13 The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew the trumpets; and the armed men went before them and the rear guard came after the ark of the LORD, while they continued to blow the trumpets.
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Joshua 6:12-14 meaning
In Joshua 6:12-14, the Israelites continue to obey God by marching around the city of Jericho.
In the previous passage, the Israelites began a seven—day procession to conquer Jericho. The armed guard went first, and the priests blowing the trumpets followed them. The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant came next while the rear guard marched behind them. They circled the city once with rams’ horns blowing and voices silent. Then, they returned to their camp, completing the first day of the march. The next day, Joshua rose early in the morning and the priests took up the ark of the LORD (v. 12).
The ark of the Covenant was a chest of acacia wood overlaid with gold. It contained the stone tablets on which the LORD wrote the Ten Commandments. The Bible often calls the wooden chest “the Ark of the Covenant” because it signifies God’s relationship with Israel. Yahweh was the Suzerain ruler, and the Israelites were the vassals. He was their covenant partner who worked things out for their good. God was always looking out for their best interest. He promised to bless the people if they would trust and obey Him. Conversely, He would punish them if they disobeyed Him.
The LORD instructed His people to refer to this chest as “the Ark of the Covenant” or “Ark of the Testimony” to remind them of His presence (Exodus 25:22; Numbers 10:33; Joshua 3:3; 6, 14, 15). In our passage, Joshua referred to the box as the ark of the LORD because it symbolized God’s dwelling place among Israel.
As such, a contingent of priests carried it whenever Israel moved (Exodus 25:10-22; Numbers 10:33-36). It was the most sacred object and would be located inside the tabernacle veil. Once the Israelites conquer Canaan, and the tabernacle reaches its resting spot in Shiloh (Joshua 19:51), the Ark of the Covenant would only be seen once per year, on the Day of Atonement, when the blood covering all of the Israelites sins for that year would be sprinkled on the mercy seat which is the lid of the Ark (Leviticus 16:14).
While the priests responsible for transporting the Ark placed it on their shoulders, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually and blew the trumpets (v. 13). The term for rams’ horns is “shophar” in the Hebrew text. The Hebrew word for trumpets here is “yovel” and is usually translated at “jubilee,” like in the celebratory year of jubilee (Leviticus 25:10). But here it is translated as trumpets in the NASB—95. The phrase trumpets of rams’ horns (“shopharot ha’yovelim” in Hebrew) could also be translated as “jubilant rams’ horns.” The ancient Israelites often used them to proclaim the presence of God during times of feast (Numbers 10:10). Here, it has the same purpose since the ark signaled God’s presence among His covenant people. Therefore, the priests blew the trumpets during the march. The armed men went before them, and the rear guard came after the ark of the LORD while they continued to blow the trumpets.
The processional order was as follows: the armed guard went first, and the seven priests sounding the trumpets followed them. Next, the priests holding the Ark followed those blowing the trumpets, and the rear guard came after them. This order shows that the Israelite army encircled the Ark and its priests. They did so to honor the LORD. During that time, the other soldiers remained silent, as instructed by Joshua (Joshua 6:10). Thus, on the second day, they marched around the city once and returned to the camp (v. 14).
At the LORD’s command, all the soldiers were to march around Jericho once a day for six days (Joshua 3:3). This goal would not be difficult to achieve because the city at this time measured less than half a mile (.8 km) in circumference, approximately seven acres (.3 km2). The procedure for the march was the same for those six days, so the people repeated the process each day. That is, they organized the troops and circled the city once. They did so with rams’ horns blowing and voices silent. At the end of the march, they returned to the camp. They did so for six days. The march was not over after those six days. The people had one day left to march, but the procedure on the seventh day would be different, as the next section will show.