaithfulness concerning what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:1]  ² tn 1 Chr 2:6 lists a “Zimri” (but no Zabdi) as one of the five sons of Zerah (cf. also 1 Chr 7:17, 18).

[7:1]  ³ tn Heb “took from what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “the anger of the Lord burned against the sons of Israel.”

[7:2]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[7:2]  ⁶ map For the location of Bethel see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[7:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “and they returned to Joshua and said to him.”

[7:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “Don’t let all the people go up.”

[7:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “Let about two thousand men or about three thousand men go up to defeat Ai.”

[7:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all the people for they are small.”

[7:5]  ¹¹ tn The meaning and correct translation of the Hebrew word שְׁבָרִים (shÿvarim) is uncertain. The translation “fissures” is based on usage of the plural form of the noun in Ps 60:4 HT (60:2 ET), where it appears to refer to cracks in the earth caused by an earthquake. Perhaps deep ravines or gorges are in view, or the word is a proper noun (“all the way to Shebarim”).

[7:5]  ¹² sn The precise geographical location of the Israelite defeat at this “steep slope” is uncertain.

[7:5]  ¹³ tn Or “army’s.”

[7:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and the heart of the people melted and became water.”

[7:6]  ¹⁵ sn Tearing one’s clothes was an outward expression of extreme sorrow (see Gen 37:34; 44:13).

[7:6]  ¹⁶ tn Or “elders.”

[7:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and fell on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel.”

[7:6]  ¹⁸ sn Throwing dirt on one’s head was an outward expression of extreme sorrow (see Lam 2:10; Ezek 27:30).

[7:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “said.”

[7:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “turned [the] back.”

[7:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “and cut off our name.”

[7:9]  ²² tn Heb “What will you do for your great name?”

[7:10]  ²³ tn Heb “said.”

[7:10]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Why are you falling on your face?”

[7:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “They have violated my covenant which I commanded them.”

[7:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and also they have stolen, and also they have lied, and also they have placed [them] among their items.”

[7:12]  ²⁸ tn Heb “they turn [the] back before their enemies because they are set apart [to destruction by the Lord].”

[7:12]  ²⁹ tn The second person pronoun is plural in Hebrew, indicating these words are addressed to the entire nation.

[7:12]  ³⁰ tn Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the Lord] from your midst.”

[7:13]  ³¹ tn Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the Lord] [is] in your midst.”

[7:13]  ³² tn Heb “remove what is set apart [i.e., to destruction by the Lord] from your midst.”

[7:14]  ³³ tn Heb “by your tribes.”

[7:14]  ³⁴ tn Heb “takes forcefully, seizes.”

[7:14]  ³⁵ tn Heb “houses.”

[7:14]  ³⁶ tn Heb “by men.”

[7:15]  ³⁷ tn Heb “with what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:15]  ³⁸ tn Heb “burned with fire.”

[7:16]  ³⁹ tn Heb “by tribes.”

[7:17]  ⁴⁰ tn See the note on “Zabdi” in 1 Chr 7:1.

[7:17]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and he selected Zabdi.” The Lord is the apparent subject. The LXX supports reading a passive (Niphal) form here, as does the immediate context.

[7:18]  ⁴² tn Heb “his”; the referent (Zabdi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:18]  ⁴³ tn Heb “by men.”

[7:19]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “give glory to.”