“And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.”
My Notes
What Does Joshua 6:21 Mean?
"They utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old." The conquest of Jericho involves the cherem — the ban of complete destruction. Everything in the city is devoted to God through destruction. The comprehensiveness is deliberate and deeply troubling to modern readers: men, women, young, old, animals — all destroyed.
The word "utterly destroyed" (charam — to devote to destruction, to place under the ban) is a sacrificial term: the city and its contents are devoted to God by being removed from human use. The destruction is framed as an offering, not merely as warfare. The cherem isn't standard military practice — it's a once-in-history event connected to God's judgment on Canaan.
The ethical difficulty of this passage is real and shouldn't be minimized. Multiple approaches exist among faithful interpreters: some emphasize the unique historical context (Canaanite sin reaching fullness — Genesis 15:16). Others note the hyperbolic language common in ancient warfare accounts. All agree the passage demands wrestling, not dismissal.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How do you wrestle honestly with texts that describe divine commands you find morally difficult?
- 2.What does the cherem (ban of total destruction) as a unique historical event teach about context?
- 3.How do you hold 'God is just' and 'this causes moral distress' simultaneously?
- 4.What does honest engagement with difficult texts look like compared to dismissal or cheap resolution?
Devotional
Everything destroyed. Everyone. This is the most ethically difficult passage in Joshua — and possibly in the entire Old Testament. The destruction of Jericho under the cherem raises questions that honest readers have wrestled with for thousands of years.
The cherem isn't standard warfare. It's a unique, divinely commanded act of total devotion — the city given to God through its destruction. The practice doesn't recur as a general military strategy. It's connected to God's specific judgment on Canaan's sin, which Genesis 15:16 says had been accumulating for centuries until it reached its 'fullness.'
Honest engagement with this text requires holding multiple truths simultaneously: God is just. The Canaanites' sin was real and severe. The destruction was commanded by God. And the destruction of children and animals produces genuine moral distress. None of these truths cancels the others. The text asks you to sit in the tension rather than resolve it cheaply.
Some interpreters note that ancient Near Eastern war accounts used comprehensive language hyperbolically — 'utterly destroyed' could describe decisive defeat rather than literal total annihilation (Rahab and her family survived, after all). Others take the language at face value and wrestle with the God who commands it.
What this verse demands is honesty: honest acknowledgment that the text says what it says, honest wrestling with what it means, and honest trust that the God behind the command is just even when the justice is incomprehensible. The text doesn't ask for comfortable resolution. It asks for faithful wrestling.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city,.... All the inhabitants of it, by the direction of Joshua, and…
They utterly destroyed - both man, and woman, etc. - As this act was ordered by God himself, who is the Maker and Judge…
The people had religiously observed the orders given them concerning the besieging of Jericho, and now at length Joshua…
they utterly destroyed In the instance of the other cities of Canaan, as in those of Sihon and Og, the inhabitants were…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture