Joshua 6:26-27

The Curse upon Jericho

26. adjured them i.e. "put an oath upon them."

Cursed be the man A city, which was cheremor "devoted," could not be rebuilt, Deuteronomy 13:15-17. Joshua therefore pronounces an imprecation on the foundation of Jericho. The words "have a rhythmical and antistrophical form; which was probably adopted for greater solemnity, and to impress them more deeply on the memories of the people." Bp Wordsworth.

and buildeth So Agamemnon is said to have uttered a curse upon Ilium, and Scipio upon Carthage. Here the curse is to be understood as extending only to the walls and gates of Jericho, or a fortified place, on which, as bidding proud defiance to the host, the attention of Joshua, as a military leader, would chiefly fasten. Comp. 1 Kings 15:17; 2 Chronicles 11:5. He himself gave it to the Benjamites (Joshua 18:21), and it was inhabited in the time of the Judges (Judges 3:13; 2 Samuel 10:5).

he shall lay the foundation What the prophecy foretells is that the beginning of the building would be marked by the death of the builder's eldest son, and the end of it by the death of his youngest. Comp. Jos. Antiq. 5:1. 8. In the ungodly reign of Ahab the prophecy was fulfilled; Hiel, a native of Bethel, "built Jericho; he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Joshua" (1 Kings 16:34). Observe the incidents connected with Jericho in the life of the Antitype of the first Joshua. Here He entered into the house of Zacchæus (Luke 19:5; Luke 19:9); here He healed blind Bartimæus (Mark 10:46; Mark 10:52); He mentioned Jericho in the parable of "the Good Samaritan" (Luke 10:30); in the vicinity of the city He repeated the announcement of His coming sufferings (Luke 18:31).