o-operation of Rahab and of the clan within Jericho which she
represented. Later come the Hebrew hordes from across the Jordan
bearing with them the ark which symbolized to them the presence of
Jehovah, who had led them on to victory in many an early battle.
Behind their impregnable walls the inhabitants of Jericho must have
laughed scornfully at the desert host, that seemed utterly
incapable of an effective attack or of a protracted siege.
According to many modern interpreters the earliest Hebrew host
marched silently about the Canaanite stronghold. At first the
inhabitants of Jericho, accustomed to Arab strategy, undoubtedly
held themselves ready for defence. When no attack came, their
vigilance was gradually relaxed. At last on the seventh day, when
conditions were favorable, at the preconcerted signal, a trumpet
blast, the Hebrews rushed toward the walls, the gates were probably
opened by their allies within the city, and Jericho was quickly
captured. The method of attack recorded in the prophetic narrative
was very similar to the strategy used a little later by the Hebrews
in the capture of the smaller towns of Ai and Bethel. They are the
methods still employed by the Bedouins in their attacks upon the
outposts of Palestine.

The fierce nomadic instincts of these early Hebrew warriors are
revealed by the fate which they visited upon Jericho and its
inhabitants. The recent excavations confirm the Biblical testimony
that for several centuries after its initial capture the ancient
town was left a heap of ruins.

Its inhabitants were slain as a great sacrificial offering to
Jehovah, whose true character as one who loves all mankind was
first appreciated by the inspired prophets of a much later From the
plain of Jericho two or three roads led up to the central plateau
of Canaan. The main road along the Wady Kelt ran past the villages
of Ai and Bethel. At most they were small towns and easily
captured. Along this highway went the Hebrew tribes later known as
the Ephraimites and Manassites. The other roads led through the
wilderness southwestward to the heart of Judah. The frontier town
of Bezek, mentioned in the ancient narrative of Judges, has not yet
been identified. The name is perhaps but a scribal corruption of
Bethlehem or of Bethzur further to the south. The other towns
ultimately captured by the southern tribes were Hebron, with its
copious water supply, Debir to the southwest, and Arad and Horma