Notice how the verse promises the people will ascend "everyone straight before him." This detail highlights that the entire wall would fall down, not just a section, allowing every single Israelite to enter the city directly where they stood, preserving their formation even in victory.
And when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
After six days of silent marching around the fortified city of Jericho, God instructs Joshua on the final, climactic act of obedience: on the seventh day, after a prolonged trumpet blast and a mighty shout from the people, the walls will collapse, allowing them to enter the city. This sequence is a divine test of their faith and obedience, demonstrating that victory comes not by human strategy but by trusting God's unconventional commands.
Imagine orchestrating a military campaign where the primary weapons are silence, a trumpet blast, and a unified shout. That’s exactly what God designed for Jericho!
Jericho was a formidable city, its gates sealed shut. Yet, God's plan for its conquest wasn't about brute force or siege engines. It was about obedience to a seemingly absurd command:
This strategy deliberately bypassed human military tactics. As commentators note, it wasn't designed to batter down walls with force, but to rely on God's power. This tested Israel’s faith – would they trust an impossible command over their own understanding?
The way the mighty walls of Jericho collapsed is described in a way that points to a miracle, not mere destruction.
The text states the wall would 'fall down flat.' Commentators explain this using the Hebrew phrase 'under itself.' This suggests the wall didn't just crumble outwards from battering, but collapsed downwards, or inwards, in its original place.
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Understand the original words
teruah · Hebrew Noun
A communal vocal expression used in biblical contexts to celebrate victory, express joy in God, or signify the onset of divine judgment. It represents the people's faith and active participation in the act of God.
The miraculous fall of Jericho wasn't just a military victory; it was a profound test of Israel's faith and obedience, demonstrating that God's power, not human might, secured their inheritance.
c. 1406 BC
Israelites Enter Promised Land
Following the death of Moses, Joshua leads the Israelites across the Jordan River, marking their arrival in the land promised to Abraham's descendants.
c. 1406 BC— this verse
Jericho's Walls Fortified
Jericho, a major Canaanite city, is heavily fortified with strong walls, making it a formidable obstacle to the Israelite advance. The city is tightly shut, allowing no one in or out.
c. 1406 BC
Divine Strategy for Jericho
God instructs Joshua in a unique strategy: marching around the city for seven days, with priests blowing trumpets, culminating in a great shout on the seventh day.
c. 1406 BC
Fall of Jericho
Upon hearing the final signal, the people shout, and the walls of Jericho miraculously collapse, allowing the Israelites to conquer the city. Rahab's house is spared due to her earlier act of faith.
c. 1405 BC
The Conquest of Canaan
The victory at Jericho serves as a crucial early success, bolstering Israelite morale and initiating the broader conquest of Canaanite city-states.
This passage directly connects the fall of Jericho to faith, highlighting how 'by faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been encircled for seven days,' echoing the obedience and miraculous nature of the event.
1 Corinthians 1:27Paul uses God's method at Jericho to illustrate how God often chooses the 'weak' and 'foolish' things of the world to shame the wise and strong, mirroring the seemingly nonsensical strategy used to conquer the city.
2 Chronicles 20:22In another battle where divine intervention was key, the people were instructed to sing and praise God, and the enemies turned against each other, showing a pattern of God using unconventional methods and audible praise to secure victory.
Revelation 18:21This passage describes a mighty angel casting a stone into the sea, signifying Babylon's downfall, and declares 'thus will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence and will be found no more,' offering a symbolic parallel to a great city's sudden and complete destruction.
Joel 2:7This verse vividly describes an invading army behaving like disciplined soldiers scaling walls, 'like soldiers they scale the wall, each one marches straight ahead, they do not swerve,' which provides a striking comparison to the people of Israel marching 'everyone straight before him' over the fallen walls.
bensonJoshua 6:5: "And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him."
Joshua 6:5 . The wall — Not all of it; which was unnecessary, and might have given the people better opportunity of escaping; but only a considerable part of it, where the Israelites might fitly enter: for…
calvinJoshua 6:1-19: "Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in."
And you shall compass the city, all you men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shall thou do six days.
Circuibitis itaque urbem, omnes viri bellatores, circundando eam semel: sic facies sex diebus.
And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day you shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blo…
Notice how the verse promises the people will ascend "everyone straight before him." This detail highlights that the entire wall would fall down, not just a section, allowing every single Israelite to enter the city directly where they stood, preserving their formation even in victory.
After six days of silent marching around the fortified city of Jericho, God instructs Joshua on the final, climactic act of obedience: on the seventh day, after a prolonged trumpet blast and a mighty shout from the people, the walls will collapse, allowing them to enter the city. This sequence is a divine test of their faith and obedience, demonstrating that victory comes not by human strategy but by trusting God's unconventional commands.
After six days of silent marching around the fortified city of Jericho, God instructs Joshua on the final, climactic act of obedience: on the seventh day, after a prolonged trumpet blast and a mighty shout from the people, the walls will collapse, allowing them to enter the city. This sequence is a divine test of their faith and obedience, demonstrating that victory comes not by human strategy but by trusting God's unconventional commands.
"And when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight be…" — Notice how the verse promises the people will ascend "everyone straight before him." This detail highlights that the entire wall would fall down, not just a section, allowing every single Israelite t…
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Last reviewed October 2026
