The Fall of Jericho: 5:13–15 Once the people are prepared to do battle in the name of the Lord, Joshua meets a mysterious visitor near Jericho (lit. in Jericho). The stranger is a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand (5:13). Joshua reacts like an alert sentry. He calls the man to identify himself: Are you for us or for our enemies? That request is especially relevant for a warrior standing with a drawn sword.

The reply of the stranger puzzles interpreters. The NIV translates it, Neither, . . . but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come (5:14). The answer could be literally, “No!” or the Hebrew could be understood as an emphatic “Indeed!” (Soggin, Joshua, p. 77). The question calls for a positive answer, but the negative one can also make sense in the con…