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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

11. The Old Testament’s Account of the Miraculous Collapse of Jericho’s Walls

Jericho - Fall of Jericho's walls — Fall of Jericho’s walls. Pinterest

The Book of Joshua narrates that, heeding God’s instructions, the Israelites marched around Jericho once a day for six days. The procession included soldiers, priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant, the sacred chest that symbolized God’s presence, and other priests blowing shofars – trumpets made of rams’ horns. The people remained completely silent during these marches. On the seventh day, per God’s orders, they marched around the city seven times.

After the final circuit, the priests blew the shofars, and the people raised a mighty shout. When they did so, the walls miraculously collapsed, and the Israelites stormed and conquered the city. They destroyed Jericho completely, burned it to the ground, and dedicated all its valuables to God. Only Rahab and her family were spared, as the spies had promised.

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.