Chapter 6 of Sefer Yehoshua is the chapter of the great miracle of the conquest of Jericho. Jericho is the bolt and the lock of Eretz Yisrael, and its conquest was carried out entirely through a miracle: seven Kohanim, seven shofars, seven days and seven encirclements, and at their end the wall collapses beneath itself. We will study the chapter according to the order of the pesukim, mainly following the explanation of the Malbim, together with the words of the Radak, the Ralbag, and the words of Chazal and the Midrashim that accompany them.
וִירִיחוֹ סֹגֶרֶת וּמְסֻגֶּרֶת מִפְּנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֵין יוֹצֵא וְאֵין בָּא׃ - Now Jericho was closed and sealed because of Bnei Yisrael, none went out and none came in.
Targum Yonatan translates: "achida devashin defarzela" - closed with locks of iron, "umetkefa be'avrin din charash" - and fortified with sorcery and serpents. Just as it was in Egypt, where a slave was unable to flee from there because all sorts of forces of impurity would cry out and announce that a slave is fleeing, so too here: the people of Jericho performed acts of sorcery in order to lock up the place. And the Targum continues: "lait din nafek minah leme'evad kerava" - none went out to make war against us, "velait de'alil begavah lemish'al bishlama" - and none came in to inquire after their welfare.
The Malbim explains that here the verse comes to clarify what the prophecy was that came to Yehoshua through the angel at the end of the previous chapter. "Sogeret" - closed already, "umsugeret" - now closed even more, for because of Bnei Yisrael they added doors, a wall and a bolt, closure upon closure. And not only that, but also no man was found who would go out and show them the entrance to the city, unlike what happened at Luz, where a man went out and came in. Here none went out and none came in, and therefore there was no one to reveal to Yisrael the exits and entrances of the city.
Chazal say that "closed and sealed" teaches that the city had seven walls. They relied on the walls, closed themselves within them and locked them from outside, and in addition they locked them with sorcery. This is the reason that Kalev and Pinchas were sent - in order to remove the sorcery, so that it would be easier to bring down the walls of the city. In the seven walls there were seven openings, except that they were not aligned one opposite the other. "And none went out and none came in" - they could not leave the city and surrender, for they were not allowed to go out at all.
The Rama miPano, in his work "Me'ah Kesita," brings a beautiful hint: "ain yotzei ve'ain ba" (none went out and none came in) are the initial letters of Iyov, for Jericho was built on the advice of Iyov. And if you ask, is there not here a sin on the part of Iyov, that he prevents us from conquering the Land? To this the Rama miPano answers: a Ben Noach is not commanded regarding "do not place a stumbling block before the blind."
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ רְאֵה נָתַתִּי בְיָדְךָ אֶת־יְרִיחוֹ וְאֶת־מַלְכָּהּ גִּבּוֹרֵי הֶחָיִל׃ - And Hashem said to Yehoshua: See, I have given into your hand Jericho and its king, the mighty warriors.
The speech came to Yehoshua through the angel who revealed himself to him, and he is called by the name of Hashem. The Radak emphasizes that the revelation of an angel is in essence a Divine revelation. So too regarding Gidon it is said "and Hashem said to him: for I will be with you," and even though it was an angel - "for My name is within him." Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: this teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, associates His name with every single angel. Within the angel itself there is Divinity. And therefore at the Akeidah the angel says: "now I know that you are one who fears God, and you have not withheld your son, your only one, from Me" - specifically from Me, and do people offer sacrifices to angels? Rather, the angel is nothing but a messenger bringing the Divine speech, and My name is within him.
"See, I have given into your hand" - the people of Jericho and their king, even though they are mighty warriors, are delivered into your hand. And not by force, but through a miracle. "I have given into your hand" means a Divine, spiritual giving.
Chazal expound "Jericho and its king" - that the Holy One, blessed be He, bound the ministering angel of Jericho in the heavens and cast him at the feet of Yehoshua, as it is written "and Egypt was dead upon the shore of the sea," that they saw the ministering angel of Egypt dead upon the shore of the sea. It is further brought in Chazal that all the armies of the kings of the land of Canaan came to make war against Jericho, against Yehoshua, because Jericho is the bolt of Eretz Yisrael - it is the lock and the bolt, and if they breached the bolt they entered inside. Therefore all thirty one kings came to make war there and to save the city from the hand of Yehoshua.
וְסַבֹּתֶם אֶת־הָעִיר כֹּל אַנְשֵׁי הַמִּלְחָמָה הַקֵּיף אֶת־הָעִיר פַּעַם אֶחָת כֹּה תַעֲשֶׂה שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים׃ - And you shall encircle the city, all the men of war, going around the city once. So shall you do for six days.
The Radak writes that one may not ask for a reason behind the Creator's causes: why this encircling, and what is the reason for seven Kohanim, seven shofarot, seven circuits, and seven days. The reason for the encircling with a blast was to terrify the people within the city, so that the wall would collapse beneath itself, in order that all the peoples of the land would know that Hashem fights for Israel, not with sword and spear.
As for the matter of the number seven, the Radak says, its secret is known to those who understand knowledge. Everything in nature divides into seven, and likewise seven altars, seven bulls, and seven rams, and the seventh is the chosen one: among days, the day of Shabbat; among months, Tishrei, in which are all the festivals and Rosh Hashanah; and among years, the seventh year, the year of Shemitah, and seven times seven is the Yovel. According to the Kabbalists, the number seven is connected to all the lower influences in this world. There are ten Sefirot: three upper ones, Keter, Chochmah, Binah, or Chochmah, Binah, Da'at (depending on whether one counts Keter and not Da'at), and they represent the governance of the World to Come, the eternal world, and they are called Mochin, the aspect of thought. The governance of this world, however, is through Chagat Nehim: Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, Malchut, and in the language of the Zohar, "Chesed is the right arm, Gevurah is the left arm" - they are all Sefirot of actions: right hand, left hand, right leg, left leg, body.
Therefore everything in the world has six extremities: the four directions of the heavens, above and below - this is the physical aspect. Six is always the aspect of nature, and seven is the spirituality within nature. The seventh day is Shabbat, the spirituality within nature. With any object I can speak of six directions, and I can speak of its purpose and its destiny - and this is the seventh aspect. And eight, as we have discussed, is from the word shomen (fat), a greater fullness, spirituality alone, the aspect of Milah and the aspect of Chanukah, as the "Sifsei Chaim" of Rav Friedlander explains. For our purposes: seven is the aspect of the spirituality that is within nature.
