Achan takes of the devoted thing and Israel flees before the men of Ai; by lot the sin is found out, and Achan is stoned in the valley of Achor — 'Why have you troubled us?'
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But the children of Israel committed a trespass concerning the devoted thing; for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the devoted thing; and the anger of Hashem was kindled against the children of Israel.
verse value 3476
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 79 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "from·upon" (מַ֖עַל, 3 letters) and the longest is "sons·of·Israel" (בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 140: from·upon, Achan. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "and·they·broke·faith" (וַיִּמְעֲל֧וּ), "and·burned·anger·of" (וַיִּֽחַר־אַ֥ף). The root מעל appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 217x in Joshua); "sons·of·Israel" (root בן, 156x in Joshua); "Israel" (root ישראל, 112x in Joshua). First appearance of the root עכן ("Achan") in Joshua. First appearance of the root זבדי ("son·of·Zabdi") in Joshua. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·the·devoted·thing', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 12 words.
Ralbag
And he related that the children of Israel trespassed a trespass regarding the devoted things. And he explained that this trespass was that Achan took from the devoted things. From this sin came the wrath of the Lord upon the children of Israel, along with the fact that thirty-six men of them died before the inhabitants of the city. And a doubter might already raise the doubt and say: how is it possible, by the standard of divine justice, to punish the children of Israel for Achan's sin? And the Torah already commanded that men not die [for another's sin], but rather, 'a person shall die for his own sin.' And this doubt in its entirety falls also on what the Torah mentions, 'visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children.' And further, Jeremiah and Ezekiel already stated that a time would come when it would no longer be said, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge.' And this contradicts what the Torah states of this concerning God's law. And it is not possible to say that until that time God's practice was to punish the children for the sin of their fathers, and afterward He changed His practice -- for this is clearly absurd. And since the matter is so, the inquiry into this remains: would that I knew! And we say that this doubt is resolved when we say that God does not, in essence, visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, for that would be an injustice. But it is possible, without injustice, that some punishment befall the children by chance on account of the fathers' sin, for in such a thing there is no injustice at all. And the example: if a man sins against the kingdom and they punish him justly by the loss of his property, then from this a punishment comes to his sons, that they become poor and inherit nothing from their father's possessions that they were destined to inherit. And in like manner the prophet said, 'Our fathers sinned and are no more, and we bear their iniquities.' And that is: had it not been for the sin, we would be dwelling on our land, [even] after we had been cleansed of sin; [but] it follows from it [the fathers' sin] that we are exiled from our land, even had we ourselves been there [innocent]. And in this way it is said that God visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children -- not in essence. And it is called in another way that He brings some punishment to the children for the sin of their fathers, and this indeed occurs when the fathers sinned and the children hold their fathers' deeds in their hands -- that is to say, if they were the ones who began in this deficient disposition, it would have sufficed to inflict upon them a smaller punishment than what is needed to inflict upon them when their fathers were [already] in this deficient disposition, for then it had become for them an ingrained trait, and they would not be corrected except when a great punishment reaches them for this. And for this their punishment is called greater because of the sin of the fathers. And for this reason you will also find that the Torah foretold that when Israel transgress the commandments, God will discipline them seven times for their sins. And He commanded the judges not to strike the wicked except according to the number befitting his wickedness. But concerning the stubborn and rebellious son, they judge him to death because of what they reckoned of his end, that he would become a scoundrel. And the cause of this is that God does not bring these disciplines by way of punishment. For if the matter were so, this punishment would be an injustice in God's law -- that is to say, He would punish the sinner more than is fitting according to his transgression. But He brings them by way of reproof and providence. And this is not injustice, but it is grace and kindness. The example: if a man desired to sail on the sea with a caravan, and the end of that caravan was to sink in the sea, then if God brings upon him disciplines that prevent him from going on that caravan, this would not be punishment, but kindness and grace. And similarly, if a man is entangled in some tangle of transgressions, and because of this he is prone to continue in them -- if God sends him disciplines and he is thereby turned back from pursuing the evil in which he is sunk, then it is clear that it is kindness and grace for him. And here this doubt is resolved, concerning what the Torah says, 'seven times for your sins,' and what God said, 'visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children.' But what remains of the doubt is what is mentioned in the matter of Achan: he sinned and many besides him were punished for his sin. And he sinned, yet the punishment did not reach him from God in that matter. And we already find in the Torah narratives similar to this. And we say in resolving this doubt: it is possible that this happen, without injustice, to an army or a united collective. And that is: when the army in its entirety is such that it is under God's complete providence, it is not possible that evil befall it. And when one of the men of the army sins, the army becomes such that divine providence is removed from it, because it is all united [as one]. And for this it is abandoned and left to chance. And for this reason it happened that these thirty-six men died, even though they had not sinned in this matter, and Achan did not die -- for evil does not, from the mere absence of divine providence, necessarily come at once upon the one to whom it would be fitting that evil come. And since Achan did not put himself in a place of danger, he did not die, for lack of providence over him. And those men who put themselves in a place of danger -- those among them who were fit to die according to their arrangement, died. But that a united group is harmed by the sin of the one man is clear, and that is: that group is like one man, and each man of it is like a limb of that man's limbs. And just as when a limb of a man's limbs becomes sick, that man is harmed in his entirety, so when one man of that group sins, the whole group is harmed. And here all the doubts are resolved. And for this you will find that when God commanded Joshua to bring the fitting punishment for the sin, He did not consent that anyone besides the sinner be punished through Joshua. And it further confirms what we said, that they were reached, in this, by nothing more than the removal of divine providence, in that it says, 'I will not be with you anymore if you do not destroy the devoted things from among you.' And He attributed the sin to all Israel, saying, 'Israel has sinned' -- because that group was united. And behold, God commanded that they investigate who the sinner was by lot, and He attributed the judgment of the lot to God, as He says, 'The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole of its judgment is from the LORD.' And it appears that the casting of this lot was before God, as in the matter of the casting of the lot for the division of the land, as is mentioned in this book. And we have concluded that this matter was conducted by lot, since that is the opinion of our Sages, of blessed memory, and it appears to be the truth itself. For had this been done through a prophet, or had they inquired by the Urim and Thummim, they would not have needed this, but the man himself who did this would have been made known to them directly. Now, a doubt arises concerning the matter of the lot: how is it possible to say of it that 'from the LORD is its whole judgment,' when the matter of its outcome is a matter of chance? But the resolution of this doubt is not difficult, given what we established and explained in the Book of the Wars of the Lord: that in matters of chance there is [nonetheless] order and constraint. Yet in this place this doubt carries little weight, for its casting was already done through a prophet, before God, as we mentioned. And nevertheless it is fitting that we make an effort to resolve it also from the perspective of other lots.
Metzudat David
"And they dealt treacherously" etc. Because they did not guard one another, Scripture attributes to them as if they all had dealt treacherously.
Metzudat Zion
וַיִּמְעֲלוּ (va-yim'alu, and they transgressed). A matter of sin and transgression.
Malbim
And they have trespassed. This teaches: A] That all Israel are bound together as a single body, such that every individual among them is related to the collective as a single limb is related to the body. Just as through the illness or loss of a single limb, illness or blemish arises in the entire body, so too, because Achan took from the devoted things, it was counted as if the entire people had trespassed. This is what the verse states: "And the children of Israel have trespassed, and Achan has taken." B] That there is a distinction between punishment that comes by direct action and punishment that comes through the withdrawal of Divine providence. When the Lord punishes by direct action, He does not punish the innocent for the sake of the sinner, as occurred subsequently when only Achan was stoned. Not so is the punishment that arises incidentally through the Lord withdrawing His providence; this applies to the entire collective. When there are sinners among them, the Lord hides His face from all of them, as it is stated (below 22:20): "Has not Achan trespassed in the devoted things? And the anger of the Lord was upon all the congregation of Israel." And all were exposed to chance and misfortune, such that sometimes the innocent person is struck when he is in a place of danger, while the sinner, who was not found there, is not struck, as it is stated (ibid.): "And he is one man, and he did not perish in his sin." This is what the verse means: "And the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel," namely, that He withdrew His providence from them. And so explained Maharia.
And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and spoke to them, saying: ‘Go up and spy out the land.’ And the men went up and spied out Ai.
verse value 6173
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 95 letters. Notable word values: "to·them" (אֲלֵיהֶם֙) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "Ai" (הָעַ֞י, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·Jericho" (מִירִיח֗וֹ, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "on·the·east" (מִקֶּ֣דֶם), "to·Beth-el" (לְבֵֽית־אֵ֔ל), "and·foot" (וְרַגְּל֣וּ). The root איש appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 271x in Joshua); "and·said" (root אמר, 140x in Joshua); "Joshua" (root יהושע, 125x in Joshua). First appearance of the root עי ("Ai") in Joshua. First appearance of the root קדם ("on·the·east") in Joshua. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·land', dividing the verse into phrases of 16 and 4 words.
Rashi
Near Beth-aven. Beside Beth-aven.
Which is eastward of Beth-el. To the east of Beth-el.
Radak
“With Beth-aven.” Adjacent to Beth-aven. And likewise, “with Be’er Lachai Roi,” adjacent.
"From the east." From the east of Bethel. And when one recalls these distinguishing features, it appears that there was another city whose name was Ai, but this one was greater than the other and therefore well-known; consequently, it is mentioned everywhere with the definite article "the." And among the cities of the children of Ammon there was a city whose name was Ai, as it says in Jeremiah: "Ai is plundered."
Metzudat Zion
עִם בֵּית אָוֶן (im Beit Aven, near Beth-aven). [i.e.,] adjacent to Beth-aven, like (Genesis 25:11) near Beer-lahai-roi.
Malbim
Questions (2–3): Why did he elaborate in specifying the locations adjacent to Ai? [Why is] what is stated, "and he said to them, go up and spy the land," superfluous, since we already know this—that they send spies to spy? [Indeed,] he said, "spy the land," yet they spied only Ai. The word "the men" is superfluous. Why the duplication of "let not all the people go up" and "let not all the people toil there"?
"And he sent." The text relates how the hand of chance immediately ruled over them, (cast them down) [caused their own counsel to fail]. For Joshua sent spies from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven. It related the signs of the city to prove that it was indeed fitting for all Israel to go there. For although it was a small city, it was adjacent to Beth Aven and Bethel, and it was easy for the men of Bethel and Beth Aven to come to their aid, as indeed happened the second time, as it is written (below 8:17), "Not a man remained in Ai and Bethel who did not go out after the children of Israel." And had not Joshua said to them, "Go up and spy out the land"? For he did not send them to spy out Ai alone, but the land, meaning the entire region, Ai and the places surrounding it. And if the spies had acted according to his command, they would have seen that many cities were neighbors to it, and they would not have said, "Let not all the people go up there." But they altered his command, and the men went up, meaning on their own initiative, and spied out Ai alone, not the entire land. Therefore: (3) "And they returned, and said, 'Let not all the people go up.'" And they repeated their words: A) In the manner of a report on their mission, saying that it was not necessary for all the people to go up; B) In the manner of counsel, that since it was not necessary, it was therefore not fitting to weary the people in vain.
And they returned to Joshua, and said to him: ‘Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; make not all the people to toil thither; for they are but few.’
verse value 5651
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 93 letters. The shortest word is "or" (א֚וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "not·make·toil·thither" (אַל־תְּיַגַּע־שָׁ֙מָּה֙, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 311: man, man. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "let·not·go·up" (אַל־יַ֣עַל), "or" (א֚וֹ), "let·them·go·up" (יַעֲל֖וּ). The root איל appears 3 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 140x in Joshua); "to·Joshua" (root איל, 135x in Joshua); "all·the·people" (root כל, 96x in Joshua). First appearance of the root נכה ("and·smite") in Joshua. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Ai', dividing the verse into phrases of 15 and 5 words.
Metzudat David
"Let not [all the people] go up." This means that it is not necessary for all of them [to go up].
So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men; and they fled before the men of Ai.
verse value 2942
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 42 letters. The shortest word is "name" (שָׁ֔מָּה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·they·went·up" (וַיַּעֲל֤וּ, 5 letters). The root איש appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·face·of" (root פנים, 91x in Joshua); "man" (root איש, 68x in Joshua); "and·they·went·up" (root עלה, 60x in Joshua). First appearance of the root נוס ("and·they·fled") in Joshua. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'man', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיַּעֲל֤וּ [and·they·went·up] (122) + מִן־הָעָם֙ [from·the·people] (205) + שָׁ֔מָּה [name] (345) + כִּשְׁלֹ֥שֶׁת [about·three] (1050) + אֲלָפִ֖ים [thousand] (161) + אִ֑ישׁ [man] (311) + וַיָּנֻ֕סוּ [and·they·fled] (132) + לִפְנֵ֖י [to·face·of] (170) + אַנְשֵׁ֥י [man] (361) + הָעָֽי [Ai] (85) = 2942.
Metzudat Zion
לִפְנֵי (lifnei, before). From before.
Malbim
"And they went up, and they fled." They did not engage in battle; rather, they immediately began to flee, even though on this occasion the men of Bethel did not assist them—they fled from the men of Ai alone.
And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men; and they chased them from before the gate even to Shebarim, and smote them at the descent; and the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
verse value 4667
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 78 letters. Verse gematria: 4667 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "from·them" (מֵהֶ֜ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "until·Shebarim" (עַד־הַשְּׁבָרִ֔ים, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 85: from·them, Ai. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "about·thirty" (כִּשְׁלֹשִׁ֤ים), "and·six" (וְשִׁשָּׁה֙), "until·Shebarim" (עַד־הַשְּׁבָרִ֔ים). The root נכה appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·was" (root היה, 150x in Joshua); "to·face·of" (root פנים, 91x in Joshua); "man" (root איש, 68x in Joshua). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'at·the·descent', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 4 words.
Rashi
Until they were broken. Until they were beaten.
Radak
"Thirty-six men." Our Sages taught that the merit of our father Abraham stood for them there, for they were indeed liable for the ban (herem), yet the men of Ai did not strike down more than thirty-six men. Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, remembered for them the merit of Abraham, who built an altar there, as it is stated: “And Bethel was on the west, and Ai on the east; and he built there an altar to the Lord” (Genesis 12:8). The letter kaf in “keshloshim” (about thirty) is a kaf of approximation, indicating an estimated quantity. And there are some of our Sages of blessed memory who said that it is a kaf of resemblance, for there were not actually thirty-six men, but rather Yair son of Manasseh struck them down, for he was considered as equivalent to thirty-six men, which constitutes the majority of a Sanhedrin. And there is one who expounds that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Joshua: “You shall cause them to inherit the land when you are with them,” but here, since you were not with them, they stumbled. And since the Scripture states the reason, that they stumbled because of the sin of the ban, we have no basis to seek another reason.
"Before the gate, as far as the Breaks." The word is missing the mem of the preposition "from," and its proper form should be "from before the gate," meaning: from before the gate where the children of Israel came to battle, from that place they pursued them as far as the Breaks, and there they struck the thirty-six. The place was called so because they were broken there. And the Targum translates it: "until they broke them."
"And they struck them at the descent." There was a place belonging to the men of Ai that was sloping and descending, and in that place they struck them as they fled.
Metzudat Zion
Shebarim [lit. 'the breakings']. The name of the place is called after the event, because there they were broken:
In the descent. In the place of the descent from the mountain:
Malbim
"Like thirty." The letter kaf is a true kaf. And our Sages of blessed memory expounded (Bava Batra 121b): This refers to Yair ben Menashe, who was equal in weight to the majority of the Sanhedrin. That is to say, they struck down thirty-six men, and one among them was equal in weight to thirty-six of the fallen men.
"And they pursued them." And moreover, their hearts were emboldened to pursue them as far as Shebarim, and moreover, the heart of the people melted.
And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of Hashem until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust upon their heads.
verse value 4874
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 75 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "he" (ה֖וּא, 3 letters) and the longest is "his·clothes" (שִׂמְלֹתָ֗יו, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "and·he·tore" (וַיִּקְרַ֨ע), "his·clothes" (שִׂמְלֹתָ֗יו), "upon·his·face" (עַל־פָּנָ֨יו). The root פנים appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 217x in Joshua); "Joshua" (root יהושע, 125x in Joshua); "Israel" (root ישראל, 112x in Joshua). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 3 words.
Malbim
Questions (7–9): This prayer is not arranged in order. And what is [the meaning of] "If only we had been content"? What is [the meaning of] "My Lord, what shall I say after," such that the commentators were forced into strained interpretations of it?
"And he rent." [This refers] to those who were slain.
And he fell upon his face. To pray:
"And they strewed dust [on their heads]." To say: Behold, we are considered as dust.
"Ah, O Lord God." After he saw that God did not go forth with them in their armies, and abandoned them to fight according to nature and chance, he raised an objection on two grounds: 1) Regarding the past: The people who go to inherit dwellings not their own will do so in two ways. Either they know clearly that they will be victorious because they are strong, and then they will go to conquer (even though they have a land of residence), in order to enlarge their kingdom and expand the borders of their land. Or, they have no land in which to dwell, and then they risk their lives to fight, either to win or to be defeated. In light of this, he asked: Why did You cause this people to pass over etc., to give us into the hand of the Amorite? Since You intended to give us into the hand of the Amorite—meaning, to abandon us to chance, according to how the battle turns out, and there is also a possibility that the Amorite will be victorious and we will fall into his hand, leading to our destruction—why did You bring us here to risk ourselves in war? Did we not have an inhabited land? Were we not willing? Meaning, were we not content to dwell beyond the Jordan, and did we not have anything compelling us to risk our lives in battle, since we had a place of residence there?
And Joshua said: ‘Alas, O Lord Hashem, wherefore have you at all brought this people over the Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to cause us to perish? would that we had been content and dwelt beyond the Jordan!
verse value 5700
Insights
Verse structure: 21 words, 94 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יֱהֹוִ֗ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 5700 is divisible by 50, the years to the Jubilee (yovel). The shortest word is "alas!" (אֲהָ֣הּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·destroy·us" (לְהַאֲבִידֵ֑נוּ, 8 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "alas!" (אֲהָ֣הּ), "have·you·brought·over" (הֵעֲבַ֨רְתָּ), "at·all" (הַעֲבִ֜יר). The root עבר appears 3 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 217x in Joshua); "and·said" (root אמר, 140x in Joshua); "Joshua" (root יהושע, 125x in Joshua). First appearance of the root אבד ("to·destroy·us") in Joshua. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·destroy·us', dividing the verse into phrases of 16 and 5 words.
Rashi
"And if only we had been content." Would that we had decided to dwell on the east side of the Jordan, in the land of Sihon and Og which was already conquered.
Radak
"Why did You bring [us] across?" The heh is vocalized with a tzere, and the ayin with a shva and patach, contrary to the usual pattern; for the custom is that the heh is vocalized with a segol, and the ayin with a shva or a segol. And similar to this is [the form] "he'elah" in "kullo be-chakkah he'elah" ["he brings all of it up with a fish hook"] (Habakkuk 1:15).
Metzudat David
If only we had been willing. Oh, that we had desired from then on to dwell in the eastern side of the Jordan and not to cross the Jordan, and this calamity would not have befallen us:
Metzudat Zion
Ahah. The matter of the language of crying out and wailing, as in (2 Kings 6:5) "Ahah, my lord!"
"And if only" [i.e.,] would that, and similarly (Numbers 14:2) "Would that we had died."
"Ho'alnu" (we were willing). A matter of willingness/desire, as in (Judges 19:6) "Please be willing, and stay the night."
Oh, Lord, what shall I say, after that Israel has turned their backs before their enemies!
verse value 2278
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "if it please" (בִּ֖י, 2 letters) and the longest is "Israel" (יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל, 5 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "if it please" (בִּ֖י), "turned" (הָפַ֧ךְ). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 271x in Joshua); "I·will·say" (root אמר, 140x in Joshua); "Israel" (root ישראל, 112x in Joshua). First appearance of the root איב ("enemy") in Joshua. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'my·lord', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 9 words. Full calculation: בִּ֖י [if it please] (12) + אֲדֹנָ֑י [my·lord] (65) + מָ֣ה [what?] (45) + אֹמַ֔ר [I·will·say] (241) + אַ֠חֲרֵ֠י [after] (219) + אֲשֶׁ֨ר [that] (501) + הָפַ֧ךְ [turned] (105) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל [Israel] (541) + עֹ֖רֶף [neck] (350) + לִפְנֵ֥י [to·face·of] (170) + אֹיְבָֽיו [enemy] (29) = 2278.
Metzudat David
What shall I say? After he perceived within himself that there were many utterances in response to the deed of the Lord, he returned and said: What shall I say if not like this very thing? Since Israel turned their backs in flight, I cry out from the pain of my heart.
Metzudat Zion
בִּי (bi, please). An expression of a plea, like (Genesis 44:18) I beg you, sir.
Malbim
"O my Lord." Now he argues, 2) regarding the future, that even if you thought that we could prevail by natural means, because we are stronger than the nations of the land (and that we fell previously was only because only three thousand men went out, and thus and thus the sword devours, and what is there in thirty-six men falling? This is the way of war), this was correct until now, when our terror fell upon the inhabitants of the land, and no spirit arose in any man to array himself against us in battle; we would have prevailed easily even in a natural war. Not so now. What do I say now, after Israel has turned their back? For now their terror has departed, and their hearts have strengthened to join forces against us. And if so, from now on, behold:
For when the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land hear of it, they will compass us round, and cut off our name from the earth; and what will you do for Your great name?’
verse value 4695
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 68 letters. The shortest word is "and·them·of" (וְכֹל֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·will·cut·off" (וְהִכְרִ֥יתוּ, 7 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "and·they·will·be·turned" (וְנָסַ֣בּוּ), "and·will·cut·off" (וְהִכְרִ֥יתוּ), "name" (אֶת־שְׁמֵ֖נוּ). The root ארץ appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·them·of" (root כל, 96x in Joshua); "earth" (root ארץ, 95x in Joshua); "and·what·will·you·do" (root עשה, 59x in Joshua). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·the·earth', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְיִשְׁמְע֣וּ [and·they·heard] (432) + הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֗י [Canaanite] (205) + וְכֹל֙ [and·them·of] (56) + יֹשְׁבֵ֣י [dwelling] (322) + הָאָ֔רֶץ [earth] (296) + וְנָסַ֣בּוּ [and·they·will·be·turned] (124) + עָלֵ֔ינוּ [upon·us] (166) + וְהִכְרִ֥יתוּ [and·will·cut·off] (647) + אֶת־שְׁמֵ֖נוּ [name] (797) + מִן־הָאָ֑רֶץ [from·the·earth] (386) + וּמַֽה־תַּעֲשֵׂ֖ה [and·what·will·you·do] (826) + לְשִׁמְךָ֥ [to·your·name] (390) + הַגָּדֽוֹל [the·great] (48) = 4695.
Rashi
And what wilt Thou do for Thy name. Which is shared in our name, this is its midrash and its plain meaning. And what will You do for the name of Your might which has already gone forth, and now they will say His strength has weakened.
Radak
"And what will You do?" The shin [in ta'aseh] is vocalized with a tzere, contrary to the usual pattern, and we have already written similar cases in the book Mikhlol. And the interpretation of "And what will You do for Your great Name" is that the nations will say [it happened] because of the LORD's inability, and behold, Your Name would be as if diminished in their eyes.
Metzudat David
"And they shall hear." That the enemy will pursue them:
"And what will you do with your name?" — Lest it be profaned, when they say, "Without the power of the Lord, they have perished."
Malbim
"And the Canaanite shall hear, etc., and they will gather against us." All of these are bound together in one bundle.
"And they shall cut off our name." [That name] which has been ours until now through might; and since our name would be cut off, would not Your great Name be profaned? For it is through our having gained a name that Your Name has become known as a stronghold.
And Hashem said to Joshua: ‘Get you up; wherefore, now, are you fallen upon your face?
verse value 1808
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 37 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֛ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "rise" (קֻ֣ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·Joshua" (אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "prostrate" (נֹפֵ֥ל), "upon·your·face" (עַל־פָּנֶֽיךָ). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 217x in Joshua); "and·said" (root אמר, 140x in Joshua); "to·Joshua" (root איל, 135x in Joshua). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·you', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֧אמֶר [and·said] (257) + יְהֹוָ֛ה [Hashem] (26) + אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ [to·Joshua] (422) + קֻ֣ם [rise] (140) + לָ֑ךְ [to·you] (50) + לָ֣מָּה [why] (75) + זֶּ֔ה [this] (12) + אַתָּ֖ה [you] (406) + נֹפֵ֥ל [prostrate] (160) + עַל־פָּנֶֽיךָ [upon·your·face] (260) = 1808.
