Joshua 6:4

Joshua 6:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns.

Context of Joshua 6:4

2Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.” 6So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.”

Joshua 6:4 word by word

וְשִׁבְעָ֣ה כֹהֲנִ֡ים יִשְׂאוּ֩ שִׁבְעָ֨ה שׁוֹפְר֤וֹת הַיּֽוֹבְלִים֙ לִפְנֵ֣י הָאָר֔וֹן וּבַיּוֹם֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י תָּסֹ֥בּוּ אֶת־הָעִ֖יר שֶׁ֣בַע פְּעָמִ֑ים וְהַכֹּ֣הֲנִ֔ים יִתְקְע֖וּ בַּשּׁוֹפָרֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And sevenשֶׁ֫בַעsheba‛ shib‛âh · sevenH7651
• priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• shall bearנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: bearH5375
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• the arkאֲרוֹן'ârôn 'ârôn · arkH727
• trumpetsשֹׁפָרshôphâr shôphâr · trumpetH7782
• of rams’ hornsיוֹבֵלyôbêl yôbêl · jubilee/hornH3104
• and the seventhשְׁבִיעִיshebîy‛îy shebi‛îy · seventhH7637
• dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• ye shall compassסָבַבsâbab · to turn: surroundH5437
• the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• timesפַּ֫עַםpa‛am pa‛ămâh · beatH6471
• shall blowתָּקַעtâqa‛ · to blowH8628

Cross-references for Joshua 6:4

• Leviticus 25:11The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines.
• Leviticus 25:9Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land.
• Numbers 10:1The Lord said to Moses:
• Judges 7:7The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.”
• 2 Chronicles 13:12God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. People of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.”
• 2 Chronicles 20:17You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’ ”
• Isaiah 27:12In that day the Lord will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, Israel, will be gathered up one by one.
• Zechariah 4:6So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.
• Genesis 2:3Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
• Genesis 7:2Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate,
• Leviticus 4:6He is to dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the Lord, in front of the curtain of the sanctuary.
• Leviticus 14:16dip his right forefinger into the oil in his palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of it before the Lord seven times.
• Leviticus 25:8“ ‘Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years.
• Numbers 23:1Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”
• 1 Kings 18:43“Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked. “There is nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
• 2 Kings 5:10Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”

Commentaries on Joshua 6:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Seven trumpets of rams' horns - The Hebrew word יובלים yobelim does not signify rams' horns; (see the note on Leviticus 25:11;); nor do any of the ancient versions, the Chaldee excepted, give it this meaning. The instruments used on this occasion were evidently of the same kind with those used on the jubilee, and were probably made of horn or of silver; and the text in this place may be translated, And seven priests shall bear before the ark the seven…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3-6Verses 3-6 The command of the Lord as to the mode in which the fall of Jericho should be brought about is given in these verses in a condensed form. Further details (see Joshua 6:8-10, Joshua 6:16-17, etc.), were, no doubt, among the commands given to Joshua by the Angel. Joshua 6:4 Trumpets of ram‘s horns - Render rather here and in Joshua 6:5-6, Joshua 6:8, etc., “trumpets of jubilee” (compare Leviticus 25:10 note). The instrument is more correctly…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Seven is a biblical number representing perfection. Seven priests led the ark of the covenant, the symbol of God’s presence, at the front of Israel’s forces. This arrangement showed that God himself fought against the town. Israel only needed to march and watch, then shout and watch. Finally, they would easily capture the town after God did the work. The ram’s horn (Hebrew shofar) could produce different pitches to signal either battle or worship. In…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-53-5. ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war. ... Thus shalt thou do six days, &c.--Directions are here given as to the mode of procedure. Hebrew, "horns of jubilee"; that is, the bent or crooked trumpets with which the jubilee was proclaimed. It is probable that the horns of this animal were used at first; and that afterwards, when metallic trumpets were introduced, the primitive name, as well as form of them, was traditionally continued. The design…Read the comment

Topics related to Joshua 6:4

• Communion
• Seven
• Trumpet

In the dictionaries

• Seventh, Day
• Rams Horns
• Accursed
• Adjure
• Ark
• Compass
• Consecrate
• Dawn
• Horn
• Jericho

Commentaries on Joshua 6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings