Battle of Jericho

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battle of Jericho
Part of Israelite conquest of Canaan
Date Late Bronze Age Location Jericho Result Decisive Israelite victory
Belligerents
Israelites	Caananites
Commanders
Joshua	King of Jericho
Strength
8000 fighting men	500
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Annihilated (nearly 2,500 slaughtered)

The Battle of Jericho, according to the Bible (Joshua 5:13-6:27), was the first battle of the Israelites during their conquest of Canaan.

Contents 1 Biblical account 1.1 Spying on Jericho 1.2 The battle 1.3 Aftermath 2 Historicity 3 References

[edit] Biblical account

[edit] Spying on Jericho

Before crossing into the land west of the River Jordan, Joshua sent two spies to look over the land. The king of Jericho heard that two Israelite spies were within his city and ordered them to be brought out to him. The spies had to look out for things such as where guards were placed, whether anyone disliked the king and could help them, what weaponry and armour the guards had, when the guards changed shifts, how much food, water, and other supplies the city had, and the height and width of the walls so as to determine how to get over the walls.

The woman the spies were staying with was named Rahab and she protected them by hiding the two men on her roof. She tells them how the citizens of Jericho had been fearful of the Israelites ever since they defeated the Egyptians via the Red Sea miracle (some 40 years prior), and agrees to cover for them on condition that she and her family are spared in the upcoming battle. The spies agree provided three conditions are met: 1) she must distinguish her house from the others so the soldiers will know which one to spare, 2) her family must be inside the house during the battle, and 3) she must not later turn on the spies. Rahab complies with the conditions (hanging a scarlet rope outside her window to distinguish her house).

Safely escaping the city, the two returned to Joshua and reported that the "whole land was melting with fear".

[edit] The battle

The Bible tells us that after crossing the Jordan, Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan where they laid siege to the city of Jericho. God spoke to Joshua telling him to march around the city once every day for six days with the seven priests carrying ram's horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day they were to march around the city seven times and the priests were to blow their ram's horns. This Joshua did, and he commanded his people not to give a war-cry until he told them to do so. On the seventh day, after marching around the city the seventh time, the priests sounded their ram's horns, and Joshua ordered the people to shout. The walls of the city collapsed, and the Israelites were able to charge straight into the city. The city was completely destroyed, and every man, woman, and child in it was killed. Only Rahab and her family were spared, because she had hid the two spies sent by Joshua. After this Joshua burned the remains of the city and cursed any man who would rebuild the city of Jericho at the cost of his firstborn son.

[edit] Aftermath

With the fall of Jericho came the Israelites' first victory in their conquest. As a result of the battle, Joshua's fame spread throughout Canaan. Joshua then sent an expedition against Ai west of Jericho. For over 400 years Jericho lay in ruins until Hiel of Bethel rebuilt the city. The city was rebuilt at the cost of Hiel's firstborn son, Abiram, and was fortified at the cost of his second son, Segub.

[edit] Historicity

The battle's historicity is debated among modern scholars - archaeologist Bill Dever, for example, has said: [I]f you want a miracle, here's your miracle: Joshua destroyed a city that wasn't even there.^[1]Dever was referring to Kathleen Kenyon's excavations in the 1950s, which found that the city had already been destroyed around 1550 BC - approximately a century before the Bible's date for the battle - and remained uninhabited for several centuries thereafter.^[2] Kenyon's findings were confirmed in 1995 by radiocarbon studies which dated the destruction to 1562 BCE (plus/minus 38 years) with a certainty of 95%.^[3]

[edit] References