6:22 the harlot’s house. Interestingly, the excavations at Jericho revealed that one portion of the wall remained standing when the walls as a whole fell down. Rahab’s house was built “upon the town wall” (Joshua 2:15), and she had been told to bring her family into her house to save their lives when the attack began (Joshua 2:18,19). Presumably the portion of the wall left standing was that part where Rahab and her family were gathered.

6:26 Cursed be the man. It was God’s will that, because of its wickedness, Jericho should not be rebuilt, pronouncing a curse upon the man who would attempt it. Such a man would lose all his children between the times of the beginning and completion of its construction. This curse was literally fulfilled some five hundred years later when a man named Hiel rebuilt Jericho (I Kings 16:34).

7:10 Get thee up. God is not pleased or placated by prayer–no matter how piously offered–when those praying have not first faced the possibility of sin and corrected it. Unanswered prayer may not usually be caused by sin, but this possibility should always be first considered, especially before complaining to God about it, as Joshua was doing.

7:11 the accursed thing. The “accursed thing” was anything in Jericho other than the metallic vessels, which were to be taken “into the treasury of the LORD” (Joshua 6:19). All else was to be “accursed” (literally “devoted” to God–that is, offered up to the Lord rather than kept for personal gain–note Joshua 6:17). This was accomplished by burning the city to the ground–like a great burnt offering. Achan, however, “coveted” and “took” some of the valuables for himself (Joshua 7:21), thus inhibiting God’s continued blessing on the Canaanite campaign until the sin could be eliminated from the camp.