The Malbim addresses the seeming redundancy in "And you shall encircle the city... going around the city." Some wished to say that first the men would stand around the entire city and then begin to move around it, but this does not fit the order of the verse, since "you shall encircle" is stated first and "going around" afterward. Therefore the Malbim explains: the meaning is not that the Aron alone would circle with Yehoshua, but that all the men of war would circle. And the difference between the terms: "circling" (sivuv) can also be said of an incomplete circuit; one can say of a person that he turned around even though he did not complete a full circuit, but "encircling" (hakef) always means a complete circuit from all four directions. And this is the meaning: circle the city, and do not suffice with part of it, but let the circling surround the entire city from all its sides.
וְשִׁבְעָה כֹהֲנִים יִשְׂאוּ שִׁבְעָה שׁוֹפְרוֹת הַיּוֹבְלִים לִפְנֵי הָאָרוֹן וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי תָּסֹבּוּ אֶת־הָעִיר שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים וְהַכֹּהֲנִים יִתְקְעוּ בַּשּׁוֹפָרוֹת׃ - And seven Kohanim shall carry seven ram's horn shofarot before the Aron, and on the seventh day you shall encircle the city seven times, and the Kohanim shall blow the shofarot.
"Shofarot ha-yovlim" - shofarot of rams. Rabbi Akiva said: I went to Arabia and heard that they would call a ram, a dichra, "yuvla." According to the Malbim the order of marching was: the vanguard at the head, after it the Kohanim with the shofarot, and the Aron at the rear. The Kohanim would blow throughout all seven days.
And what is the significance of the blasting specifically? The Malbim explains: their practice was to blow a tekiah on a day of joy and to sound a teruah on a day of war, as the verses in the Torah state explicitly - "And when you go to war in your land... you shall sound a teruah with the trumpets," and conversely "and on your day of gladness... you shall blow a tekiah." Here He commanded to blow a tekiah, since this was a time of joy and victory. This was not a war whose outcome you do not know, but rather there was already a promise from the angel of Hashem that the war would be decided in a miraculous manner. And therefore: for seven days they circle once a day and blow a tekiah, and on the seventh day seven times, blowing a tekiah at each circuit, and at the end they blow a great tekiah, and all the people sound a teruah, and the wall falls beneath itself.
The circuits began on the first day of the week, so that their conclusion, as Chazal say, was on Shabbat. And why did the Holy One, blessed be He, perform so great a miracle specifically at the conquest of Yericho, when the conquest of the rest of the land was more in accordance with nature? True, we saw other miracles, "Sun, stand still over Giv'on" and the hailstones from the heavens, but here there was a special miracle. The reason: the nations would say that the power of the Holy One, blessed be He, is only in water, as Titus said - He drowned the world in the Flood, He split the Sea of Suf, and now He split the waters of the Yarden. So the Holy One, blessed be He, showed them His power on dry land as well, to cast fear into the hearts of the nations so they would not come to fight against Israel.
And why seven circuits? Just as one performs seven circuits in the Beit HaMikdash on Sukkot corresponding to the seventy nations, and each day one prays that Hashem save us from ten of them, and on Hoshana Rabbah seven times corresponding to all seven days. Furthermore: in the Land of Israel there were seven nations, and therefore they made seven circuits to break the power of their kelipah. And furthermore: they had locked the city with sorcery, and sorcery is performed through the power of the stars and constellations, through the power of the seven planets, and therefore seven circuits to overcome those seven planets. And the Aron went with them to teach you that it is through the merit of the Aron and the Torah that we inherit the land.
וְהָיָה בִּמְשֹׁךְ בְּקֶרֶן הַיּוֹבֵל כְּשׇׁמְעֲכֶם אֶת־קוֹל הַשּׁוֹפָר יָרִיעוּ כׇל־הָעָם תְּרוּעָה גְדוֹלָה וְנָפְלָה חוֹמַת הָעִיר תַּחְתֶּיהָ וְעָלוּ הָעָם אִישׁ נֶגְדּוֹ׃ - And it shall be, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the shofar, all the people shall shout a great shout, and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up, every man straight before him.
"When they make a long blast with the ram's horn" refers to the final blast, in which the one blowing draws out his sounding. Then they will hear the sound of the shofar, and all the people will shout a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat.
The Radak asks: the house of Rachav was in the wall, and its sign was a window in the wall. If the wall sinks, the house sinks along with it, so how would they see the sign and how would the house survive? All the more so since the verse says that they came into the house of the harlot woman and brought the woman out from there, implying that the house survived. Therefore the Radak answers that not the entire wall fell, but only the part that faced the camp of Israel, while the house of Rachav was on another side where the wall remained standing. And what is said, "flat," means that it was swallowed in its place beneath the ground, with a little of it visible above the ground as a memorial.
The Malbim already resolved this difficulty above in a different way: part of Rachav's house was within the wall and part was outside the wall, upon the ground. When the time came for the wall to fall, Rachav entered that part of the house which was not within the wall, so that when the wall collapsed the part of the house remained standing, and in it was Rachav, and by the sign of the scarlet cord they knew where the place was.
The Malbim further explains that "when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the shofar, all the people shall shout" means that together with the great blast the people would shout, so that the two sounds, the sound of the great blast and the sound of the people's shout, would blend one into the other. This matter will be clarified more fully in verse 16.
וַיִּקְרָא יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן־נוּן אֶל־הַכֹּהֲנִים וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם שְׂאוּ אֶת־אֲרוֹן הַבְּרִית וְשִׁבְעָה כֹהֲנִים יִשְׂאוּ שִׁבְעָה שׁוֹפְרוֹת יוֹבְלִים לִפְנֵי אֲרוֹן יְהֹוָה׃ - And Yehoshua the son of Nun called to the Kohanim and said to them: Take up the Aron of the covenant, and let seven Kohanim bear seven ram's horn shofarot before the Aron of Hashem.
This statement was made when Yehoshua stood with the Aron and the people before Yericho and wished to begin the war. Until now the Levi'im carried the Aron, and now Yehoshua transfers the Aron to the Kohanim. Since through the Aron the wonders would come about, the most distinguished people among the nation must carry it, and the Kohanim are holier than the Levi'im. Just as we saw at the crossing of the Yarden, where there was an important event through the power of the Aron and specifically the Kohanim carried it, so too here, in the event of the fall of the walls of Yericho, the Kohanim are the bearers of the Aron.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל־הָעָם עִבְרוּ וְסֹבּוּ אֶת־הָעִיר וְהֶחָלוּץ יַעֲבֹר לִפְנֵי אֲרוֹן יְהֹוָה׃ - And he said to the people: Pass over and circle the city, and let the armed men pass before the Aron of Hashem.
The Malbim asks: what is meant by "pass over," and to where must they pass? He explains: the Aron always went at the head of the people, and now they are commanded that the people should go before the Aron. Until now the armed men, who were the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuven, went before Bnei Yisrael, and this is the meaning of "armed men," that they pass armed before them. Now the order was reversed: the most distinguished goes last, the Aron; those of intermediate importance, the Kohanim and the armed men, in the middle; and those of lesser importance, the rest of the people, at the head.
It would have been possible to achieve this order by having the Aron move to the rear, except that it is not respectful to the Aron for it to retreat backward. Therefore the vanguard and the people advanced forward. The result is the same, with the Aron at the end, except that the Aron did not move from its place; rather, the vanguard passed before the Aron and the people passed before the vanguard.
And what is the reason for this arrangement? The Malbim says: to show them that the victory would come through the Aron. Therefore the vanguard needed to be near the Aron, for by the commander of the army stood the Kereti and the Peleti, the experts in war and the officers, who stood at his side. Here the commander waging the war is the Aron, and therefore the vanguard, who are the officers and the mighty men, needed to be at its side. Furthermore, the condition that Moshe Rabbeinu stated was "and every armed man among you shall pass over before Hashem to war." Ordinarily the vanguard goes at the head of the battle before the people, and when it goes before the Aron it means that the Aron is the conqueror. Wherever the vanguard goes, there it is revealed who is the primary fighter: when the vanguard goes before the people, the primary fighters are the people; when it goes before the Aron, the primary fighter is the Aron. Indeed, the conquest of the rest of the land was more in the way of nature, and there the vanguard needed to go before Bnei Yisrael. But in the war of Yericho, which was a miraculous war, "and every armed man among you shall pass over before Hashem" was fulfilled just as Moshe Rabbeinu had planned in advance: through the shofars the city wall collapses, and this is a miraculous conquest, and therefore the vanguard goes before the Aron to show that the Aron is the conqueror and not the people.
וַיְהִי כֶּאֱמֹר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אֶל־הָעָם וְשִׁבְעָה הַכֹּהֲנִים נֹשְׂאִים שִׁבְעָה שׁוֹפְרוֹת הַיּוֹבְלִים לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה עָבְרוּ וְתָקְעוּ בַּשּׁוֹפָרוֹת וַאֲרוֹן בְּרִית יְהֹוָה הֹלֵךְ אַחֲרֵיהֶם׃ - And it was when Yehoshua spoke to the people, that the seven Kohanim bearing the seven jubilee shofars before Hashem passed on and sounded the shofars, and the Aron of the covenant of Hashem went after them.
The Malbim asks: what is meant by "and it was when Yehoshua spoke," without writing what he said or what happened then? Furthermore, why the repetition: here "passed on and sounded the shofars," and again in verse 9 "going and sounding the shofars"? He explains: do not think that during the time the Kohanim and the Aron stood and waited until all the people and the vanguard passed before the Aron, they did not sound the shofars, as if the command to sound is only at the time of the encirclement. To negate this understanding the verse comes to say that at the very moment Yehoshua tells the people the command of verse 7, that the vanguard should pass and stand before the Aron, the seven Kohanim bearing the shofars are already standing before Hashem, and already then they are passing on and sounding. The people pass before the Aron and the Kohanim sound while the people pass.
וְהֶחָלוּץ הֹלֵךְ לִפְנֵי הַכֹּהֲנִים תֹּקְעֵי הַשּׁוֹפָרוֹת וְהַמְאַסֵּף הֹלֵךְ אַחֲרֵי הָאָרוֹן הָלוֹךְ וְתָקוֹעַ בַּשּׁוֹפָרוֹת׃ - And the armed vanguard went before the Kohanim who sounded the shofars, and the rear guard went after the Aron, going and sounding the shofars.
The vanguard goes before the Kohanim who bear the Aron, and it is the intermediary between the Aron and the people. And do not say that all the Kohanim were near the Aron, but only the seven Kohanim who sounded the shofars, while the rest of the Kohanim were together with the tribe of Levi, as part of the people. "The rear guard" is the tribe of Dan, which went after the Aron, since all the other tribes were before the Aron. "Going and sounding" means that even while walking they did not cease sounding. The previous verse spoke of sounding while standing, while the people were arranging the procession, and here it speaks of sounding while walking toward Yericho, a continuous present tense: they go and sound the whole time they are walking. And this is the reason for the repetition.
וְאֶת־הָעָם צִוָּה יְהוֹשֻׁעַ לֵאמֹר לֹא תָרִיעוּ וְלֹא־תַשְׁמִיעוּ אֶת־קוֹלְכֶם וְלֹא־יֵצֵא מִפִּיכֶם דָּבָר עַד יוֹם אׇמְרִי אֲלֵיכֶם הָרִיעוּ וַהֲרִיעֹתֶם׃ - And Yehoshua commanded the people, saying: You shall not shout, nor let your voice be heard, nor shall any word come out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, Shout, and then you shall shout.
There are three levels here: "you shall not shout" refers to a shout of joy; "nor let your voice be heard" refers to a cry of clamor; "nor shall any word come out of your mouth" refers even to a whisper. Until when? Until the seventh day. There are commentators cited by the Radak that "until the day" is like "at the time," at the time when he tells you, but the Radak says the plain meaning is simpler: until the seventh day, which is the time when the moment came to shout, and then the city wall fell.
And what is the reason for the silence? The Ralbag says: out of concern that the people of the city, seeing them encircling, would hurl stones and catapults upon them from atop the wall. For such was their way: those standing on the wall throw stones and catapults and pour boiling oil, and their advantage is clear, for they are above and can drive off those approaching. The Ralbag himself finds this difficult: after all, the entire conquest was miraculous, so what room is there for concern? And the answer, in the words of the Radak: it is not the way of Hashem to perform miracles for no purpose where it is possible without a miracle. Where it is possible to manage without a miracle, the Holy One does not perform a miracle, but instructs them to act in a natural way.
The commentators bring another reason as well: it is the way of warriors to sound a cry of shouting, both to strengthen morale and to instill fear in the opposing army. Here he told them: do not do so, for Hashem fights for you. If you shout, you might even come to think that you conquered the city, and that perhaps it was from your shouts that they feared. Therefore do not let your voice be heard, so that it will be clear that everything is from Hashem.
And why did the care reach the point where they would not utter even a single sound? Because they were standing beside the Ark of Hashem. Being near the Ark demands very great sanctity, and as we saw, the Ark would consume those who carried it, who were required to maintain an immense level of holiness, and any slight movement could harm them. So too here: it is not befitting to speak idle words beside the Ark of the covenant of Hashem. From here every person should take a lesson regarding idle talk in the synagogue.
וַיַּסֵּב אֲרוֹן־יְהֹוָה אֶת־הָעִיר הַקֵּף פַּעַם אֶחָת וַיָּבֹאוּ הַמַּחֲנֶה וַיָּלִינוּ בַּמַּחֲנֶה׃ - And the Ark of Hashem circled the city, going around once, and they came to the camp and lodged in the camp.
"Vayasev" - Yehoshua brought the Ark around the city, as explained by the Radak. The first circuit was on the first day, which was also the first day of the week, for Chazal received a tradition that the seventh day, on which Yericho was captured, was Shabbat. And the Radak says: do not be surprised that they killed and burned on Shabbat, for the One who commanded about Shabbat is the One who commanded to conquer Yericho, even though it involved desecration of Shabbat. So too Chazal expounded regarding the other cities that Israel besieges, from the verse "until it falls" - even on Shabbat. And just as the Torah commands to bring up burnt offerings on Shabbat, so too He can command to conquer Yericho on Shabbat. "And they came to the camp" - they returned to Gilgal, where the camp was, and from there they would go up to Yericho to circle it.
וַיַּשְׁכֵּם יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בַּבֹּקֶר וַיִּשְׂאוּ הַכֹּהֲנִים אֶת־אֲרוֹן יְהֹוָה׃ - And Yehoshua rose early in the morning, and the Kohanim carried the Ark of Hashem.
The Malbim asks: what happened that they saw a need to rise early specifically on this day? Furthermore, why does the verse return to relate again about the Kohanim carrying the Ark and about the seven Kohanim bearing the shofarot, when it would have been enough to say that they did as on the first day? He explains: on the first day they did not need to rise early, since they were already within the area of Yericho, but on the second day they were in Gilgal and needed to reach Yericho, and therefore they rose early. And on this day the Kohanim carry the Ark from Gilgal all the way to Yericho, which was not the case on the first day, when the Leviim carried it up to Yericho, for the command to Yehoshua to transfer the Ark to the Kohanim was given already at Yericho. From here on, throughout all seven days, the Kohanim carried the Ark.
And some wish to say that the verse comes to teach us that on the second day too they rose early and hastened to do the will of Hashem. And this is a novelty, for when a person becomes accustomed to a certain matter the enthusiasm fades away, yet here, see that on the second day as well they had the same enthusiasm and the same joy.
וְשִׁבְעָה הַכֹּהֲנִים נֹשְׂאִים שִׁבְעָה שׁוֹפְרוֹת הַיֹּבְלִים לִפְנֵי אֲרוֹן יְהֹוָה הֹלְכִים הָלוֹךְ וְתָקְעוּ בַּשּׁוֹפָרוֹת וְהֶחָלוּץ הֹלֵךְ לִפְנֵיהֶם וְהַמְאַסֵּף הֹלֵךְ אַחֲרֵי אֲרוֹן יְהֹוָה הָלוֹךְ וְתָקוֹעַ בַּשּׁוֹפָרוֹת׃ - And seven Kohanim bearing seven shofarot of the yovel before the Ark of Hashem went on continually, blowing the shofarot, and the armed vanguard went before them, and the rear guard went after the Ark of Hashem, going on and blowing the shofarot.
Here the Malbim enumerates the changes from the first day: first, on the first day the Leviim carried the Ark up to Yericho, while here the Kohanim carry it already from Gilgal. Second, on the first day they did not proceed in the order of the vanguard going before the Kohanim except once they reached Yericho, while here the order begins immediately upon leaving Gilgal. Third, on the first day the Kohanim did not blow along the way from Gilgal to Yericho, while here "going on and blowing the shofarot" - immediately as they left Gilgal they begin to blow, and throughout the entire journey they do not cease. The language is of continuous present: they go and blow the whole time they walk.
The Alshich explains "and the vanguard went before them" in a novel way: on the second day the multitude of the people no longer went along. That whole order of the multitude of the people going, followed by the vanguard, followed by the Ark, was only on the first day, whereas on the second day there were only the seven Kohanim bearing the shofarot, the rear guard after the Ark and the vanguard before them, but the people were not there. This is a novelty, for the simple understanding is that all the people circled Yericho, and according to the Alshich this was only on the first day.
וַיָּסֹבּוּ אֶת־הָעִיר בַּיּוֹם הַשֵּׁנִי פַּעַם אַחַת וַיָּשֻׁבוּ הַמַּחֲנֶה כֹּה עָשׂוּ שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים׃ - And they circled the city on the second day one time, and they returned to the camp. So they did for six days.
וַיְהִי בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וַיַּשְׁכִּמוּ כַּעֲלוֹת הַשַּׁחַר וַיָּסֹבּוּ אֶת־הָעִיר כַּמִּשְׁפָּט הַזֶּה שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים רַק בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא סָבְבוּ אֶת־הָעִיר שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים׃ - And it was on the seventh day that they rose early at the break of dawn and circled the city in this manner seven times. Only on that day did they circle the city seven times.
The Malbim asks: there is a clear repetition here. It says "and they circled the city in this manner seven times," and again "only on that day did they circle the city seven times." If the intent was to emphasize that only on that day, the second phrase would have sufficed. He explains: everything done here revolved around the number seven and its multiples - seven priests, seven shofarot, seven days, seven circuits on the seventh day. The seventh is holy among the days, among the months, among the years and among the shemittah cycles. Here in the circuits there were two sets of seven: one, seven days on each of which they circled once, forming one set of seven; and the second, that on the seventh day they circled seven times. Therefore it says "and they circled the city in this manner" - one circuit like the practice of the six days, which completes the first set of seven, and afterward it joins it also to the count of the second set of seven: "only on that day did they circle the city seven times."
According to the Malbim it emerges that in total there were thirteen circuits, since the seventh circuit of the Shabbat day serves both as the seventh circuit of the six days of the week and as the first of the seven circuits of Shabbat. And some say that there were indeed thirteen, corresponding to the numerical value of "echad" in Shema Yisrael. And some wish to say that on the seventh day there were seven separate circuits, for a total of fourteen, and this is according to the secret teaching, as we do on the festival of Sukkot when on Hoshana Rabbah we add seven circuits beyond those made on each day of the festival.
On the seventh day, so it is brought, Yehoshua instituted the prayer "Aleinu Leshabeach," and on each circuit they recited it once, forwards and backwards, and in this merit the wall fell. Who instituted "Al ken nekaveh lecha" we will see further on. The Chida brings that this is a segulah for a person in distress: that he recite "Aleinu Leshabeach" seven times, forwards and backwards, and this is a segulah to be saved.
In the book "Seder HaYom" it is written that Yehoshua wished to sign his name in "Aleinu Leshabeach," and he signed his name not in full but in the shortened form, Hoshea, his original name, Hoshea bin Nun. The ayin of "Aleinu," the shin of "shelo sam chelkenu kahem," the vav of "va'anachnu mishtachavim," and the hei of "Hu Elokeinu" - behold, Hoshea.
