Episode 79: The hill of foreskins and the Jericho massacre

(Joshua 5-6)

The hill of the foreskins

5 ¹ When the Amorites and Canaanites heard that God had dried up the Jordan so the Israelites could cross over, their hearts melted.

² God said to Joshua, "Make sharp knives and circumcise the male Israelites the second time."

³ So Joshua made some knives and circumcised the Israelites at the hill of the foreskins.

⁶ This was necessary because all the males who left Egypt during the Exodus died in the wilderness because they disobeyed God.

⁷ But the males who were born in the wilderness hadn't yet been circumcised.

⁸ The Israelites stayed at the hill of the foreskins until the males had recovered from their circumcisions.

Joshua meets the captain of God's army

¹³ When Joshua was near Jericho, he saw a man with a sword.

¹⁴ The man said, "I'm captain of the host of the Lord."

Joshua fell on his face to worship him, and said,

What do you have to say to me?

¹⁵ And the captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua,

Take off your shoe because you're standing on holy ground.

¹⁶ So Joshua took off his shoe.

God plans the Jericho massacre

6 ² God said to Joshua,

See, I have given you Jericho.

³ You and your soldiers will walk around the city once a day for six days.

⁴ Seven priests will go before the ark with seven trumpets of rams' horns. On the seventh day, walk around the city seven times, while the priests blow their trumpets.

⁵ The priests will blow a long blast from the rams' horns, all the people shout, and the walls will fall down.

The Jericho massacre

¹⁷ Joshua said to the people,

The city and everything in it is accursed. Only Rahab the harlot shall live.

¹⁸ Keep away from the accursed thing. Or you will become accursed, along with all of Israel.

¹⁹ All the silver, gold, brass, and iron must go to God's treasury.

²⁰ When the people shouted and the priests blew their trumpets, the walls of Jericho fell down.

²¹ The Israelites slaughtered everyone in the city of Jericho (except Rahab): women, children, old people, and animals, with the edge of the sword.

²² Joshua said to the men who were sent to Jericho,

Go to the harlot's house and bring out the woman and all that she has, as you promised.

²³ The spies did as Joshua commanded, and brought out Rabab, her family, and her possessions. ²⁴ Then they burned the city, keeping only the silver, gold, brass, and iron, which they put into God's treasury.

²⁶ Joshua said,

Whoever tries to rebuild Jericho will be accursed by God and will have to sacrifice both their oldest and their youngest sons in its construction.

²⁷ So God was with Joshua and he became famous throughout the country.