Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Joshua 7:23 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 23. 23And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Joshua 7:23 contributes this concrete line to the movement: “And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto…”.
Read It With
- Joshua 7:22–26
Read Joshua 7:23 with 7:22–26. Joshua 7:23 advances “Achan's Household Is Destroyed in the Valley of Achor” with the textual step “And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto…”. The complete unit establishes this movement: Messengers recover the goods; Achan, children, animals, tent, and possessions are brought to Achor, where Israel stones and burns them and raises a heap before divine anger turns away.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Joshua 7:16-21 ends with this movement: Achan names desire, theft, and the precise hiding place. Joshua 7:22-26 begins with this next step: Physical evidence is found beneath the tent. It reaches this outcome: Stoning, burning, a stone heap, and turned anger close the crisis. This movement materially develops the book's concern with Achan's children and animals, singular-plural ambiguity, collective punishment, due process, and refusal of modern imitation. At Joshua 7:23, this verse contributes the following distinct step: Joshua 7:23 advances “Achan's Household Is Destroyed in the Valley of Achor” with the textual step “And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto…”.
What Remains True
Joshua 7:23 contributes this bounded enduring truth: Hidden wrongdoing can harm a community, but accountability must not erase evidence, due process, individual responsibility, or the protection of children and families.
How It Can Shape Life
- Joshua 7:23 calls readers to this response: Investigate credible wrongdoing with evidence and proportionate individual accountability; reject suspicion rituals, public humiliation, and punishment of relatives. In Joshua 7:22-26, this response specifically addresses Achan's children and animals, singular-plural ambiguity, collective punishment, due process, and refusal of modern imitation.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Joshua 7:22-26 — Achan's Household Is Destroyed in the Valley of AchorSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Joshua 7:22-26, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Joshua
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, clauses, names, repeated roots, boundary formulas, covenant terms, and the base text behind translation discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Josh.xml, 7:22–26
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Joshua with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level Hebrew, textual, translation, list, number, geographical, historical, and cross-reference notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Joshua PDF, printed pp. 428-429, translation and translator notes on 7:22–26
Open source ↗scholarly commentary article
Joshua
Richard D. Nelson
Oxford University Press, in The Oxford Bible Commentary, edited by John Barton and John Muddiman, 2001
Supports: Whole-book movement, literary boundaries, composition, history and archaeology limits, geography, theology, and material interpretive alternatives.
Exact location: Nelson, 'Joshua,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 164-165, discussion of 7:22–26
Open source ↗