In "Aleinu Leshabeach" one must intend to accept the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven and to unify His blessed Divinity. In the verse Shema Yisrael there is a large ayin and a large dalet - "Shema" with a large ayin, "echad" with a large dalet, to hint that we testify to His blessed unity. And that same hint is in "Aleinu Leshabeach": it begins with an ayin and ends with the dalet of "ein od," and likewise "Al ken nekaveh lecha" ends with "Hashem echad ushemo echad" with a dalet. So we have twice "ed" (witness) in Aleinu Leshabeach, in the first part and in the second part. And Rabbeinu Nechunya ben HaKanah instituted reciting it three times each day after the prayer. And how careful one must be regarding its greatness: "Aleinu Leshabeach" appears in the Musaf prayer of the Days of Awe, in the most exalted prayer, and this teaches how lofty its stature is.
And a story that happened, told in jest: one head of a congregation belittled the rabbi and spoke to him in a disgraceful manner. As is known, in Europe there were more than once congregation heads of standing who permitted themselves to act insolently toward the rabbi. The rabbi wished to put him in his place and said: three came with a grievance before the Holy One, blessed be He. "Aleinu Leshabeach" argued: why is my portion diminished, they stuck me at the end of the prayer like some sort of Tefillat HaDerech. Seudah Shlishit argued: Master of the World, I come at the end of Shabbat, I have a leftovers agreement with the earlier meals, the people are already full, and if it is winter - who even has an appetite to eat. And the mamzer argued: what is my fault, my parents committed a sin and I have to suffer? The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: I will appease you. To Aleinu Leshabeach He said: you will be in the most praised prayer, the Musaf of the Days of Awe. To Seudah Shlishit He said: you will merit that the Admorim and the mashgichim in the yeshivot will say their words of Torah at Seudah Shlishit, at the time of ra'ava de'ra'avin. And to the mamzer He said: you will be appointed head of the congregation.
וַיְהִי בַּפַּעַם הַשְּׁבִיעִית תָּקְעוּ הַכֹּהֲנִים בַּשּׁוֹפָרוֹת וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אֶל־הָעָם הָרִיעוּ כִּי־נָתַן יְהֹוָה לָכֶם אֶת־הָעִיר׃ - And it was on the seventh time that the priests blew the shofarot, and Yehoshua said to the people: Shout, for Hashem has given you the city.
Seemingly it implies that here they already blew a great blast, and if so, why is it said again in verse 20 "and the people shouted and blew the shofarot," and yet a third time "and it was when the people heard the sound of the shofar that they shouted"? How many blasts and shouts were there here?
The Malbim explains: "the priests blew the shofars" is not the great blast, for if it were, the people would have had to shout immediately, since this is exactly what they were told: when you hear the great blast, you all shout. Rather, the priests are still blowing as before, and have not yet drawn out the ram's horn. Yehoshua wants to signal to the priests to blow the great blast, which is the sign for the collapse of the walls and for the shout of all the people, and therefore he had to first inform them how to conduct themselves in the city and with its spoils. For once the wall falls there is no longer time for commands: everyone rushes inside with all their strength to conquer the city, and no one has a moment to think or prepare. Therefore he informs them in advance, "Shout, for Hashem has given you the city," and immediately afterward come the instructions and the commands.
וְהָיְתָה הָעִיר חֵרֶם הִיא וְכׇל־אֲשֶׁר־בָּהּ לַיהֹוָה רַק רָחָב הַזּוֹנָה תִּחְיֶה הִיא וְכׇל־אֲשֶׁר אִתָּהּ בַּבַּיִת כִּי הֶחְבְּאַתָה אֶת־הַמַּלְאָכִים אֲשֶׁר שָׁלָחְנוּ׃ - And the city shall be under the ban, it and all that is in it, to Hashem. Only Rachav the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers whom we sent.
The Radak says: "the city is under the ban" - that it not be rebuilt again, "and all that is in it" - that no benefit be derived from what is within it. The Radak adds that the Holy One, blessed be He, said this to Yehoshua, for presumably Yehoshua did not say such a thing on his own. And even though there is no explicit command, we find many like this in the Scriptures, where the prophet states a command from Hashem and it is not written that Hashem said it to him, and from the very words of the prophet you know that this is what was said to him. But the Radak immediately adds that our Sages of blessed memory said that Yehoshua said this on his own understanding, and the Holy One, blessed be He, did not tell him, and yet Hashem agreed with him. And from where do we know? For they were held accountable for the ban: "Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant... for they took from the banned things." Had it not been pleasing before Him, He would not have held them accountable. And this is one of three things that the earthly court decreed and the Holy One, blessed be He, agreed with them.
And what are the reasons for placing Yericho under the ban? Several reasons are stated among the commentators. The first: Yericho was the beginning of the conquest of the Land of Israel, and Yehoshua said, let us bring it out as a terumah, which is the first portion lifted up to Hashem, blessed be He, like "the first of your dough." The second: we captured Yericho on Shabbat, and Shabbat is called holy - "it is holy to you," and therefore all that we conquered shall be holy to Hashem, "it shall come into Hashem's treasury," and let no person benefit from an act done on Shabbat.
The Aruch LaNer offers a further wondrous reason: the conquest on Shabbat was not a transgression, for all who destroy are exempt, and they demolished and burned and ruined everything. But if they were to rebuild Yericho, it would turn out that the demolition was demolishing in order to build in its place, and this makes the act retroactively a transgression, since demolition that is for the sake of building is not in the category of destroying. Therefore he told them: so that the demolition remains in the category of destroying, do not return to rebuild it.
The Ralbag explains that he commanded to place it under the ban and to derive no benefit from there at all, so that they would not attribute the success to themselves and say: these animals are from Yericho, this gold is from Yericho, and come out feeling that they had done something here. And furthermore, so that they would not say in later days, if they were to succeed with these possessions, that the possessions of the nations or the possessions of Yericho bring success to their owners. Therefore he cursed whoever would rebuild Yericho, to the point that whoever rebuilds it from the start of its building to its completion, all his sons would die, and thus they would flee the place and see that, on the contrary, their livestock and their place are cursed. The complete opposite of what they might have thought - that if we bring from there we will be blessed, and apparently their idolatry is of quality. The reverse: everyone who involves himself there is cursed, and not only is there no blessing there, but there is a curse there.
A further explanation: Yericho was the central city, the bolt of the Land of Israel, and the most corrupt of the cities of the land. Rachav the harlot was there, and it is written that all the kings and nobles of the land frequented her. The place was flawed and corrupt, and this is like an ir hanidachat, which they want to destroy so that no memory of it remains, and like Amalek, of whom no trace of anything belonging to him is to be left, for the impurity clings to it. And a further explanation: the first city that we conquer and completely destroy - this instills dread in the hearts of the enemies. For usually when one conquers a city there is a desire to take the spoils and to dwell in the built and ready houses, especially a large city surrounded by a wall, which you enter ready for use, with even the food already in the refrigerator, without any effort. And when the nations see that Israel does not take any of this into account and destroys everything, dread falls upon their hearts: these are dangerous people, you cannot bribe them, silver and gold do not speak to them, behold they destroy everything.
And the Malbim explains: since the conquest was through a miracle, it is fitting that the spoils go to the House of Hashem. Something that you conquered - take it; something that Hashem conquered by means of the Ark of the Covenant of Hashem - what is due to you? It is holy to Hashem. And furthermore: so that they would not think about the money. When a person goes to conquer a city and begins to look at what he can take, he is not occupied with conquering it but with gathering money, and therefore he told them that nothing is to be taken from there, and everything is under the ban, and no soul shall live. And specifically in the first city they were careful that the mitzvah be fulfilled in its entirety.
And who was saved? Only Rachav. The Malbim says: Rachav herself was worthy of being saved even on her own account, for she converted before the spies and took upon herself faith in Hashem, and one who converts is worthy of being saved. And even though there is a discussion about the seven nations, some say she was not among them, and furthermore, this stage was before they crossed the Yarden, and before they crossed the Yarden it was possible to accept converts even from the seven nations. But her property was included in the ban of Yericho, and even her family was included in "no soul shall live," and therefore the verse comes to say that since she hid the spies - "she shall live, she and all who are with her," not only she, who lives in any case by virtue of her conversion, but also all who are with her, including the property, the oxen and the donkeys.
And by way of allusion they expound from the expression "whom we sent" a lesson greatly needed in our times: that a person should not be a politician - "I did, I built, I established." When you start breaking it down into details, it turns out that in most cases there was a small screw, and in a considerable portion of them he was not a partner at all. And this does not bother him, because less important is what you did and more important is what you publicize. As the politician says: it does not matter what you say about me, just spell my name correctly. And here, it was Yehoshua who sent the spies, and he says "whom we sent" - in the plural, all of us sent them. He does not take the credit for himself.
וְרַק־אַתֶּם שִׁמְרוּ מִן־הַחֵרֶם פֶּן־תַּחֲרִימוּ וּלְקַחְתֶּם מִן־הַחֵרֶם וְשַׂמְתֶּם אֶת־מַחֲנֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל לְחֵרֶם וַעֲכַרְתֶּם אוֹתוֹ׃ - But you, only keep away from the banned things, lest you place under the ban and take from the banned things, and make the camp of Israel a thing of ban, and bring trouble upon it.
Although the ban did not apply to Rachav's property, it did apply to everything else, and all the rest was not included in the permission. They noted a fine point: it does not say "guard yourselves" (hishameru) in the reflexive form, which would imply oneself alone, but "guard" (shimru), a doubled expression: guard yourselves and guard that others do not do so. This is the meaning of "and you would make the camp of Israel a ban," for through this harm would come to the whole people. Do not say, what do I care about what someone else took: the moment he takes from the banned property, afterward everyone falls by the sword and stumbles in the conquest of Ai. Each person is responsible for his fellow.
וְכֹל כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב וּכְלֵי נְחֹשֶׁת וּבַרְזֶל קֹדֶשׁ הוּא לַיהֹוָה אוֹצַר יְהֹוָה יָבוֹא׃ - And all the silver and gold and vessels of copper and iron are holy to Hashem; they shall come into the treasury of Hashem.
He said to them: do not redeem the silver and gold that you find, but rather everything goes to the sanctuary of Hashem. The Malbim explains: the objects that are not fit for the treasury of Hashem will be banned, and what is fit will go to the treasury of Hashem.
וַיָּרַע הָעָם וַיִּתְקְעוּ בַּשֹּׁפָרוֹת וַיְהִי כִשְׁמֹעַ הָעָם אֶת־קוֹל הַשּׁוֹפָר וַיָּרִיעוּ הָעָם תְּרוּעָה גְדוֹלָה וַתִּפֹּל הַחוֹמָה תַּחְתֶּיהָ וַיַּעַל הָעָם הָעִירָה אִישׁ נֶגְדּוֹ וַיִּלְכְּדוּ אֶת־הָעִיר׃ - And the people shouted, and they blew the shofarot; and it was, when the people heard the sound of the shofar, that the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, and the people went up into the city, each one straight ahead, and they captured the city.
When Yehoshua spoke the words to the people, the people shout, and then the Kohanim blow the great blast. As we mentioned earlier, the great blast and the shout of the people were together, and here the verse explains how: when the people hear the sound of the shofar, the great blast, they immediately shout, until the sounds mingle with one another. "And the people went up, each one straight ahead": the wall fell all around, and from here, says the Malbim, there is proof for his view that Rachav's house did not fall because part of it was outside the wall, and therefore it remained standing.
The commentators explain that he said to them: if you accept upon yourselves not to take from the banned property, Hashem will perform a miracle for you. And they accepted this upon themselves and blew a great shout, and at that moment the walls fell. "Teruah" is from the language of breaking, as in "You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like a potter's vessel," an expression of shattering. Through the power of the teruah they broke the sitra achra and the impurity in the city, and through this the walls fell and were swallowed into the ground, and a bit remained protruding so that the miracle would be remembered. And they entered "each one straight ahead," because the wall sank along the whole perimeter, unlike the Radak's explanation that only the part facing them fell.
And if you ask, if so, how did they identify the crimson thread? To this they answer that during the encirclements they set their hearts and eyes to see where the crimson thread was, while the wall still stood, and apparently they also marked the place for them, and when the wall fell they immediately knew where it was, based on what they had seen beforehand.
I saw a study cited in Hidabroot, from "Yediot Achronot" of February 23, 1990: a study conducted by Doctor Bryant Wood, an archaeologist from the University of Toronto, published in the bulletin "Biblical Archaeology Review." He proves scientifically that Jericho was destroyed in the year 1400 BCE, which is more or less the time we are speaking about, according to the count of years from the exodus from Egypt. And he notes that the walls of Jericho are found there at the site, and a large part of them is sunk into the ground.
וַיַּחֲרִימוּ אֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר בָּעִיר מֵאִישׁ וְעַד־אִשָּׁה מִנַּעַר וְעַד־זָקֵן וְעַד שׁוֹר וָשֶׂה וַחֲמוֹר לְפִי־חָרֶב׃ - And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, from man to woman, from young to old, and ox and sheep and donkey, by the edge of the sword.
At first the verse describes, says the Malbim, what they did with everything that had the breath of life in its nostrils: man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, except for Rachav, toward whom there was a commitment. And the expression "by the edge of the sword" (lefi charev): the sharpness of the sword is called its mouth (peh).
וְלִשְׁנַיִם הָאֲנָשִׁים הַמְרַגְּלִים אֶת־הָאָרֶץ אָמַר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֹּאוּ בֵּית־הָאִשָּׁה הַזּוֹנָה וְהוֹצִיאוּ מִשָּׁם אֶת־הָאִשָּׁה וְאֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־לָהּ כַּאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתֶּם לָהּ׃ - And to the two men who had spied out the land Yehoshua said: Go into the house of the harlot woman, and bring out from there the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her.
Yehoshua turns specifically to the two spies, since they were the ones who had made the agreement with Rachav, and he says: You shall keep her alive by virtue of the oath you swore to her. The Malbim notes: in verse 17 Yehoshua gave a different reason, "because she hid the messengers," and not because of the oath, and likewise in verse 25 it again says "because she hid the messengers." If so, apart from the contradiction between the reasons, why is the matter of hiding the messengers repeated? The Malbim resolves this: in verse 17 Yehoshua is speaking to the people, and the people did not swear and are not obligated by the oath. It was the two spies who swore, and that is a matter between them, and their oath does not obligate the community. Therefore precisely here, when he speaks with the spies themselves, he says "as you swore to her," for you are obligated by virtue of your oath. But the obligation of the rest of the people toward her is because she hid the spies, for they came as the emissaries of them all, and in saving them she made them all obligated toward her, though not by virtue of an oath, for they did not swear.
The commentators say: even though it is written that one should keep away from the entrance of the house of a harlot woman, here he says "Go into the house of the harlot woman," because she has now repented and is like a righteous woman, and one may certainly enter her house. And although he had already mentioned earlier that she should be saved, now he tells Kalev and Pinchas that they must save her out of the obligation of gratitude: you are obligated toward her more than anyone else, and especially since you also swore, and the oath binds you. Furthermore, you are the ones who know her house, you were there, and therefore the obligation falls upon you, for you know where her house is and whom you must save.
וַיָּבֹאוּ הַנְּעָרִים הַמְרַגְּלִים וַיֹּצִיאוּ אֶת־רָחָב וְאֶת־אָבִיהָ וְאֶת־אִמָּהּ וְאֶת־אַחֶיהָ וְאֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־לָהּ וְאֵת כׇּל־מִשְׁפְּחוֹתֶיהָ הוֹצִיאוּ וַיַּנִּיחוּם מִחוּץ לְמַחֲנֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And the young men, the spies, went in and brought out Rachav, and her father, and her mother, and her brothers, and all that she had; they brought out all her families, and set them outside the camp of Israel.
There is a repetition here: "Rachav, and her father, and her mother, and her brothers, and all that she had," and again "they brought out all her families." The Midrash says that there were many who married into Rachav's family in order to be saved, for they knew she had a promise. And Pinchas and Kalev did not know what to do with them: toward the close family there is a clear obligation, but toward those who joined later there is no obligation. Therefore at first they brought out Rachav, and her father, and her mother, and her brothers, and all that she had, and brought them into the camp of Israel, for regarding them there is no doubt. And afterward "they brought out all her families and set them outside the camp of Israel": this is not a repetition but a separate matter, the extended family that was added later, and therefore they did not bring them into the camp but set them outside it, where they waited for Yehoshua's ruling whether to bring them near or not.
And regarding the names of the spies: at first they are called "spies," then "young men," then "messengers," and they are also called "men." "Men" teaches that they were completely righteous, for the expression "men" indicates the righteous. "Messengers" (angels), because they did not stumble with Rachav, who was one of the four most beautiful women in the world, and the Gemara says that whoever says "Rachav, Rachav" immediately experiences an emission, on account of her great beauty. And this refers to one who merely mentions her name, whereas they were there in her house and saw her, and did not stumble at all, so they are in the category of angels. Furthermore, everyone who carries out his mission is called a messenger, from the word "the errand of the one who sent him," and here they were like angels doing the will of their Maker, and they carried out their mission perfectly. And they are called "young men" because they came with alacrity and did as their oath obligated them. And the Radak says that any servant is called "na'ar" even if he is old, as we find with Yehoshua bin Nun himself, "the young man did not depart from within the tent," though he was over forty years old, only that his "na'ar" is his attendant and servant.
וְהָעִיר שָׂרְפוּ בָאֵשׁ וְכׇל־אֲשֶׁר־בָּהּ רַק הַכֶּסֶף וְהַזָּהָב וּכְלֵי הַנְּחֹשֶׁת וְהַבַּרְזֶל נָתְנוּ אוֹצַר בֵּית־יְהֹוָה׃ - And they burned the city with fire, and all that was in it; only the silver and the gold, and the vessels of bronze and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of Hashem.
The Malbim says: now the verse describes what they did with the rest of the people who lived there, and what they did with the city and the objects: they burned them, and the metals they gave to the treasury of the house of Hashem. And the Radak again says that our Sages transmitted to us by tradition that the seventh day, on which Yericho was captured, was Shabbat, and although they killed and burned on Shabbat, the One who commanded about Shabbat is the One who commanded to kill and burn on Shabbat, just as He commanded to offer sacrifices on Shabbat, and there is no difficulty here. And so too is the halachah regarding the siege of a city, "until its subjugation," that one does not go on Shabbat to make Kiddush and rest, but continues the siege until its subjugation, even on Shabbat. And the reasons for the ban we have already seen above: whether because it was the first city, whether so that it should not be easy for one who wishes to rebuild it, whether because they captured it on Shabbat, and many other reasons.
וְאֶת־רָחָב הַזּוֹנָה וְאֶת־בֵּית אָבִיהָ וְאֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־לָהּ הֶחֱיָה יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וַתֵּשֶׁב בְּקֶרֶב יִשְׂרָאֵל עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה כִּי הֶחְבִּיאָה אֶת־הַמַּלְאָכִים אֲשֶׁר־שָׁלַח יְהוֹשֻׁעַ לְרַגֵּל אֶת־יְרִיחוֹ׃ - And Rachav the harlot, and her father's household, and all that she had, Yehoshua kept alive; and she dwelt in the midst of Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Yehoshua sent to spy out Yericho.
The Malbim says: Yehoshua was not obligated to fulfill the oath of the spies, for they swore to her privately, and does every oath that a spy swears to whomever it may be obligate the head of state or the minister of defense? He swore privately. And nevertheless, come and see that Yehoshua fulfilled their words and kept her alive. And not only that, but "she dwelt in the midst of Israel": they gave her a dwelling and sustenance and accepted her into the faith of Israel, because she hid the messengers.
The Radak adds a Midrash that Yehoshua took Rachav as a wife, and this is "Yehoshua kept alive." And since they saw that Yehoshua married her, they said: if so, one may marry into this family, and from there great ones of Israel attached themselves to her father's house. And seemingly, how does this reconcile with the prohibition "you shall not intermarry with them" that was stated concerning the seven nations? One explanation: they were foreigners in the land, that is, not local. If a person comes from another place and settles among the seven nations, he is not considered one of them, but belongs to his own place, an Edomite or a Moabite or another, and is not included among the seven nations. Another explanation: the warning not to intermarry with the seven nations was stated when they had not converted beforehand, but Rachav converted beforehand, and therefore this prohibition was not stated regarding her.
