Joshua 6:24 (LSB)

Passage

But they burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of Yahweh.

Nearby Context

Joshua 6:22 Now to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, “Go into the harlot’s house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, as you have sworn to her.”

Joshua 6:23 So the young men who were spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and her mother and her brothers and all she had; they also brought out all her relatives and placed them outside the camp of Israel.

Joshua 6:24 But they burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of Yahweh.

Joshua 6:25 However, Rahab the harlot and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua preserved alive; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

Joshua 6:26 Then Joshua made them swear an oath at that time, saying, “Cursed before Yahweh is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "burned", "city", "fire", "only", "silver", "gold", "articles", and "bronze". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "burned" and "city", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 23's "So the young men who were spies..." into verse 25's "However Rahab the harlot and her father...", so "burned" and "city" belong inside that flow. In Joshua context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "burned" and "city" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.