Achan's Family Execution in Joshua
Achan, an Israelite from the tribe of Judah, was executed by stoning along with his family for violating God's command regarding the spoils of Jericho [3]. This event is recorded in Joshua 7. After the miraculous fall of Jericho, God commanded that all its contents be devoted to destruction or consecrated to the Lord's treasury, with nothing to be taken for personal use [1, 10]. Achan, however, secretly took a Babylonian garment, silver, and a wedge of gold, hiding them in his tent [1].
This act of disobedience led to divine displeasure, which manifested in the Israelites' subsequent defeat at Ai, where thirty-six men were killed [1, 10]. Joshua, distressed by this unexpected loss, sought an explanation from God [10]. God revealed that someone among the Israelites had sinned by taking devoted things [10]. Through a process involving lots, Achan was identified as the transgressor [1, 6].
Upon his identification, Joshua urged Achan to confess, "give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him" [9]. Achan confessed his sin, detailing the items he had taken and where they were hidden [1]. Following his confession, Achan, his sons, his daughters, his livestock (ox, ass, flock), his tent, and all his possessions were brought to the Valley of Achor [2, 8]. There, "all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire, and stoned them with stones" [7]. The valley was subsequently named Achor, meaning "trouble," in commemoration of this event [3].
The execution of Achan's family alongside him has been a point of discussion. The Babylonian Talmud records a question posed to Rav Huna: "If Achan sinned, so that he was liable to be stoned, did his sons and daughters also sin, that they too should be stoned?" [7]. Rav Huna responded by suggesting that Achan's family was brought to the Valley of Achor not to be stoned, but to be chastised and to instill fear by witnessing the stoning, similar to how "all Israel" was present to witness the punishment [11]. However, other interpretations, such as that found in Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, state that Achan's children and property were stoned to death with him [8]. John Gill suggests that the devoted items, having been converted to Achan's use, were to be burned with him [5]. The severity of the punishment served to avert divine wrath from the entire assembly of Israel and to restore God's favor [4, 8, 12].
Sources
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Achan — Called also Achar, i.e., one who troubles (1 Chr. 2:7), in commemoration of his crime, which brought upon him an awful destruction (Josh. 7:1). On the occasion of the fall of Jericho, he seized, contrary to the divine command, an ingot of gold, a quantity of silver, and a costly Babylonish garment, which he hid in his tent. Joshua was convinced that the defeat which the Israelites afterwards sustained before Ai was a proof of the divine displeasure on account of some crime, and he at once adopted means by the use of the lot for discovering the criminal. It wa”
- Joshua “Joshua 7:24 (YLT) — And Joshua taketh Achan son of Zerah, and the silver, and the robe, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his ox, and his ass, and his flock, and his tent, and all that he hath, and all Israel with him, and they cause them to go up the valley of Achor.”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Achan — (troubler), an Israelite of the tribe of Judah, who, when Jericho and all that it contained were accursed and devoted to destruction, secreted a portion of the spoil in his tent. For this sin he was stoned to death with his whole family by the people, in a valley situated between Ai and Jericho, and their remains, together with his property, were burnt. (Joshua 7:19-26) From this event the valley received the name of Achor (i.e. trouble). [[40]Achor, Valley Of] (B.C. 1450.)”
- Joshua “Joshua 22:20 (Rotherham) — Did not, Achan son of Zerah, commit an act of treachery, with a devoted thing, and, upon all the assembly of Israel, came wrath,—so that not, he—one man alone, died in his iniquity.”
- Joshua (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Joshua 7:24: And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah,.... Joshua and all Israel are mentioned, to show the perfect agreement between Joshua and the heads of the people in this affair of Achan, and in the nature and manner of his punishment: and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold; which, though devoted to sacred uses, yet having been converted to another's use, and made his property, was not to be employed in the service of the sanctuary, but to be burnt with him: and his sons and his daughters; who, according to Ben Gersom, Abarbinel, a”
- Joshua (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Joshua 7:18: And he brought his household man by man,.... The household of Zabdi, the heads of each house therein: and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken; the lot fell upon him, and he was laid hold on, and detained.”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 44a.8: § The Exilarch said to Rav Huna: It is written: “And Joshua took Achan, son of Zerah, and the silver, and the mantle, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had, and all Israel with him…and all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire, and stoned them with stones” (Joshua 7:24–25). If Achan sinned, so that he was liable to be stoned, did his sons and daughters also sin, that they too should be stoned?”
- Joshua (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Joshua 7:24: Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan--He with his children and all his property, cattle as well as movables, were brought into one of the long broad ravines that open into the Ghor, and after being stoned to death (Num 15:30-35), his corpse, with all belonging to him, was consumed to ashes by fire. "All Israel" was present, not only as spectators, but active agents, as many as possible, in inflicting the punishment--thus testifying their abhorrence of the sacrilege, and their intense solicitude to regain the divine favor. As the divine law expre”
- Joshua (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Joshua 7:19: And Joshua said unto Achan, my son,.... Treating him in a very humane, affectionate, and respectable manner, though so great a criminal, being a subject of his, and of the same religion and nation: give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, by acknowledging his omniscience, justice, power, truth, and faithfulness; as in his promises so in his threatenings: and make confession unto him; of the sin he had been guilty of; this Joshua might urge, partly for his own good, who might more reasonably expect the forgiveness of his sin: so it is said in the Misnah ”
- Joshua (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Joshua 7 (introduction): The trespass of the Israelites, Jos 7:1. Joshua sends men to view the state of Ai, Jos 7:2. They return with a favorable report, Jos 7:3. Three thousand men are sent against it, who are defeated, and thirty-six killed, Jos 7:4, Jos 7:5. Joshua is greatly distressed, prostrates himself, and inquires of the Lord the reason why he has abandoned Israel to their enemies, Jos 7:6-9. The Lord raises him, and informs him that, contrary to the command, some of the people had secreted some of the spoils of Jericho, Jos 7:10-12. He is directed how to discover the d”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 44a.9: Rav Huna said to the Exilarch: And according to your reasoning that Achan’s family was also punished, if Achan sinned, did all of Israel sin? As it is written: “And all Israel with him.” Rather, Joshua took all of the people to the Valley of Achor not to stone them, but to chastise them and strike fear into their hearts by making them witness the stoning. So too, he took Achan’s household there in order to chastise them.”
- Joshua (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Joshua 8 (introduction): GOD ENCOURAGES JOSHUA. (Jos. 8:1-28) The Lord said unto Joshua, Fear not--By the execution of justice on Achan, the divine wrath was averted, the Israelites were reassured, defeat was succeeded by victory; and thus the case of Ai affords a striking example of God's disciplinary government, in which chastisements for sin are often made to pave the way for the bestowment of those temporal benefits, which, on account of sin, have been withdrawn, or withheld for a time. Joshua, who had been greatly dispirited, was encouraged by a special commu”