And some explain it in another way: at first the spies saved them, and afterward it is written that Yehoshua kept them alive. The physical rescue was carried out by the spies, and the giving of life in the spiritual sense was done by Yehoshua, who granted them a share in the World to Come, which is the meaning of "to keep alive": eternal life. And as we mentioned, those who were first taken out, Rachav and her father and mother and her brothers and all that was hers, were brought into the camp of Israel, for regarding them there is no doubt and regarding them the oath was binding; whereas "all her families", the extended family that had been added, were placed outside the camp, where they waited for Yehoshua's ruling.
וַיַּשְׁבַּע יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בָּעֵת הַהִיא לֵאמֹר אָרוּר הָאִישׁ לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה אֲשֶׁר יָקוּם וּבָנָה אֶת־הָעִיר הַזֹּאת אֶת־יְרִיחוֹ בִּבְכֹרוֹ יְיַסְּדֶנָּה וּבִצְעִירוֹ יַצִּיב דְּלָתֶיהָ׃ - And Yehoshua made them swear at that time, saying: Cursed be the man before Hashem who rises up and builds this city, Yericho; with his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.
The Malbim brings the explanation of the Rambam, that the prohibition to rebuild it is to preserve the memory of the miracle: whoever sees the wall of the city in its ruin will remember the miracle, for one who sees a wall sunk into the ground realizes that this is not the way a building collapses. A building that collapses does not sink into the ground but falls, whereas this one sank in by a wonder. And as we learned in the chapter "HaRoeh": one who sees the wall of Yericho that was swallowed up in its place is obligated to bless "Blessed is He who performed miracles for our forefathers in this place." Therefore the city must not be rebuilt, for if it were rebuilt, the miracle would be erased and its memory concealed, and it is our desire that its memory remain forever.
And what is the meaning of the doubling, "and builds this city, Yericho"? Chazal expound: not Yericho under the name of another city, and not another city under the name of Yericho. That is, do not rebuild Yericho and say I will change its name and call it Shechem, and likewise do not build another city and call it Yericho. And Chiel of Beit El, when he went and rebuilt Yericho, thought that the strictness applied only to these cases, and that if he built it nearby and also changed its name, the matter would pass. So he built it adjacent to the original city and called it "Yericha," without the vav and with a heh at the end. And he erred in this, and he should have already been roused by the death of his firstborn son, in accordance with the curse stated here.
"With his firstborn he shall lay its foundation": one who wishes to rebuild the ruins of the city, says the Malbim, seeks to make a name for himself, as it is written "Their inward thought is that their houses shall continue forever... they call their lands after their own names," for they would build cities and call them after their firstborn son, so that they would have a name. And the verse says to him: not only will he have no name, but he will be left with neither offspring nor descendant, and all his sons will die in the course of building the city. You think to create a name for yourself, but you will bring about the exact opposite.
The Radak says: here there is a curse, an imprecation, and an oath, so that they will not transgress the ban and benefit from the city. And why did he not curse that all his sons die at once? Because of Hashem's mercy, for He does not desire the death of the one who dies, but rather that he be able to repent. And beyond this, had they all died at once, one could have attributed it to an accident or a plague, that suddenly they all died; but when they die one after another, gradually, the very gradualness shows that there is here something directed from Heaven.
And it did not help. Chiel of Beit El went and rebuilt Yericho, as we will see further on. He was an important army commander in Achav's army and also his relative. And it is brought that Eliyahu went to comfort him, and he was afraid they would insult him there, and the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: if they insult you, decree upon them as you wish and I will fulfill it. Achav asked there: did his sons really die because of Yericho? What are you rabbis, is everything pulsa denura and scare tactics and belief in ancient curses? He said to him: yes, so Chazal said. Achav said to him: if so, it turns out that Yehoshua's curse was fulfilled and the curse of Moshe, your teacher, was not fulfilled, for Moshe said "and you turn aside and serve other gods... and the anger of Hashem will burn against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain," yet we serve idolatry and the rains come down. Rather, surely no curse was ever fulfilled, and all that happened here is mere chance. Eliyahu said to him: thus the Holy One, blessed be He, has mercy on you, and you still exploit this to defy Him? "As Hashem lives, there shall not be dew or rain these years except according to my word," and he shut up the heavens.
וַיְהִי יְהֹוָה אֶת־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וַיְהִי שׇׁמְעוֹ בְּכׇל־הָאָרֶץ׃ - And Hashem was with Yehoshua, and his fame was throughout all the land.
The Malbim says that the verse comes to tell us that the heavenly court agreed to the ban that Yehoshua made. Even though Yehoshua had not received a command about it from Hashem, from Heaven they agreed to this ban. Its distant consequences we saw with Chiel of Beit El, and its immediate consequences we will see shortly in the next chapter, in the transgression of Achan.
"And his fame was throughout all the land": even though the Holy One, blessed be He, performed the miracle, the Creator of the world magnified Yehoshua's name as a result. Chazal say that a coin of his was minted like that of one of the great kingdoms: an ox on one side and a re'em on the other, as it is said of Yosef "the firstborn of his ox, majesty is his, and his horns are the horns of a re'em; with them he shall gore the peoples together, to the ends of the earth." The ox is praised for its immense strength, and the re'em for the strength of its horns. And just as its horns are high, so shall Yehoshua's horn be raised, his name revealed and made famous throughout the whole world; and just as the strength of the ox is great, so shall Yehoshua crush all the nations with his strength.
Chapter 6 describes the conquest of Yericho in its entirety as an open miracle: a city sealed and locked with iron and sorcery, seven walls, and facing them seven Kohanim, seven shofarot, seven days and seven circuits in complete silence, in which there were no weapons but only the Aron Brit Hashem. The order in which the vanguard and the people walk before the Aron teaches that the Aron is the one conquering, the silence teaches that the victory is not by the power of the warriors' shouts, and the cherem teaches that the spoils belong to the one who conquered: to the Holy One, blessed be He. Within all this Rachav stands out, for the gratitude and the oath toward her were kept meticulously, and she merited to dwell among Yisrael. Standing opposite her is Yehoshua's oath concerning the one who would rebuild Yericho, meant to preserve the memory of the miracle for the generations, which was fulfilled through Chiel of Beit El. And in the end: "וַיְהִי ה' אֶת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וַיְהִי שָׁמְעוֹ בְּכָל הָאָרֶץ" - when Hashem is with a person, his name becomes renowned and his leadership is accepted even in the Heavenly court.