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Battle of Jericho: Joshua's conquest (according to the Bible)
set c. 1400–1200 BC (tradition)· Battle· Middle East & Africa
Legend & traditionA traditional account not confirmed by evidence.
In the Book of Joshua, the Israelites march around Jericho for seven days, blow trumpets, and its walls collapse.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
According to Joshua 6, after crossing the Jordan the Israelites marched around Jericho once a day for six days, with priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant and blowing ram's-horn trumpets. On the seventh day they circled seven times, shouted, and the walls fell flat. The city was put under the ban: destroyed with its people, sparing only Rahab, who had hidden Israel's spies, and her family. Joshua then cursed anyone who would rebuild it.
Why it matters
It is the opening victory of Joshua's conquest of Canaan and the West's most famous siege story, retold in art, sermons and the spiritual 'Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho'.
How we know
Kathleen Kenyon's 1950s digs, backed by later radiocarbon dates, found Jericho destroyed around 1550 BC and little or no walled city around 1400–1200 BC, when the story is set.
Still debated
A few scholars, notably Bryant Wood, argued the destruction fits about 1400 BC; most reject this. Whether the story preserves any memory of a real event is debated.
Connections (3)
▸Wall and Tower of Neolithic Jericho rose some 6,500 years before the story of Battle of Jericho: Joshua's conquest (according to the Bible)Well documented
The connection
Jericho is one of the world's oldest towns, and its stone wall and tower of about 8000 BC are among the oldest known fortifications. The biblical story of falling walls is set at the same mound some 6,500 years later. The two are linked by place, not by events.
When and how
Tell es-Sultan, beside modern Jericho in the West Bank. Kathleen Kenyon excavated both the Neolithic tower and the later Bronze Age layers in 1952–1958.
How we know
Excavation shows layer after layer of settlement in one mound, so the Neolithic walls and the Bronze Age city lie in the same place.
Debates and open questions
Whether the Neolithic wall defended against people or against floods is debated, and whether any walled city existed in Joshua's time is doubted.
▸Battle of Rephidim: Moses vs. Amalek (according to the Bible) introduces Joshua, later commander in the Battle of Jericho: Joshua's conquest (according to the Bible)Legend & tradition
The connection
Rephidim is where Joshua first appears in the Bible, chosen by Moses to lead the fighting men. After Moses's death, Joshua leads Israel across the Jordan and takes Jericho, so the first battle introduces the commander of the conquest.
When and how
Exodus 17 introduces Joshua; Deuteronomy 34 and Joshua 1–6 show him succeeding Moses and taking Jericho.
How sure are we?
The link is within the biblical text, which presents Joshua as Moses's assistant and successor.
Debates and open questions
Some scholars think Joshua's figure grew over time, perhaps from a tribal hero of the Ephraim hill country, with his Exodus scenes added later.
▸Battle of Jericho: Joshua's conquest (according to the Bible) is the most famous siege in the Wars of the Hebrew BibleLegend & tradition
The connection
Jericho is the first city taken in Joshua's conquest of Canaan and the Bible's purest example of 'holy war': victory comes through ritual and God's power, not siege engines, and the city is devoted to destruction. It sets the pattern for the conquest stories that follow.
When and how
Joshua 6. The Book of Joshua was probably shaped mainly in the 600s–500s BC, describing events set centuries earlier.
How sure are we?
Literary: the Book of Joshua places Jericho first and models the taking of Ai and other cities on it.
Debates and open questions
Most archaeologists see no evidence of a sweeping conquest, and many think Israel emerged mostly from within Canaan. A minority defend a historical conquest.