Rashi
"Arise for yourself." It is written קם לך (without a vav, in the past tense) — [i.e.] 'stand for yourself' — [meaning: enough of] what you have prayed before, and mention another matter: you remained in the camp and did not go out with them. And I had said (Numbers 27:17): one who shall take them out and who shall bring them in — for you were to bring the Children of Israel, and I would be with you; (ibid. 3:28): for he shall go before this people and he shall give them their inheritance. If you go before them, they will succeed; and if not, they will not succeed. Another explanation: 'Arise for yourself' — this happened to them because of you; I did not tell you to devote the plunder of the city.
Radak
"Why do you fall on your face?" In the manner of [i.e., echoing] "Why do you cry out to Me?" [Exodus 14:15]—meaning, you do not need supplication and entreaty; let them destroy the proscribed things, and I will forgive them.
Metzudat David
"Why is this?" etc. He means to say that prayer is not required, but rather to root out the one who transgressed the ban.
Malbim
“Arise, go.” Why do you argue? Since there is a cause that brought about the removal of Divine Providence, you must remove that cause. And who is it?
Israel has sinned; indeed, they have even transgressed My covenant which I commanded them; indeed, they have even taken of the devoted thing; and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have even put it among their own stuff.
verse value 4904
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 73 letters. Notable word values: "sinned" (חָטָא֙) = 18, chai, 'life'. Verse gematria: 4904 is divisible by 613, the number of the commandments (mitzvot). The shortest word is "sinned" (חָטָא֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "covenant" (אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֔י, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 49: and·also, and·also, and·also, and·also, and·also. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "sinned" (חָטָא֙), "covenant" (אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֔י), "they·stole" (גָּֽנְבוּ֙). The root גם appears 5 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 271x in Joshua); "Israel" (root ישראל, 112x in Joshua); "they·transgressed" (root עבר, 82x in Joshua). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'them', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 10 words.
Radak
"Israel has sinned." And do not say that it was an inadvertent sin, but rather, "And they also transgressed My covenant," for a covenant was established between Me and them at Mount Sinai to do all that I commanded them and would [yet] command them, as it is written: "And he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, 'All that the Lord has spoken we will do and we will hearken.'" And Moses our Teacher commanded them from the Mouth of the Almighty, saying, "A prophet from among you, from your brothers, like me, the Lord your God will raise up for you; to him you shall hearken." And behold, Joshua commanded them and said to them not to take anything from the spoils of the city, and behold, they transgressed the covenant by taking from the spoils of the city.
"And they also took from the devoted things." Every instance of "also" (gam) comes to include [something further]. And its meaning here is: behold, because of the devoted things — [it is] as if the prophet, namely Joshua, had commanded them without [specific reference to] the devoted things; and if they transgressed the command, they transgressed the covenant; all the more so, since the devoted things themselves were in their hands.
"And also they stole." For had they taken it openly, it would not have been so bad; but since they stole it, it was as though they intended to hide it from the Creator.
"And they also denied." Or perhaps a person sensed the matter and Achan denied it, or because his ultimate fate was to deny it, for he indeed denied until Joshua demanded it from him and said to him, "My son, please give honor to the Lord."
"And they also placed [it] in their vessels." And all of this is to deny it all the more, as it is stated, "and behold, they are hidden" [Joshua 7:21]. And in the midrashic interpretation: What are the five instances of "also" (gam)? It teaches that he transgressed the five books of the Torah.
Metzudat David
"Israel has sinned." Even though only one person sinned, nevertheless, because they did not watch out for one another, the Scripture attributes it to them as if they had all sinned.
"And they also transgressed My covenant." This comes to magnify that vile deed, to say: Behold, even if a man sins against his fellow man, he shall not be acquitted; yet these [people], even though they did not heed, transgressed My covenant, which they violated by breaking the ban, for it is like an oath.
“And they also took.” The intent is to say that even one who transgresses any of the other commandments of the Lord shall be punished; yet they also took from the sacred ban of the Most High, which is the portion of the Lord.
"And they also stole." If they had taken it in the sight of all, they would at least have been equating the honor of the Omnipresent with the honor of flesh and blood; but they stole so as to hide from people, and showed no fear of the LORD.
“And also they have lied.” This means that if a thief repents, expresses remorse, admits to the theft, and returns the stolen item, he is not despised. However, these individuals have also lied.
“And they also put them in their vessels.” This means to say: [As it is stated:] “They will not despise a thief when he steals to satisfy his soul because he is hungry” (Proverbs 6:30); but these [men], moreover, placed them in their vessels to be kept in a treasury, not to be taken out to satisfy the craving of their souls. And if so, that vile deed is doubled and redoubled.
Metzudat Zion
"My covenant." Its meaning in every place is a matter that endures; and an oath too is a matter that endures, and a ban is like an oath.
"Sāmu" (they put). Meaning: they placed [it].
Malbim
The sin of Israel. Explanation: The sin was twofold: 1) The essence of the sin, for they also transgressed My covenant, which was the desecration of the Sabbath, since they carried out and brought in from the public domain to the private domain, and the day of the conquest of Jericho was on the Sabbath, and the covenant was established concerning the Sabbath, as it is stated (Exodus 31:16): "To observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant."
"And they also took from the devoted things [cherem]." They transgressed the Sabbath and Heaven's proscribed property. b) The nature of the sin: "And they also stole," meaning they did not take it openly, but rather in secret and concealment; and through this, "they also lied," denying Divine providence and treating the Eye Above as though it did not see. c) The ultimate aspect of the sin: For one does not despise a thief when he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, but he had no need to steal, for "they were also put into their vessels," which they had hidden in the ground, since he had no need for it.
Therefore the children of Israel cannot stand before their enemies, they turn their backs before their enemies, because they are become accursed; I will not be with you any more, except you destroy the accursed from among you.
verse value 4479
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 91 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "enemy" (אֹיְבֵיהֶ֔ם, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 170: to·face·of, to·face·of, with. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "they·will·turn" (יִפְנוּ֙), "I·will·add" (אוֹסִיף֙), "to·be" (לִֽהְי֣וֹת). The root לא appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son" (root בן, 156x in Joshua); "were" (root היה, 150x in Joshua); "Israel" (root ישראל, 112x in Joshua). First appearance of the root יכל ("they·will·prevail") in Joshua. First appearance of the root פנה ("they·will·turn") in Joshua. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·a·proscribed·thing', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 8 words.
Metzudat David
"For they were devoted to destruction." This means that they aided the violator of the ban by turning a blind eye, and they did not watch over one another.
The ban. One who transgresses the ban:
Malbim
Questions (12-13): Why is there a repetition: “And he could not stand up” etc., “because they had become devoted to destruction,” and “I will not continue to be with you unless you destroy the devoted things”? And why did Joshua say, “You will not be able to stand up until you remove the devoted things,” and did not also say that the Lord would not be in your midst until they destroyed the devoted things?
And not so. Therefore, the children of Israel will not be able to stand before their enemies. And he explained that this will be from two sides: for they will not stand up neither from the side of nature, for they will turn their necks [in flight], since they had become devoted things [cherem], for the unique property of the cherem is to cast a curse upon their strength and to weaken them even in nature. And likewise, they will not stand up through Divine providence, for He said, "I will not add to be with you" unless you destroy the cherem. And He stipulated that for them to stand before their enemies—that is, for their natural valor to return—it suffices that there not be cherem among them, meaning that they burn what was stolen from the cherem, as it is stated (in the subsequent verse): "You shall not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove the cherem from among you." But for the Lord to be with you, it is necessary that they destroy the cherem from among them, and this means destroying the man who transgressed the cherem; it is not sufficient that the cherem not exist in reality, for it is necessary to destroy the transgressor of the cherem from the face of the earth.
