Study Desk

Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Look, I will let you defeat the city of Jericho. You will defeat the king and all the fighting men in the city.

Joshua saved Rahab the prostitute, her family, and all those who were with her. Joshua let them live because Rahab helped the spies Joshua had sent out to Jericho. Rahab still lives among the Israelites today.

At that time Joshua made this important promise. He said, "Whoever rebuilds Jericho will be in danger from the Lord . When he lays the foundation, he will lose his oldest son. When he sets up the gates, he will lose his youngest son."

After they defeated Jericho, Joshua sent some men to Ai. Ai was near Beth Aven, east of Bethel. He told them, "Go to Ai and look for weaknesses in that area." So the men went to spy on that land.

In Jericho, I saw a beautiful coat from Babylonia, about 5 pounds of silver, and about a pound of gold. I wanted these things for myself, so I took them. You will find them buried in the ground under my tent. The silver is under the coat."

You will do to Ai and its king the same thing you did to Jericho and its king. Only this time you can take all the wealth and animals and keep it for yourselves. You will share the wealth with your people. Now, tell some of your soldiers to hide behind the city."

The people from the city of Gibeon heard about the way Joshua had defeated Jericho and Ai.

At this time Adoni Zedek was the king of Jerusalem. He heard that Joshua had defeated Ai and completely destroyed it. The king learned that Joshua had done the same thing to Jericho and its king. He also learned that the Gibeonites had made a peace agreement with Israel and that they lived very near Jerusalem.

That day Joshua defeated Makkedah. He killed the king and the people in that city. No one was left alive. Joshua did the same thing to the king of Makkedah that he had done to the king of Jericho.

The Lord allowed the Israelites to defeat that city and its king. They killed everyone in the city. No one was left alive. And they did the same thing to that king as they had done to the king of Jericho.

the king of Jericho, the king of Ai near Bethel,

Moses gave all this land to these tribes. He did this while the people were camped on the plains of Moab. This was across the Jordan River, east of Jericho.

This is the land that the family of Joseph received. This land started at the Jordan River near Jericho and continued to the waters of Jericho. (This was just east of Jericho.) The border went up from Jericho to the hill country of Bethel.

Then it went from Janoah down to Ataroth and to Naarah. The border continued until it touched Jericho and ended at the Jordan River.

The northern border started at the Jordan River. It went along the northern edge of Jericho. Then the border went west into the hill country. It continued until it was just east of Beth Aven.

Each family got its land. These are their cities: Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz,

Bezer, east of the Jordan River across from Jericho, in the desert area in the land of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead in the land of Gad; and Golan in Bashan in the land of Manasseh.

"‘Then you went across the Jordan River to the city of Jericho. The people in Jericho fought against you. Also, the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites fought against you. But I allowed you to defeat them all.

When the people told David, he sent messengers to meet his officers. He did this because these men were very ashamed. King David said, "Wait at Jericho until your beards grow again. Then come back home."

During Ahab's time, Hiel from Bethel rebuilt the town of Jericho. When Hiel started work on the city, his oldest son Abiram died. And when Hiel built the gates of the city, his youngest son Segub died. This happened just as the Lord said it would happen when he spoke through Joshua son of Nun.