Man living before Israel's Monarchy
Achan took devoted things, leading to Israel's defeat at Ai.
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Also known as Achar
Achan was an Israelite from the tribe of Judah who violated God's command by taking devoted things from the conquered city of Jericho (Jos. 7:1). His sin caused Israel's defeat in the battle against Ai. When Joshua sought the Lord's guidance, God revealed that someone had stolen from the devoted things (Jos. 7:10-15).
Through a process of elimination, Achan was identified as the culprit (Jos. 7:16-18). He confessed to taking a beautiful cloak from Shinar, silver, and gold, hiding them in his tent (Jos. 7:19-21). As a result, Achan and his family were stoned to death, and their remains were burned (Jos. 7:24-25). The place where this occurred was named the Valley of Achor, meaning "trouble" (Jos. 7:26). Achan's sin and its consequences were remembered as a warning against unfaithfulness to God (Jos. 22:20).
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Called also Achar, i.e., one who troubles (1 Chr. 2:7), in commemoration of his crime, which brought upon him an awful destruction (Josh. 7:1). On the occasion of the fall of Jericho, he seized, contrary to the divine command, an ingot of gold, a quantity of silver, and a costly Babylonish garment, which he hid in his tent. Joshua was convinced that the defeat which the Israelites afterwards sustained before Ai was a proof of the divine displeasure on account of some crime, and he at once adopted means by the use of the lot for discovering the criminal. It was then found that Achan was guilty, and he was stoned to death in the valley of Achor. He and all that belonged to him were then consumed by fire, and a heap of stones was raised over the ashes.
(troubler), an Israelite of the tribe of Judah, who, when Jericho and all that it contained were accursed and devoted to destruction, secreted a portion of the spoil in his tent. For this sin he was stoned to death with his whole family by the people, in a valley situated between Ai and Jericho, and their remains, together with his property, were burnt. (Joshua 7:19-26) From this event the valley received the name of Achor (i.e. trouble). [Achor, Valley Of] (B.C. 1450.)
or Achar, he that troubleth
A'CHAN, or A'CHAR (troubler), son of Carmi, of the tribe of Judah, whose concealment of a part of the spoils of Jericho in violation of the divine command. Josh 6:18, brought defeat upon his countrymen at Ai. Josh 7:18;1 Chr 2:7. He was providentially convicted, and with his family was stoned to death, and his property, together with their remains, was burnt. The valley in which this event occurred was called after him. See Achor. A'CHAZ, Matt 1:9, the Greek form of Ahaz.
A'CHAN, or A'CHAR (troubler), son of Carmi, of the tribe of Judah, whose concealment of a part of the spoils of Jericho in violation of the divine command. Josh 6:18, brought defeat upon his countrymen at Ai. Josh 7:18;1 Chr 2:7. He was providentially convicted, and with his family was stoned to death, and his property, together with their remains, was burnt. The valley in which this event occurred was called after him. See Achor.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
7 verses in 2 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H5912
The Israelites, however, acted unfaithfully regarding the things devoted to destruction. Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of what was set apart. So the anger of the LORD burned against the Israelites.
And he had the family of Zabdi come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was selected.
So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make a confession to Him. I urge you to tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”
“It is true,” Achan replied, “I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I did:
Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his oxen and donkeys and sheep, his tent, and everything else he owned, and brought them to the Valley of Achor.
Was not Achan son of Zerah unfaithful regarding what was set apart for destruction, bringing wrath upon the whole congregation of Israel? Yet it was not only Achan who perished because of his sin!’”
The son of Carmi: Achar, who brought trouble upon Israel by violating the ban on devoted things.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.