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‘And the Walls Came Tumbling Down’ – The History and Historicity of the Biblical Account of Jericho

Khalid Elhassan May 16, 2025 16 min

Jericho - Depiction of the Old Testament's description of Jericho's walls miraculously falling down — Depiction of the Old Testament's description of Jericho's walls miraculously falling down. Pinterest

12. Targeting Jericho

Joshua and the Israelites Crossing the Jordan, by Gustave Dore. Wikimedia

The Old Testament narrates that after Moses died, Joshua became leader of the Israelites. God commanded Joshua to lead the people across the Jordan River and into the land He had promised their ancestor Abraham. When he entered Canaan, Joshua sent two spies to scout out Jericho. They stayed with Rahab, a prostitute who lived in a house built into the city wall. Rahab had heard of the Israelites and their God, and believed in their divine mission.

In exchange for hiding the spies and helping them escape, she asked for protection for herself and her family when the city was attacked. The spies agreed, and told her to tie a scarlet cord in her window as a sign so the attacker would know to spare her household. God then gave Joshua specific instructions on how to conquer Jericho.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.