Up, sanctify the people, and say: Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow; for thus says Hashem, the God of Israel: There is a curse in the midst of you, O Israel; you can not stand before your enemies, until you take away the accursed thing from among you.
verse value 6762
Insights
Verse structure: 23 words, 95 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֜ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "rise" (קֻ֚ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "until·you·take·away" (עַד־הֲסִֽירְכֶ֥ם, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 541: Israel, Israel. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "and·you·shall·say" (וְאָמַרְתָּ֖), "to·tomorrow" (לְמָחָ֑ר), "in·your·midst" (בְּקִרְבְּךָ֙). The root קום appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 217x in Joshua); "and·you·shall·say" (root אמר, 140x in Joshua); "Israel" (root ישראל, 112x in Joshua). First appearance of the root סור ("until·you·take·away") in Joshua. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·tomorrow', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 17 words.
Radak
"Sanctify... sanctify yourselves." [This is] an expression of summoning [i.e., a call to prepare].
"Whom the Lord shall catch." They said that He brought them before the Ark, and the one who was "caught" was the one whom the Ark held fast, so that he could not move from there. And they also said that He set all the tribes before the Urim and Thummim, and the names of the tribes were written on the stones of the breastplate; and whoever's stone became dim, that one was the one who was "caught." And the stone of Judah became dim. And to determine the families and the men, they cast lots in an urn, in accordance with the lot.
Metzudat David
"Sanctify yourselves." To pass before the Ark, to know who [is guilty of] this evil deed:
Metzudat Zion
קַדֵּשׁ (kadesh, consecrate). The time, like (Joel 4:9) consecrate a war.
Malbim
"You shall not be able to stand, until you have removed the herem. He did not mention to them the second condition, that the Lord would not be in their midst until they would destroy the herem, which is to destroy the one who transgresses the herem, as stated above in the previous verse, for He did not want them to know that the transgressor would be liable to death, for then the sinner would not be willing to confess; therefore, He informed them only of the first condition mentioned above."
In the morning therefore you shall draw near by your tribes; and it shall be, that the tribe which Hashem takes shall come near by families; and the family which Hashem shall take shall come near by households; and the household which Hashem shall take shall come near man by man.
verse value 7619
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 107 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֡ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "that·shall·take·it" (אֲשֶׁר־יִלְכְּדֶ֨נּוּ, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 312: shall·come·near, shall·come·near. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "and·you·will·be·come·near" (וְנִקְרַבְתֶּ֥ם), "that·shall·take·it" (אֲשֶׁר־יִלְכְּדֶ֨נּוּ), "and·the·clan" (וְהַמִּשְׁפָּחָ֞ה). The root קרב appears 4 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that·shall·take·it" (root אשר, 271x in Joshua); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 217x in Joshua); "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 150x in Joshua). First appearance of the root גבר ("to·the·men") in Joshua. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·tribes', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 17 words.
Rashi
To households. There are many fathers' houses in one family.
To men. To individual heads; all the men of the house shall come to the lot.
Radak
"He shall come forward by families." Meaning: to the men, the heads of the families.
"It shall come forward by houses." To the heads of the houses of the family:
"He shall approach the men." To the men of the household:
Metzudat David
And you shall approach. Opposite the Ark:
"According to your tribes." Each tribe by itself.
"Whichever [tribe] the LORD shall take." To be caught before the Ark, so that he could not move from his place for the time being.
"It shall come forward by families." Afterward, they will move from their place and again come forward by families.
“to the houses.” For the family is further divided into paternal houses:
For men. For individual men:
And it shall be that he that is taken with the devoted thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he has; because he has transgressed the covenant of Hashem, and because he has wrought a wanton deed in Israel.’
verse value 5061
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 64 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֤י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·all·that·to·him" (וְאֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֑וֹ, 10 letters). Words sharing gematria 26: and·it·shall·be, Hashem. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "captured" (הַנִּלְכָּ֣ד), "shall·be·burned" (יִשָּׂרֵ֣ף), "and·because·he·wrought" (וְכִֽי־עָשָׂ֥ה). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·all·that·to·him" (root אשר, 271x in Joshua); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 217x in Joshua); "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 150x in Joshua). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·all·that·to·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 7 words. Full calculation: וְהָיָה֙ [and·it·shall·be] (26) + הַנִּלְכָּ֣ד [captured] (109) + בַּחֵ֔רֶם [in·the·devoted·thing] (250) + יִשָּׂרֵ֣ף [shall·be·burned] (590) + בָּאֵ֔שׁ [in·the·fire] (303) + אֹת֖וֹ [him] (407) + וְאֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֑וֹ [and·all·that·to·him] (994) + כִּ֤י [for] (30) + עָבַר֙ [passed] (272) + אֶת־בְּרִ֣ית [covenant] (1013) + יְהֹוָ֔ה [Hashem] (26) + וְכִֽי־עָשָׂ֥ה [and·because·he·wrought] (411) + נְבָלָ֖ה [senselessness] (87) + בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל [in·Israel] (543) = 5061.
Rashi
(Additional) shall be burnt with fire. The tent and the movable property.
"Himself and all that he hath." According to the law explained below (verse 25): him and the beast, by stoning. And the zakef [cantillation accent] that is on 'ba-esh' (with fire) proves that it is separate from 'oto' (himself), for we find verses where the accent divides [the words], as (Deuteronomy 11:30): acharei derekh (after) mevo ha-shemesh (the going of the sun), where 'acharei' is set apart from 'derekh' by the accent. And so its meaning is: he who is caught in the ban — that which is fit to be burned shall be burned with fire, as is explained below.
Himself and all that he hath. According to the law said below. And this is a concise verse, and similar to it (II Samuel 5:8): whoever smites the Jebusite and touches the gutter, it does not explain what will happen to him, and in Chronicles (I 11:6) it explains: he shall be head. Even here it does not explain what will happen to himself and all that is his, and below it explains.
Radak
"It shall be burned in fire, it and all that belongs to it." This is because he transgressed the decree of herem; therefore, all his property, as well as his minor sons and daughters, who are included within his assets for the purpose of punishment, are subject to herem. However, if his children were adults, they are liable for punishment, since they saw [the transgression] and remained silent, thereby transgressing the decree of herem. He had no wife; but even if he had, she would not have known anything, for he concealed it from her, as he had hidden them underground. And what is meant by "it shall be burned in fire"? Just as the city that was under herem was burned, so too the one who transgressed the decree of herem, along with all that belongs to him, which is subject to herem, shall be burned.
Ralbag
And the command of God was that the one caught in the devoted things be burned with fire, for it is clear to God that the lot will not fall except on the sinner. And with all this we find that Joshua made wise that Achan confess this before they judge him in this judgment. And it is not possible to say that Joshua did this so that he could judge him in court, and because there were not witnesses there, he desired that there be a confession of his mouth. And this for two reasons: the first is that what reached his knowledge in this way from God is from what it is not possible that doubt or dispute fall in his matter. The second is that his confession has no merit in this judgment at all, as is established in the portion of Mishpatim. And for this it appears that this matter was in the way that our Sages of blessed memory related it -- that is to say, that Achan and his family were bringing disgrace upon the lot, saying that if they cast the lot on two righteous men, it would surely fall on one of them even though he is not sinning in this. And to remove this complaint and the dispute that might arise from this, Joshua made wise to endeavor that Achan relate this. And when he confessed this matter, he related that Joshua sent messengers and they ran to the tent, and it is revealed from what is mentioned that he sent them there in haste, for Joshua feared that the men of his family would hasten to take this from there to cover Achan's disgrace.
Metzudat David
"He who is caught in the ban: He who is caught before the Ark, because he transgressed the ban."
Metzudat Zion
נִבְלָה (nevlah, an abomination). A disgusting thing, like (Isaiah 32:6) an abomination he utters.
Malbim
"It shall be burned with fire." This is because, on account of the transgression against the herem — which itself was designated to be burned — his judgment is by burning.
"For he has transgressed." This means that he sinned against the Omnipresent (HaMakom), by violating His covenant, and against Israel, for he committed an abomination in Israel, as they were punished on his account. And the explanation is that on account of the violation of the ban (herem), they were liable to be burned; nevertheless, he was stoned because he desecrated the Sabbath, for which the penalty is stoning, in accordance with the law that one who is liable to two forms of death is judged by the more severe one. Consequently, his ox and his donkey were also stoned, so that their death would not be made lighter than that of their owner.
So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel near by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken.
verse value 3099
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 45 letters. The shortest word is "rod" (שֵׁ֥בֶט, 3 letters) and the longest is "Israel" (אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "by·its·tribes" (לִשְׁבָטָ֑יו). The root שבט appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Joshua" (root יהושע, 125x in Joshua); "and·brought" (root קרב, 34x in Joshua); "by·its·tribes" (root שבט, 31x in Joshua). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'by·its·tribes', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֤ם [and·rose·early] (376) + יְהוֹשֻׁ֙עַ֙ [Joshua] (391) + בַּבֹּ֔קֶר [in·the·morning] (304) + וַיַּקְרֵ֥ב [and·brought] (318) + אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל [Israel] (942) + לִשְׁבָטָ֑יו [by·its·tribes] (357) + וַיִּלָּכֵ֖ד [and·was·captured] (70) + שֵׁ֥בֶט [rod] (311) + יְהוּדָֽה [Judah] (30) = 3099.
Rashi
And Joshua drew near Israel. Before the breastplate, the place where the tribes are written. And the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him a sign that the tribe that sinned, its stone was darkened. And the stone of Judah was darkened.
And he brought near the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zerahites. And he brought near the family of the Zerahites man by man; and Zabdi was taken.
verse value 5261
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 66 letters. The shortest word is "Zabdi" (זַבְדִּֽי, 4 letters) and the longest is "clan" (אֶת־מִשְׁפַּ֣חַת, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 1229: clan, clan. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "clan" (מִשְׁפַּ֣חַת), "Zabdi" (זַבְדִּֽי). The root קרב appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·brought" (root קרב, 34x in Joshua); "and·he·captured" (root לכד, 22x in Joshua). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·Zerahite', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words.
Rashi
And he drew near the family of Judah. To one lot, he drew near the heads of the families, one man from each family, and they cast lots on whom it would fall. And after that, all the fathers' houses of that family, and one man from each father's house came to the lot, and after that all the men of that house came.
Radak
"And he brought the family of Judah near." He brought the tribe of Judah near to the heads of the families. And he mentioned "family" in place of "tribe," and he abbreviated, for all the families [are included]. To abbreviate, for such is the way of Scripture.
"And he seized the family of Zerah." This one alone — "vayilkod" — is in the Qal stem in this matter; the rest of the instances of "vayilkod" are in the Nifal stem, meaning "it was caught." And the meaning is that it was the Ark alone that caught [it].
For the men. For the men who are the heads of the households:
"And Zabdi was caught." He was the head of a father's house, and he brought near the men of the house, and Achan was caught.
Metzudat David
The family of Judah. Even the tribe is called a "family":
For the men. Each man, each man, the head of a father's house:
"And Zabdi was indicated." He was the head of the father's house.
Malbim
Questions (17): It should have said, "And he brought the tribe of Judah near according to its families," as it says regarding all the others. Why does it say, "And he seized [in the active, Kal, form] the family of the Zerachites," whereas in all the others it says [the same verb] in the Nifal, passive, form ["and it was seized/indicated"]?
“And he brought near the family of Judah.” It did not say here, “And he brought near the tribe of Judah by its families,” as it stated regarding all the others; likewise, regarding all the others it said “was caught” in the nifal conjugation, whereas here it said “he caught.” For all those others were caught by the Ark, meaning that Reuben, Simeon, and Levi were brought near, and Judah was caught by the Ark, and then he did not bring near the remaining tribes that came after him. Therefore, the verse states, “And he brought near Israel by their tribes,” meaning tribe after tribe, because he did not complete bringing them all near. This is not the case with the families, for the family of Zerah was last, and he brought near all the families of Judah, and the Ark did not catch them. And the family of Zerah, which remained last, did not need to be brought near before the Ark, because the lot fell upon it, and Joshua caught him.
And he brought near his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
verse value 2410
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 51 letters. The shortest word is "Achan" (עָכָ֞ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "his·house" (אֶת־בֵּית֖וֹ, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "his·house" (אֶת־בֵּית֖וֹ). The root בין appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "his·house" (root בית, 65x in Joshua); "to·tribe·of" (root מטה, 58x in Joshua); "son·of·Carmi" (root בין, 48x in Joshua). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·the·men', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַיַּקְרֵ֥ב [and·brought] (318) + אֶת־בֵּית֖וֹ [his·house] (819) + לַגְּבָרִ֑ים [to·the·men] (285) + וַיִּלָּכֵ֗ד [and·was·captured] (70) + עָכָ֞ן [Achan] (140) + בֶּן־כַּרְמִ֧י [son·of·Carmi] (322) + בֶן־זַבְדִּ֛י [son·of·Zabdi] (75) + בֶּן־זֶ֖רַח [son·of·Zerah] (267) + לְמַטֵּ֥ה [to·tribe·of] (84) + יְהוּדָֽה [Judah] (30) = 2410.
And Joshua said to Achan: ‘My son, give, I pray you, glory to Hashem, the God of Israel, and make confession to Him; and tell me now what you have done; hide nothing from me.’
verse value 4401
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 74 letters. The shortest word is "to·me" (לִי֙, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·tell·now" (וְהַגֶּד־נָ֥א, 6 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "to·Achan" (אֶל־עָכָ֗ן), "set·now" (שִֽׂים־נָ֣א), "glory" (כָב֗וֹד). The root איל appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·Hashem" (root יהוה, 217x in Joshua); "my·son" (root בן, 156x in Joshua); "and·said" (root אמר, 140x in Joshua). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'confession', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 6 words.
Rashi
Set I pray thee the honour of the Lord. He began to cast reproach upon the lot. He said to him: with a lot you come upon me? You and Eleazar the high priest, great ones of the generation, you are. Cast the lot upon both of you, and it will fall upon one. He said to him: set I pray thee the honor, I beg you, do not cast reproach upon the lots by which the land is to be divided.
Radak
"Son, please give honor to the LORD." He asked him [Achan] to confess his sin for two reasons: the first, for the atonement of his sin, so that his death would be his atonement through his confession of his sin. And from here we learned that all who are put to death make confession. And they learned that his sin is atoned for from the fact that it is written, "may the LORD trouble you this day" — he is troubled on this day, but not in the World to Come. And the second, so that the children of Israel would be convinced through the lot or through the Ark's holding [him fast], and would say that it is true. And so our Sages of blessed memory said that Achan said to Joshua: "Joshua! Do you come against me by lot? You and Elazar the Kohen are the two greatest of the generation — if I were to cast [lots] upon you, it would fall on one of you!" Joshua said to Achan: "Please, I beg you, do not cast aspersion on the lots, for the Land of Israel is destined to be divided by lot."
Metzudat David
"Honor to the Lord." For when they see that you were justly caught, there will be honor to the Lord.
"And give thanks to Him." This refers to the grace of confession, that it is true you have trespassed against the cherem.
"What have you done?"—this means: "What are the things that you have taken from the herem?"
Metzudat Zion
"Todah" (confession). [Meaning] acknowledgment.
Techached. Its meaning is concealment, as in (Job 15:18): "And they did not conceal."
Malbim
"Set, I pray, honor to the Lord." Do not deny the lot that was by the word of the Lord, for this is a profanation of His honor, may He be blessed.
"And give Him confession." The confession is for [his] other transgressions. And this is expounded in relation to [the phrase] "Set honor."
"Tell me what you have done." And corresponding to "give Him confession," it says, "do not conceal from me" — [meaning] the other transgressions that you did.
And Achan answered Joshua, and said: ‘Of a truth I have sinned against Hashem, the God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done.
verse value 4231
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 61 letters. The shortest word is "Achan" (עָכָ֛ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "Joshua" (אֶת־יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 434: and·like·this, and·like·this. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "bringing up" (אׇמְנָ֗ה), "I·have·sinned" (חָטָ֙אתִי֙). The root זאת appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·Hashem" (root יהוה, 217x in Joshua); "and·he·said" (root אמר, 140x in Joshua); "Israel" (root ישראל, 112x in Joshua). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·he·said', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 9 words. Full calculation: וַיַּ֧עַן [and·he·answered] (136) + עָכָ֛ן [Achan] (140) + אֶת־יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ [Joshua] (792) + וַיֹּאמַ֑ר [and·he·said] (257) + אׇמְנָ֗ה [bringing up] (96) + אָֽנֹכִ֤י [I] (81) + חָטָ֙אתִי֙ [I·have·sinned] (428) + לַֽיהֹוָה֙ [to·Hashem] (56) + אֱלֹהֵ֣י [the·God·of] (46) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל [Israel] (541) + וְכָזֹ֥את [and·like·this] (434) + וְכָזֹ֖את [and·like·this] (434) + עָשִֽׂיתִי [I·did] (790) = 4231.
