Joshua 7

The name means “the ruins.” Most archaeologist say that’s what Jericho was when Joshua got there, a ghost town long dead. The city is typically connected with a mound of ruins called et-Tel (the Mound), roughly 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Jericho—a half-day’s walk. Other scholars, a minority, speculate that the Bible’s description of the geography of Joshua’s battles with Ai better fits another site: el-Maqatir, about half a mile west of et-Tel. Some say it shows evidence of destruction in the 1400s, when some scholars say the Israelites invaded. Scholars debate when or if an invasion took place. Some say there was no invasion, but a gradual migration instead. Dates pitched for the invasion are either in about 1400 BC or 1250 BC. The 1200s reportedly track better with the known history so far, such as the discoveries in destroyed cities and surviving documents about how Egyptian kings used slave labor to build cities such as the cities captive Israelites built (Exodus 1). The 1400 BC date seems to track better with a Bible note that says Israelites came out of Egypt 480 years before Solomon started building the first permanent Jewish worship center, the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6:1).

People in ancient times often expressed extreme emotion by tearing their clothes or throwing dirt on themselves. It made them look terrible, which is the way they probably felt. Today, we might express that depth of pain or grief or anger by swearing and punching a hole in the drywall. Neither of which is a productive response. And repairing drywall is harder than sewing.

Initially, purification involved at least washing clothes and not having sexual intercourse (Exodus 19:15). Later, purification rituals included a waiting period, a ritual bath, and a sacrificial offering (Leviticus 15).

More literally, they were to throw or draw “lots.” The “lots” may have been stones or animal bones marked in a way that produced random outcomes for “yes” or “no” answers, or for determining who goes first in a group. The idea is like throwing dice, with the high number going first or getting selected.

From “Shinar,” in southern Mesopotamia (meaning “land between rivers”). That’s now southern Iraq, where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers empty into the Persian Gulf.

Two hundred shekels, weighing 2 kilograms.

It weighed as much as “50 shekels.” That’s about a pound and a fourth, or half a kilogram.

Literally, “Valley of Achor.” The Hebrew name is a wordplay linked to Joshua’s accusation in 7:25. He used the word “trouble.” Achor is a Hebrew word that means to cause trouble or to do something that hurts others. The point of the wordplay: Achan caused trouble. Achan ended up in trouble—Trouble Valley.