Jericho
Location and Setting
Jericho sits in the Jordan Valley about 800 feet below sea level, making it the lowest city on earth. Located approximately six miles west of the Jordan River and about fifteen miles northeast of Jerusalem, the city owes its existence to the copious spring known as Ein es-Sultan, which provides a reliable water supply in an otherwise arid landscape. This water source, combined with the warm climate of the rift valley, created a lush oasis that ancient writers called "the city of palm trees" (Deuteronomy 34:3; Judges 1:16).
The fertile plain around Jericho produced balsam, dates, and other valuable crops. The city controlled the main east-west route from the Jordan crossing into the central hill country of Canaan. Anyone entering the Promised Land from the east, as Israel did under Joshua, had to deal with Jericho first. Its strategic position made it the gateway to Canaan.
The Conquest Under Joshua
The fall of Jericho is one of the most dramatic episodes in the Old Testament. After crossing the Jordan River on dry ground (Joshua 3:14-17), the Israelites faced a fortified city "shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel" (Joshua 6:1). God gave Joshua unusual battle instructions: the army was to march around the city once a day for six days, with seven priests carrying trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the covenant. On the seventh day, they were to march around the city seven times, and when the priests sounded a long blast, all the people were to shout (Joshua 6:2-5).
The Israelites obeyed precisely. On the seventh day, at the sound of the trumpets and the great shout, "the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city" (Joshua 6:20). Everything in Jericho was devoted to destruction except Rahab the prostitute and her family, who had hidden the Israelite spies and were spared according to the promise the spies had made (Joshua 2:1-21; 6:22-25).
Joshua then pronounced a curse on anyone who would rebuild Jericho: "Cursed before the LORD be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates" (Joshua 6:26). This curse was fulfilled centuries later when Hiel of Bethel rebuilt the city during the reign of Ahab (1 Kings 16:34).
Jericho in the Period of the Judges and Monarchy
Despite Joshua's curse on rebuilding its fortifications, the area around Jericho was never completely abandoned. The site is mentioned as a landmark in the boundary descriptions of Benjamin's territory (Joshua 18:12, 21). During the period of the judges, Eglon king of Moab captured "the city of palms" and oppressed Israel for eighteen years until Ehud delivered them (Judges 3:13-30).
During the monarchy, Jericho appears in several contexts. David told his humiliated ambassadors, whose beards had been shaved by the Ammonite king, to remain in Jericho until their beards grew back (2 Samuel 10:5). The sons of the prophets in Elisha's time had a community at Jericho (2 Kings 2:4-5, 18). After Elisha succeeded Elijah, the men of Jericho complained that the city's water was bad and the land unproductive. Elisha healed the spring by throwing salt into it, declaring, "Thus says the LORD, I have healed this water" (2 Kings 2:19-22). This spring continues to flow today.
New Testament Jericho
By the time of Jesus, a new Jericho had been built about a mile south of the ancient mound, developed by Herod the Great as a winter palace complex with gardens, pools, and a hippodrome. This Herodian Jericho was a wealthy, cosmopolitan city that benefited from its warm climate, abundant water, and lucrative balsam trade.
Jesus passed through or near Jericho on multiple occasions. It was near Jericho that He healed blind Bartimaeus, who cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" (Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43). In Jericho itself, Jesus encountered Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector who climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus and was told, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today" (Luke 19:1-10). Zacchaeus's conversion and declaration that he would give half his possessions to the poor prompted Jesus' summary statement: "Today salvation has come to this house" (Luke 19:9).
The road from Jerusalem down to Jericho — a steep, winding descent through desolate terrain — was the setting for the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37). This road was notorious for banditry, making the parable's setting immediately recognizable to Jesus' audience.
Archaeological Discoveries
Archaeological excavations at Tell es-Sultan, the site of ancient Jericho, have revealed one of the longest records of human habitation anywhere in the world, stretching back to approximately 9000 BC. A massive stone tower and wall from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period (c. 8000 BC) are among the oldest monumental structures ever discovered.
The archaeology of Jericho's destruction has been debated. Excavations by John Garstang in the 1930s found collapsed walls and evidence of destruction by fire that he dated to the Late Bronze Age, consistent with the biblical conquest. Kathleen Kenyon's more extensive excavations in the 1950s challenged this dating, placing the destruction earlier. Subsequent analysis by Bryant Wood and others has reopened the debate, arguing that the evidence may indeed fit the biblical chronology. The archaeological discussion continues, but the site unquestionably preserves evidence of dramatic destruction events consistent with the biblical narrative's general picture.
Biblical Context
Jericho appears extensively in Scripture. The conquest is narrated in Joshua 2 (the spies and Rahab) and Joshua 6 (the fall of the city). The curse on rebuilding appears in Joshua 6:26, fulfilled in 1 Kings 16:34. Jericho features in Judges 3:13 (Eglon's oppression), 2 Samuel 10:5 (David's ambassadors), 2 Kings 2:4-22 (Elisha's ministry). In the New Testament, it is the setting for the healing of Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52), the conversion of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10), the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), and is referenced in Hebrews 11:30-31 (the conquest by faith and the salvation of Rahab).
Theological Significance
Jericho's fall demonstrates that victory belongs to God, not to human military strategy. The unconventional method of conquest — marching, trumpets, and shouting rather than battering rams — emphasized that the battle was the Lord's. The writer of Hebrews frames the conquest as an act of faith: 'By faith the walls of Jericho fell down' (Hebrews 11:30). Rahab's salvation within the condemned city illustrates that God's grace reaches even those outside the covenant community who respond in faith (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25). Rahab appears in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5), connecting Jericho's story to the larger narrative of redemption.
Historical Background
Tell es-Sultan, identified with ancient Jericho, has been excavated by Charles Warren (1868), Ernst Sellin and Carl Watzinger (1907-1909), John Garstang (1930-1936), Kathleen Kenyon (1952-1958), and Italian-Palestinian teams in more recent decades. The site preserves occupation levels spanning approximately 11,000 years, making it one of the oldest known permanently inhabited settlements. Herodian Jericho, excavated by Ehud Netzer, revealed an elaborate palace complex with Roman-style architecture, swimming pools, and gardens. The warm winter climate made it a favored retreat for Herod and later Roman officials. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho, descending about 3,400 feet in seventeen miles, remains one of the most dramatic routes in the region.