Joshua 7:26
in Joshua 7And they heaped over Achan a large pile of rocks that remains to this day. So the LORD turned from His burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor to this day.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they raised over him a great heap of stones, unto this day; and Jehovah turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.
KJV
And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.
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This verse in Joshua 7
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThey raised over him a great heap of stones - The burial-places, both of heroes and eminent culprits, were anciently thus distinguished; and transactions of this kind gave rise to those great piles of stones called cairns, that are so frequently to be met with, especially in northern countries. From the whole of this account we may see the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and the great danger of not withstanding its first approaches. By covetousness many lives and many souls have been destroyed, and yet the living lay it not to heart!
This site's exposition
And they heaped over Achan a large pile of rocks
This is the second heap of stones in the book, after the twelve at Gilgal. The place keeps the name of the trouble, and 1 Chronicles 2:7 calls the man Achar, who brought trouble upon Israel. Hosea 2:15 gives the same valley back as a door of hope.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
A great heap of stones - As a monument of the sin and judgment here mentioned, that others might be warned by the example; and as a brand of infamy, as chap. viii, 29;
): The Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger. The putting away of sin by true repentance and reformation, as it is the only way, so it is a sure and most effectual way, to recover the divine favour.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Upon thy face - This business is not to be done by inactive supplication, but by vigourous endeavours for reformation. Israel - Some or one of them. Transgressed my covenant - That is, broken the conditions of my covenant which they have promised to perform, whereof this was one, not to meddle with the accursed thing.
And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day,....
And by this story it appears that, as the laws, so Canaan itself, "made nothing perfect," the perfection both of holiness and peace to God's Israel is to be expected in the heavenly Canaan only.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
they raised over him a great heap of stones--It is customary to raise cairns over the graves of criminals or infamous persons in the East still. the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor--("trouble"), unto this day--So painful an episode would give notoriety to the spot, and it is more than once noted by the sacred writers of a later age (Isa 65:10;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
"All Israel" was present, not only as spectators, but active agents, as many as possible, in inflicting the punishment--thus testifying their abhorrence of the sacrilege, and their intense solicitude to regain the divine favor.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A great heap of stones - As a memorial of Achan’s sin and its punishment. (Compare Jos 8:29; 2Sa 18:17.) The valley of Achor - Compare the marginal references. This valley formed part of the northern border of Judah Jos 15:7; and must therefore have lain among the ridges which cross the plain to the south of Jericho. But its exact site is uncertain. (Conder identifies it with Wady Kelt.)
The words behind it
23 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּקִ֨ימוּ | vaiyakimu | and they set up | H6965 → | 628 times |
| עָלָ֜יו | ʾalav | over him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| גַּל־ | gal- | a heap of | H1530 → | |
| אֲבָנִ֣ים | ʾavanim | stones | H68 → | 273 times |
| גָּד֗וֹל | gadol | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| עַ֚ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הַיּ֣וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַזֶּ֔ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| וַיָּ֥שָׁב | vaiyashov | and he turned back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מֵחֲר֣וֹן | mecharon | from [the] burning of | H2740 → | |
| אַפּ֑וֹ | ʾapo | anger his | H639 → | 276 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | there- | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּ֠ן | ken | -fore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| קָרָ֞א | kara' | someone called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| שֵׁ֣ם | shem | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| הַמָּק֤וֹם | hamakom | the place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| הַהוּא֙ | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| עֵ֣מֶק | ʾemek | [the] valley of | H6010 → | 69 times |
| עָכ֔וֹר | akhor | Achor | H5911 → | 5 times |
| עַ֖ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הַיּ֥וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַזֶּֽה׃ פ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
וַיָּקִ֨ימוּand they set up
vaiyakimuH6965 →628 times
עָלָ֜יוover him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
גַּל־a heap of
gal-H1530 →
אֲבָנִ֣יםstones
ʾavanimH68 →273 times
גָּד֗וֹלgreat
gadolH1419 →526 times
עַ֚דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
הַיּ֣וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַזֶּ֔ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
וַיָּ֥שָׁבand he turned back
vaiyashovH7725 →1056 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מֵחֲר֣וֹןfrom [the] burning of
mecharonH2740 →
אַפּ֑וֹanger his
ʾapoH639 →276 times
עַל־there-
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּ֠ן-fore
kenH3651 →771 times
קָרָ֞אsomeone called
kara'H7121 →733 times
שֵׁ֣ם[the] name of
shemH8034 →864 times
הַמָּק֤וֹםthe place
hamakomH4725 →401 times
הַהוּא֙<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
עֵ֣מֶק[the] valley of
ʾemekH6010 →69 times
עָכ֔וֹרAchor
akhorH5911 →5 times
עַ֖דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
הַיּ֥וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַזֶּֽה׃ פ<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Hosea 2:15There I will give back her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor into a gateway of hope. There she will respond as she did in the days of her youth, as in the…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 28:26
And there they will dwell securely, build houses, and plant vineyards. They will dwell securely when I execute judgments against all those around them who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that…
- Jeremiah 2:2
“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: ‘I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed Me in the wilderness,…
- Hosea 11:1
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.
- Ezekiel 16:60
But I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.
- John 10:9
I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.
- Ezekiel 28:26
Through
Isaiah 65:10Sharon will become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for My people who seek Me.
it leads to
- Isaiah 35:2
It will bloom profusely and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD, the…
- Isaiah 33:9
The land mourns and languishes; Lebanon is ashamed and decayed. Sharon is like a desert; Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
- Isaiah 35:2
Through
Deuteronomy 13:17Nothing devoted to destruction shall cling to your hands, so that the LORD will turn from His fierce anger, grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as He swore to your fathers,
it leads to
- Genesis 26:4
I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,
- Genesis 26:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.