Rashi
And Achan answered. He saw the children of Judah gathering for war. He said: better that I die alone and not have thousands of Israel killed.
And such and such a thing have I done. Also in other herems in the days of Moses, as it is said (Numbers 21:2): and I will devote their cities to destruction.
Radak
"And so and so I have done." Its meaning is [explained] further on: "and I saw among the spoil..." And our Sages of blessed memory expounded that Achan transgressed with regard to three herem [things devoted to destruction]: two in the days of Moses and one in the days of Joshua, as it is stated, "And so and so I have done," and now he confessed concerning all three. And there are those who say [he transgressed] with regard to four: three in the days of Moses — the herem of the Canaanite king of Arad; the herem of Sihon and Og; and the herem of Midian. With regard to the Canaanite, it is written concerning him, "And I devoted their cities to destruction"; and with regard to Midian, they gave the gold as sacred to the Lord. As for Sihon and Og, even though it is written concerning them, "we took as spoil for ourselves," it is impossible that they did not consecrate some of the spoils to the Lord. And they said: Why was he not punished in the days of Moses for having transgressed in the days of Moses? Some said that He does not punish for hidden matters until after the Israelites crossed the Jordan. The explanation is that He does not punish in a public manner, as it is stated, "The hidden things belong to the Lord our God." And others said that He never punishes for hidden matters, as it is stated, "forever." And now that He punished for hidden matters in a public manner, it is because they were not hidden, for his sons and daughters knew about it.
Metzudat David
"And this is what I did." Our Sages of blessed memory stated (Sanhedrin 42b): that he said, "I did it again," and similarly in the war against the Canaanite and in the war against Midian, for also in the war against the Canaanite it is stated (Numbers 21:2), "and I devoted their cities to destruction," and in Midian as well the gold was given as a consecrated offering to the Lord.
Metzudat Zion
אָמְנָה (omnah, indeed). In truth.
Malbim
"I have indeed sinned." With this ban:
"And I did this and this." Regarding other banned property [war-spoils under the ban] in the days of Moses. And behold, he comes to justify himself for several reasons: 1) That he was already accustomed to this transgression and it had become to him as if permitted, and on this he says: "And I did this and this."
When I saw among the spoil a goodly Shinar mantle, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.’
verse value 7625
Insights
Verse structure: 25 words, 112 letters. Notable word values: "one" (אֶחָד֙) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "one" (אַחַ֨ת, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·two·hundred" (וּמָאתַ֧יִם, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 480: shekels, shekels. 15 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "and·I·saw" ((ואראה)), "and·I·saw" (וָאֵ֣רֶא), "in·the·spoil" (בַשָּׁלָ֡ל). The root ראה appears 2 times in this verse. 21 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·the·land" (root ארץ, 95x in Joshua); "one" (root אחד, 52x in Joshua); "in·midst·of" (root תוך, 28x in Joshua). First appearance of the root שלל ("in·the·spoil") in Joshua. First appearance of the root טוב ("good") in Joshua. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·I·took·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 18 and 7 words.
Rashi
And I saw among the spoil. I pondered what is written in the Torah (Deuteronomy 20:14): and you shall eat [of their spoil], etc.
A Shinar mantle. Its Targum: 'itztela demilata bavli' [a Babylonian mantle of fine wool]. For every king who did not acquire a palace in the Land of Israel, his mind was not settled in his kingship, as it is said (Jeremiah 3:19): 'and I will give you a pleasant land, a beauteous heritage of the hosts of nations.' And the king of Babylon had a palace in Jericho, and when he would come here, he would wear it.
Radak
"Mantle of Shinar": it is an important garment made in Babylonia, called Shinar. In Genesis Rabbah, Rabbi Hanina bar Rabbi Yitzchak says it is a 'parpara bavla'ah' (a Babylonian delicacy/fine item). And furthermore, in the words of our Sages of blessed memory: Rav says it is an 'itztila d'milta' (a cloak of fine wool), and Shmuel says it is a 'karbela d'tzarifa' (a kind of cap).
Ha-oholi. [It has] two definite articles, like 'vehachetzyo' [and] 'ha'erkecha', and others similar to it.
Tachateha. Beneath the robe:
Metzudat David
And they are. The mantle and the wedge of gold:
"Tachteha" – beneath the mantle.
Metzudat Zion
"Adderet." A valuable garment, and it is from the root meaning "mighty."
Shinar. “Made in Shinar,” and this is Babylonia.
And the term "tongue": This means that it is long and stretched out [elongated], like a tongue.
Malbim
B] "And I saw among the spoils." Since I thought, since it was spoil, it was permitted to take it. And so our Sages of blessed memory stated (Tanchuma, Mas'ei 5): "I saw what is written in the Torah (Deuteronomy 20:14), 'and you shall eat the spoil of your enemies.'"
C] That it was a Shinar mantle, belonging to the king of Babylon, who was from another province, and he reasoned that Joshua had only devoted to destruction the property of Jericho, not that of [someone] from another province.
D] It was fine, and his [evil] inclination incited him to covet it.
E] "And two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold." And he reasoned that the metals were not included [in the ban], since they were not subject to burning; only the treasure of the Lord was to be brought [to the treasury]. Thus, he transgressed only the prohibition of misappropriation (me'ilah).
F] And behold, they were hidden in my tent — he did not use them nor derive benefit from them, and in this he also did not commit misappropriation, for with gold that is undamaged one is not liable for misappropriation until he derives benefit worth a perutah (as explained by Maimonides, Laws of Me'ilah, Chapter 6); and here he neither derived benefit nor caused damage. And this is what [the verse] states: "and the silver was underneath it" — underneath the mantle, covered, and undamaged.
And in this statement, we also see how Joshua was justified in punishing [Achan] without witnesses, because all the identifying marks were present:
A] From the nature of the stolen item, which consisted of three types.
B] From their weight — the weight of the gold and the silver.
C] From their location — hidden in his tent.
D] From their placement — "and the silver was underneath it."
And it comes in the word "in my tent" [בהאהלי], a suffix together with the definite article ה, [teaching] that he had a specific tent, separate from [the tents of] his household, and there were in it two rooms, one large and primary. And by the possessive suffix he indicated his own tent, not that of his household. And by the letter heh, he indicated his own well-known large tent.
So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.
verse value 2458
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 50 letters. The shortest word is "and·behold" (וְהִנֵּ֧ה, 4 letters) and the longest is "messengers" (מַלְאָכִ֔ים, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "messengers" (מַלְאָכִ֔ים), "and·they·ran" (וַיָּרֻ֖צוּ), "tent" (הָאֹ֑הֱלָה). The root אהל appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Joshua" (root יהושע, 125x in Joshua); "and·he·sent" (root שלח, 22x in Joshua). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'tent', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח [and·he·sent] (354) + יְהוֹשֻׁ֙עַ֙ [Joshua] (391) + מַלְאָכִ֔ים [messengers] (141) + וַיָּרֻ֖צוּ [and·they·ran] (312) + הָאֹ֑הֱלָה [tent] (46) + וְהִנֵּ֧ה [and·behold] (66) + טְמוּנָ֛ה [hidden] (110) + בְּאׇהֳל֖וֹ [in·his·tent] (44) + וְהַכֶּ֥סֶף [and·the·silver] (171) + תַּחְתֶּֽיהָ [under·it] (823) = 2458.
Rashi
And they ran to the tent. So that the tribe of Judah would not come first and take it from there to deny the lot.
Radak
"And they ran to the tent." The meaning of "they ran" is that they ran with joy, because the sin of the ban was revealed as to whom it belonged, and Israel was innocent. And Rashi wrote: The meaning of "they ran" is so that the tribe of Judah would not precede them and seize them from there, in order to invalidate the casting of lots.
Hidden. The mantle:
“Golden tongue.” This means a golden staff that resembles a tongue.
Metzudat David
And they ran. Lest Achan’s relatives take them, to cover up their disgrace.
And they took them from the midst of the tent, and brought them to Joshua, and to all the children of Israel; and they laid them down before Hashem.
verse value 2296
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 53 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָֽה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "and·to" (וְאֶ֖ל, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·Joshua" (אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁ֔עַ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 170: and·they·took·them, to·face·of. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "and·they·took·them" (וַיִּקָּחוּם֙), "tent" (הָאֹ֔הֶל), "and·brought·them" (וַיְבִאוּם֙). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 217x in Joshua); "to·Joshua" (root איל, 135x in Joshua); "Israel" (root ישראל, 112x in Joshua). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיִּקָּחוּם֙ [and·they·took·them] (170) + מִתּ֣וֹךְ [from·midst·of] (466) + הָאֹ֔הֶל [tent] (41) + וַיְבִאוּם֙ [and·brought·them] (65) + אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁ֔עַ [to·Joshua] (422) + וְאֶ֖ל [and·to] (37) + כׇּל־בְּנֵ֣י [all·sons·of] (112) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל [Israel] (541) + וַיַּצִּקֻ֖ם [and·poured·them·out] (246) + לִפְנֵ֥י [to·face·of] (170) + יְהֹוָֽה [Hashem] (26) = 2296.
Rashi
And they poured them out. And they straightened them. And our Sages said (Sanhedrin 44a): he came and dashed them before the Holy One. He said before Him: 'Master of the Universe, shall the majority of the Sanhedrin fall on account of these?'
Radak
"And he cast them before the Lord." He set them before the Lord, so that all Israel might see them and know the power of the ban, and be careful regarding the forbidden spoil and the ban. And our Sages of blessed memory said: "And he cast them"—Joshua came and smashed them on the ground before the Omnipresent, and said: "Master of the Universe, upon these shall fall the majority of the Sanhedrin's [cases]."
Ralbag
And they poured them out before the LORD. Some interpreted it as, 'and they stood them up,' from the term 'pillars of the earth' [מצוקי ארץ; cf. 1 Samuel 2:8]. And it is possible also that it be from the notion of pouring, and the meaning is that the tongue of gold was hidden within the mantle, and the silver was beneath it, and there were two hundred shekels of it. And when they brought this to Joshua and Israel, they spread them out there so that it be seen with the eye that those things that Achan confessed were there.
Metzudat David
And he poured them out. This means that he scattered them before the Ark, so that all might see that the matter was true.
Metzudat Zion
וַיַּצִּקֻם (vayyatzikum, and they poured them out). From the term for pouring and spilling.
And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the mantle, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had; and they brought them up to the valley of Achor.
verse value 10433
Insights
Verse structure: 21 words, 124 letters. The shortest word is "with" (עִמּ֑וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·all·that·to·him" (וְאֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֔וֹ, 10 letters). 11 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "Achan" (אֶת־עָכָ֣ן), "and·the·silver" (וְאֶת־הַכֶּ֣סֶף), "and·the·mantle" (וְאֶת־הָאַדֶּ֣רֶת). 19 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·all·that·to·him" (root אשר, 271x in Joshua); "Joshua" (root יהושע, 125x in Joshua); "and·all·Israel" (root כל, 96x in Joshua). First appearance of the root עמק ("valley") in Joshua. First appearance of the root עכור ("Achor") in Joshua. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with', dividing the verse into phrases of 17 and 4 words. 13 of the verse's 21 words begin with the letter ו.
Rashi
And his sons, etc., and all Israel. To see in his downfall and to be taught not to do like him.
And his ox and his ass. To destroy them, as it is said (above verse 15): and he that is taken in the herem shall be burnt with fire, himself and all that he hath.
Radak
"Achan, the son of Zerah." He linked him to his grandfather [i.e., treated Zerah as his father's father], in order to abbreviate the genealogy, for Zerah was the head of the family.
"And they brought them up to the valley of Achor." It should have said "and they brought them down," but it appears that there was a mountain between the camp and the valley, and therefore it says "they brought them up" in reference to the mountain. In this manner as well is the verse "and he went down to the Rock" [understood].
Ralbag
And he took Achan. And a doubt arose: why were his sons and daughters punished, and they did not sin in this? And it appears if we say that they were already children, and they were in the category of his property that God commanded be lost. Or we say that his sons and daughters were not brought there to be killed, but to see the judgment so that they be reformed, that they not do such a reprehensible action. And what indicates this is that he says after this:
Metzudat David
“With him.” They went with Joshua:
"And they went up." Even though they were traveling to the valley, it says "and they went up," because before they arrived at the valley, they ascended via the mountain to the valley called "the Valley of Achor," named after the incident.
And Joshua said: ‘Why have you troubled us? Hashem shall trouble you this day.’ And all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire, and stoned them with stones.
verse value 5280
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 80 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "what?" (מֶ֣ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·Israel" (כׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 441: them, them. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "you·troubled·us" (עֲכַרְתָּ֔נוּ), "will·trouble·you" (יַעְכׇּרְךָ֥), "and·stoned" (וַיִּרְגְּמ֨וּ). The root עכר appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 217x in Joshua); "and·said" (root אמר, 140x in Joshua); "Joshua" (root יהושע, 125x in Joshua). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 10 words.
Rashi
And they stoned him with stones. Because he desecrated the Sabbath.
And they burnt them with fire. The tent and the movable property.
And they stoned them with stones. The ox and the beasts.
Radak
And they stoned him. And afterwards it says, "And they burned them," and afterwards, "And they stoned him." My master and father, of blessed memory, wrote that their judgment was by burning, as it is written, "he shall be burned with fire, him and all that is his." And the explanation of "and they stoned him" is that when they were taking him to be burned, they were stoning him and throwing stones upon him out of their great anger against him. And when they were in the Valley of Achor, they burned him and all that was his. And afterwards, "and they stoned him" with stones, covering him with stones, and they were already burned. And afterwards, they raised upon him a large heap of stones to serve as a sign. And our Sages of blessed memory explained that "and they stoned him" refers to the man alone, and "and they burned them" with fire refers to his property, as the verse speaks of what was said to him from the Mouth of the Almighty: "That which is devoted shall be burned with fire, him and all that is his." If so, why does the Torah say, "And they stoned him"? Because he stole on the Sabbath, carried it out from Jericho, and hid it in his tent. He was stoned for desecrating the Sabbath and burned for having violated the ban. And from where do we know that Jericho was captured on the Sabbath? As it is said, "And it came to pass on the seventh day." And our Sages of blessed memory received that "seventh" refers to the days of the week, as we have written.
Ralbag
And the children of Israel stoned him with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones -- to indicate that no one died there except him. And what is said, 'they burned them with fire and stoned them with stones' -- refers to the animals, which were his ox and donkey and sheep. And he related that they burned them with fire after they stoned them with stones. And he did not unite the stoning of the animals with the stoning of Achan, for it is clear that the man and the animals cannot be united together in this matter.
Metzudat David
"What have you troubled us?" – meaning, "How greatly have you troubled us, and therefore the Lord will trouble you."
"And they stoned them." His sons and daughters, his ox, etc. (And it is possible that, since his sons and daughters knew of this matter — as our Sages of blessed memory stated (Sanhedrin 44a) — and did not reveal the matter, they too were stoned; however, our Sages of blessed memory did not state this explicitly):
"And they burned them." The mantle, the wedge [of gold], the tent, etc.
Metzudat Zion
וירגמו (va-yirgemu, and they stoned [him]). A matter of throwing stones.
And they raised over him a great heap of stones, to this day; and Hashem turned from the fierceness of His anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called The valley of Achor, to this day.
verse value 3031
Insights
Verse structure: 21 words, 80 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "until" (עַ֚ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "heap·stone" (גַּל־אֲבָנִ֣ים, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 74: until, until. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Joshua. Unique to this verse in Joshua (hapax): "from·fierceness·of" (מֵחֲר֣וֹן), "his·anger" (אַפּ֑וֹ). The root על appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 217x in Joshua); "day" (root יום, 79x in Joshua); "that" (root הוא, 77x in Joshua). First appearance of the root חרון ("from·fierceness·of") in Joshua. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·anger', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 10 words.
Metzudat David
"Upon him." Upon his grave:
Until this day. This means that it stands in its greatness forever.
"Therefore, etc., until this day." This means that its name is still upon it.
Ralbag
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim