Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

So the ark of the Lord compassed the city,.... Being bore by the priests, who carried it round the city; it may as well be rendered and interpreted as it is by Kimchi,"he, i.e. Joshua, caused the ark of the Lord to compass the city;'

that is, he gave orders to the priests to take it up, and go round with it on the first day:

going about it once; on that day, and no more; keeping at such a distance, as to be out of the reach of stones or arrows cast from the walls of the city:

and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp; the night following; not only the priests that bare the ark, but those that blew with the trumpets, and all the armed men, and the people.

Geneva Study Bible

(h) For that day.

Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary

I cannot help detaining the Reader to remark, what an odd appearance this must have made to the enemy on the walls of Jericho, who no doubt looked very anxiously on, from the moment they saw Israel had passed the river, Reader! it is so with the carnal world in their view of all the operations of faith. Jesus and his saints, like Joshua and his fellows, are men wondered at, neither can the unregenerate enter into any apprehension of what their spiritual life is: see Zechariah 3:8 with 1 Corinthians 4:9-13.

John Trapp Complete Commentary

Joshua 6:11 So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about [it] once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.

Ver. 11. So the ark of the Lord compassed the city.] The inhabitants marvelling, doubtless, what they meant by their tracing and circuiting.

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible

‘So he caused the Ark of YHWH to go round the city, going about it once, and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.’

Note that the stress here is on the Ark of YHWH It was the presence and power of YHWH, the God of battle, which would make the difference. Then they all returned to the camp and spent the night there.

George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

There. This singular procession served to exercise the obedience of the people, and to teach them to despise the enemy, who durst not come out to attack them, though many were unarmed. (Calmet)