Iyyar 7 – The Valley of Achor…

Iyyar 7, 5786; from sunset April 23, 2026, to sunset April 24, 2026

(The seventh day of the second month)

This is the name Yehoshua (Joshua); Joshua means “The LORD Saves.” The top image was written ~2,000 years ago and was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The bottom image was written ~1,000 years ago and is from the Aleppo Codex (the Crown of Aleppo). The top image was written on a scroll, possibly in Qumran, near the Dead Sea. The bottom is in a bound manuscript, written in Tiberias, near the Sea of Galilee, which later made its way to Aleppo (Syria). The Aleppo Codex is now housed in the Shrine of the Book alongside the Dead Sea Scrolls.

A few days ago, we remembered Joshua’s conquest of Jericho. The LORD had forbidden Israel from taking booty, however, one man fell prey to temptation. This transgression caused the problems that we’ve been reading about when Israel tried to conquer Ai. Today in the Bible, we’ll see how the LORD dealt with the transgression. Though we don’t have an exact date, it would have happened sometime around now. Let’s remember Achan and the trouble that occurred in the Valley of Achor.

“In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes shall come according to families; and the family which the LORD takes shall come by households; and the household which the LORD takes shall come man by man.

Then it shall be that he who is taken with the accursed thing shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done a disgraceful thing in Israel.’”

So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken. He brought the clan of Judah, and he took the family of the Zarhites; and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. Then he brought his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.

Now Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I beg you, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

And Achan answered Joshua and said, “Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I have done: “When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.”

So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it. And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.

Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.” So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.

Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to this day. – Joshua 7:14-26 (NKJ)

The Hebrew word “achor” (עׇכוֹר) means “trouble.” It comes from a verb (עכר) which means, “to stir up, disturb, trouble, make taboo.” Our man’s name “Achan” (עׇכׇן) is spelled very similarly to “achor.” Achan sure stirred up some trouble by taking the tabooed items. Some scholars say that it’s unclear if his name is related to our verb; while others can’t help but see the wordplay between “achor” and the name of the man who stirred up all of that trouble, “Achan.”.

To read all of our posts about Joshua, please click on the image above.