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Joshua 6:26

in Joshua 6

At that time Joshua invoked this solemn oath: “Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho; at the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Joshua charged them with an oath at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before Jehovah, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: with the loss of his first-born shall he lay the foundation thereof, and with the loss of his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.

KJV

And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.

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This verse in Joshua 6

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Bede

Questions on the book of Kings 16 · Written before 735.

It is said of the time when Ahab reigned, "In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho; he laid its foundations in Abiram, his firstborn; and he set up its gates in Segub, his youngest son." The apparent sense is that when the above-mentioned city's …

This site's exposition

Joshua adjured them at that

on Joshua 6:26-27

The curse names a price in sons rather than a general warning, the firstborn at the foundation and the youngest at the gates. 1 Kings 16:34 discharges it by name in the days of Ahab, where Hiel the Bethelite builds Jericho, lays the foundation in Abiram his firstborn and sets up the gates in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun. People live at the site long before that, at Judges 3:13 and 2 Samuel 10:5, so what the curse holds is the walling and gating of it. The chapter closes on the promise of 1:5 and 1:9 kept, the Lord was with Joshua.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

In his youngest son - That is, he shall lose all his children in the work, the first at the beginning, others in the progress of it by degrees, and the youngest in the close of it, when the gates use to be set up. This was fulfilled, 1 Kings xvi, 34.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Joshua adjured them at that time--that is, imposed upon his countrymen a solemn oath, binding on themselves as well as their posterity, that they would never rebuild that city. Its destruction was designed by God to be a permanent memorial of His abhorrence of idolatry and its attendant vices.

The words behind it

22 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיַּשְׁבַּ֣עand he administered an oath

    vaiyashba'H7650 →186 times

  • יְהוֹשֻׁ֔עַJoshua

    yehoshua'H3091 →218 times

  • בָּעֵ֥תat the time

    baetH6256 →296 times

  • הַהִ֖יא<the> that

    hahi'H1931 →1879 times

  • לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • אָר֨וּר[is] cursed

    ʾarurH779 →

  • הָאִ֜ישׁthe person

    haishH376 →1663 times

  • לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before

    lifneiH6440 →2123 times

  • יְהוָ֗הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֤רwho

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • יָקוּם֙he will arise

    yakumH6965 →628 times

  • וּבָנָ֞הand he will rebuild

    uvanahH1129 →376 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הָעִ֤ירthe city

    hairH5892 →1090 times

  • הַזֹּאת֙<the> this

    hazotH2063 →603 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • יְרִיח֔וֹJericho

    yerichoH3405 →57 times

  • בִּבְכֹר֣וֹwith firstborn his

    bivkhoroH1060 →122 times

  • יְיַסְּדֶ֔נָּהhe will found it

    yeyassedenahH3245 →

  • וּבִצְעִיר֖וֹand with young [son] his

    uvitziroH6810 →

  • יַצִּ֥יבhe will set up

    yatzivH5324 →

  • דְּלָתֶֽיהָ׃gates its

    delateihaH1817 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Kings 16:34In Ahab’s days, Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho. At the cost of Abiram his firstborn he laid its foundation, and at the cost of Segub his youngest he set up its gates, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Joshua son of Nun.65 worksActs 19:13Now there were some itinerant Jewish exorcists who tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those with evil spirits. They would say, “I bind you by Jesus, whom Paul proclaims.”6 works1 Samuel 14:24Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted any food.5 worksNumbers 5:21and the priest shall have the woman swear under the oath of the curse—‘then may the LORD make you an attested curse among your people by making your thigh shrivel and your belly swell.5 worksGenesis 27:7‘Bring me some game and prepare me a tasty dish to eat, so that I may bless you in the presence of the LORD before I die.’5 worksNumbers 5:19–21And he is to put the woman under oath and say to her, ‘If no other man has slept with you and you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, may you be immune to this bitter water that brings a curse.4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Numbers 21:2So Israel made a vow to the LORD: “If You will deliver this people into our hands, we will devote their cities to destruction.”4 worksHabakkuk 2:12Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by iniquity!4 works2 Kings 2:4And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.4 worksMatthew 26:63But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.”3 works2 Kings 2:19Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please note, our lord, that the city’s location is good, as you can see. But the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.”3 worksActs 23:12When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.3 worksMalachi 1:4Though Edom may say, “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild the ruins,” this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Land of Wickedness, and a people with whom the LORD is indignant forever.2 works1 Kings 22:16But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear not to tell me anything but the truth in the name of the LORD?”2 worksDeuteronomy 13:16And you are to gather all its plunder in the middle of the public square, and completely burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. The city must remain a mound of ruins forever, never to be rebuilt.2 worksJudges 9:57And God also brought all the wickedness of the men of Shechem back upon their own heads. So the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came upon them.2 worksJoshua 16:7From Janoah it went down to Ataroth and Naarah, and then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan.2 worksLeviticus 27:28Nothing that a man sets apart to the LORD from all he owns—whether a man, an animal, or his inherited land—can be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Acts 19:13

    Now there were some itinerant Jewish exorcists who tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those with evil spirits. They would say, “I bind you by Jesus, whom Paul proclaims.”

    it leads to

    • Matthew 12:27

      And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.

    • Mark 9:38

      John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone else driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.”

    • Luke 11:19

      And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.

    • Acts 8:18–19

      When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money.

  • Through

    Matthew 26:63

    But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.”

    it leads to

    • Leviticus 5:1

      “If someone sins by failing to testify when he hears a public charge about something he has witnessed, whether he has seen it or learned of it, he shall bear the iniquity.

    • Isaiah 53:7

      He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not…

    • Matthew 16:16

      Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

    • Matthew 27:12

      And when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He gave no answer.

Where this verse is studied

About Joshua

The Walls of Jericho Fall Down — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
The Walls of Jericho Fall Down — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Joshua: the study guide →Read Joshua 6 →

This page draws on Bede, Questions on the book of Kings 16; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.

Read on in Joshua 6 →