Jericho

Location

Jericho lies about six miles west of the Jordan River and eighteen miles east of Jerusalem, at ~840 feet below sea level — one of the lowest continuously inhabited cities on earth. The Bible calls it 'the city of palm trees' (Deuteronomy 34:3).

Biblical importance

Jericho is the first city Israel took in the land of promise. The walls fell before Moses's successor Joshua and the sound of the priestly trumpets. Centuries later, Jesus passed through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem and there healed blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52) and called Zacchaeus down from the sycamore tree (Luke 19:1-10). It is a city of walls that fall and of eyes that open.

Important biblical events

• Joshua 2:1-24 (KJV) Rahab hides the two spies and receives the promise of the scarlet thread.
• Joshua 6:1-27 (KJV) The walls of Jericho fall on the seventh day after the seventh circuit and the seventh trumpet blast.
• 2 Kings 2:19-22 (KJV) Elisha heals the waters of Jericho with a cruse of salt.
• Matthew 20:29-34 (KJV) Two blind men beside the road are healed as Jesus goes out of Jericho.
• Mark 10:46-52 (KJV) Blind Bartimaeus cries out, 'Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me,' and receives his sight.
• Luke 19:1-10 (KJV) Zacchaeus the publican climbs a sycamore tree; Jesus dines with him and salvation comes to his house.
• Hebrews 11:30-31 (KJV) 'By faith the walls of Jericho fell down… by faith the harlot Rahab perished not.'

Related People

• Joshua — who led the seven-day march.
• Rahab the harlot — whose faith saved her household, and who is named in the genealogy of Christ (Matthew 1:5).
• Elisha — who healed the waters.
• Bartimaeus — the beggar who saw.
• Zacchaeus — the tax collector whom mercy sought.
• Christ Jesus — who set his face toward Jerusalem through Jericho.

Connected Places

• Jordan River — crossed dry-shod on the way to Jericho (Joshua 3–4).
• Jerusalem — Jesus was going up to Jerusalem when he passed through.
• The Judean wilderness — the road from Jericho to Jerusalem is the road of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30).

Christian tradition

• Byzantine and Crusader churches marked the sycamore of Zacchaeus and the well of Elisha; some are still visible.
• Herod the Great built a winter palace at Jericho; excavations near Tulul Abu el-Alayiq have uncovered its mosaics.
• Ancient Jericho (Tell es-Sultan) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites on earth.

Household reflection

Jericho teaches the household that walls fall to obedience, not to strength. Israel circled the city for seven days and did what could look absurd. The household that walks around the impossible thing in prayer, quietly, seven days, will see God bring it down. Not our shout: his trumpet.

Room connections

Where this entry meets the household in the wider house of CrossAIHub.

• Read (Library) — Read Joshua 6 and Hebrews 11:30-31 together — the same event from two angles.
• Pray (Chapel) — Pray the cry of Bartimaeus: 'Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.'
• Family (Kitchen Table) — When the family faces something that will not move, walk around the difficulty in prayer for seven mornings.
• Sing (Choir Room) — Sing the spiritual 'Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho' — the wall came tumbling down.
• Learn (Workshop) — Study Rahab's story in Joshua 2 and Matthew 1 — the outsider is grafted into the genealogy of Christ.

Further reading

Joshua 2, 3, 4, 6 in the KJV.

2 Kings 2 — Elisha at Jericho.

Mark 10:46-52; Luke 19:1-10; Matthew 20:29-34 — Jesus at Jericho.

Hebrews 11:30-31 — the faith of Rahab.

Elsewhere in the Atlas

• Jordan River
• Jerusalem
• Christ Jesus
• Elijah
• Return to the atrium — the Atlas's main room.