What was the battle of Jericho?

Answer 1

The Battle of Jericho is narrated in Joshua chapter 6. However, some modern Biblical Scholars and Archeologists have concluded that the Battle of Jericho did not happen.

"Wood makes a strong case for the accuracy of the Biblical narrative of the destruction of Jericho, but ultimately it only tells us that the events recorded in the Book of Joshua do not disagree with the archaeological record. As Time magazine noted, "Other experts find little fault with Wood's Archaeology, but they are more skeptical about his linking of the evidence with Biblical events". Most scholars reject the historicity of Joshua in favor of belief in peaceful conquest. The prevailing belief in academia is that the Israelites came in far later than 1400 B.C., perhaps by two centuries, and they came "not as military conquerors but as a wave of immigrants" (Lemonick)."

see link UTex Jericho

More info"New theories regarding the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites under Joshua have been proposed because of the conflicting archaeological data. Destruction levels of the 13th century bc occur at Megiddo, Hazor, Aphek, Bethel, Ashdod, Gezer, and Deir Alla, but not at Arad, Heshbon, Jericho, Ai, and Gibeon. Evidence indicates extensive sociopolitical disruption and turmoil in Palestine at this time, but does not support unequivocally the biblical picture of a complete Israelite conquest." AnswerAlthough some in recent times wish to question the evidence, the battle of Jericho (if one can call it a battle) is one of the best attested biblical events in terms of the evidence matching The Bible's account of events.

Not only is the Bible account of the capture of Jericho historical it is confirmed substantially by the discoveries of archeology in numerous places. Such confirmation is startling in its accuracy in terms of its correspondence to the the Bible account.

In order to answer this question it would first be necessary to detail the actual evidence that might be expected to be found were the Biblical account to be true. This is not to say that this would necessarily be found but that if found, as part of a correctly understood chronology of the site, it would add credence to the Biblical record.

1. A strongly fortified city as recorded in Joshua 2:5,7,15; 6:5, 20

2. That the attack occurred just after harvest time in the spring as indicated in Joshua 2:1; 3:15; and 5:16.

3. The inhabitants had no opportunity to flee and remove their food as indicated in Joshua 6:1.

4. The seige was short as in Joshua 6:15 (together with 2 and 3 above, abundant remains would indicate that the inhabitants were not 'starved into surrender')

5. The walls were destroyed, possibly as the result of an earthquake. see Joshua 6:20

6. The city was not plundered of its material goods and food etc as detailed in Joshua 6:17 and 18.

7. The city was burned with fire as in Joshua 6:24.

8. Possibly a portion of the wall remained intact, as in Joshua 6:17,22 and 23.

In the early 1990s, there was a startling report by Dr. Bryant G. Woods, who was then at the University of Toronto, of finding remnants of Jericho from Joshua's time. Previous excavations had been in a different section of the mound of ancient Jericho.

Woods found a layer of ash 3-foot deep over his entire excavated area. This appears to be clear evidence of large scale destruction by fire. Large stores of spring harvested wheat that were barely touched were also discovered. The city seems to have fallen after a very brief siege, whereas a walled city would usually have been expected to hold out until starvation. 'The fact that Jericho was conquered in the spring (deduced from the spring wheat) also correlates to the biblical account that it was right after Passover, the spring holiday.

Dr. Lawrence Stager, the respected professor of Archaeology in Israel from Harvard University said this about Woods' work at Jericho: "On the whole the archaeological assessment is not unreasonable. There is evidence of destruction and the date isn't too far wrong."

In addition to the excavations by Bryant Wood, earlier excavations by John Garstang and Kathleen Kenyon, as well as an earlier excavation by a German team established that all of the expected evidence was found. This is quite striking and amazing to find that people still question this when the evidence is 'on the record'.

Why Is the Evidence of Jericho's Destruction by Joshua questionedThe main reason is that, due to widespread acceptance of a date of 1250 BC as the date of Joshua's attack, there is no evidence found for that date, because he did not conquer Jericho then, and indeed there most likely was no city for him to conquer then because he had already done so in around 1400 BC, as the Bible says, and destroyed it. In addition, exactly as the Bible records, the city was not rebuilt for around 500 years after its destruction because it was cursed. Kenyon, in particular, noted this gap in the occupational levels.

Another reason is that Kenyon dismissed the investigations of John Garstang, even though he found pottery to date his findings (pottery which she was looking for but did not find - an argument from silence) and dated the walls which fell as being from an earlier time. In addition to this, she referred to the time of the construction of the walls but not necessarily to the time of their destruction. It is known that some ancient walls remained for centuries ancient Jerusalem being a good example of this.

AnswerThe Battle of Jericho, besides being a familiar Negro spiritual, was a battle at the town of Jericho near the west bank of the Jordan River, NNW of the Dead Sea, in what is now Israel, in about 1440 BC. Jericho has since been rebuilt near the original site. It was the Israelis' first battle in the Promised Land after they crossed the Jordan. While they had fought other fights in the 40 years that preceded Jericho, they were not in any sense "battle-hardened veterans." So for many of them, Jericho was a "first time" combat situation. The notable thing about the battle was how it was "fought," because in military terms, the "fight" was actually not much of a fight at all. The Israeli leader, Joshua, received his battle plans from G-d. Every day for six days the Israelis marched around the city once, early in the morning. In the vanguard were the fighting men, then came seven priests blowing on rams' horn trumpets, and after them, the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant, and behind them was the rear guard. Beside the trumpets' sound, everyone was silent. On the seventh day, they walked around the city seven times, the priests blowing the whole time. When they finished the seventh circuit, the priests stopped and blew their horns for a long time while all the people broke their silence and shouted. At that moment, the brick walls of Jericho fell outward, not inward, and all the Israelis flooded into the now defenseless town, killing most of the inhabitants, and setting the rubble on fire. The importance of the walls falling in and not out is, that an army besieging a town and trying to break into a city would leave a breach with rubble on the insideof the walls. But in Jericho, the evidence shows the walls fell outward. This is taken to demonstrate a direct Devine intervention in the destruction of the walls, rather than a human-powered effort. So, in addition to everything else, Jericho was an affirmation by G-d to the Israelis of His ability and readiness to help them conquer the Promised Land; a sort of a down payment or pledge.

After Moses died, Joshua became the leader of the Israeli and he fought in Jericho.

You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Thus I gave them into your hand.

-Joshua 24:11-

Another Answer:

The biblical account describes the Israelites being led by Joshua and crossing the Jordan into Canaan where they laid siege to the city of Jericho. There, God spoke to Joshua telling him to march around the city once every day for six days with the seven priests carrying ram's horns in front of the Ark of the Covenant. On the seventh day they were to march around the city seven times and the priests were to blow their ram's horns. And Joshua ordered the people to shout. The walls of the city collapsed, and the Israelites were able to charge straight into the city. The city was completely destroyed, and every man, woman, child and animal in it was killed by Joshua's army by God's command. Only Rahab and her family were spared, because she had hidden the two spies sent by Joshua. After this, Joshua burned the remains of the city and cursed any man who would rebuild the city of Jericho would do so at the cost of his firstborn son. It is generally accepted that the biblical date for the fall of the walls is the 28th of Nisan, according to the Hebrew calendar