Name that Place

Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his ^[a]oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to the Valley of ^[b]Achor.  Joshua 7:24  NASB

Achor – Perhaps you’ve noticed a few unusual things about this event.  I’m sure you’re familiar with Achan’s deception and the parade to determine his guilt.  You probably know the outcome—execution.  Achan not only appropriated what was prohibited, his act challenged Joshua’s authority, and was therefore a challenge to God’s election much the same way that Korach challenged Moses.  But put that issue aside for a moment and ask yourself two questions.  First, where’s the wife?  In this list of all the things of Achan, his wife is conspicuously absent.  Why?  And secondly, why does Joshua move to a different location to perform the execution, especially since the whole body of Israel, several million, go with him (the NASB glosses the Hebrew וְכָל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל as “they”)?  Why move to another place to carry out the verdict?

Let’s take the second question first.  The Hebrew word, ʿākôr , as the name of a place, occurs only five times in the Tanakh, always in association with “valley” (ʿēmeq).  Three of those occurrences are in this story.  The other two are Isaiah 65:10 and Hosea 2:15.

“Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for My people who seek Me.”   Isaiah 65:10  NASB

“Then I will give her her vineyards from there, and the ^[a]Valley of Achor as a door of hope.
And she will ^[b]respond there as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she went up from the land of Egypt.”  Hosea 2:15  NASB

In both of these occurrences, God emphasizes His ability to turn something despicable and tragic into something full of goodness and grace.  The Valley of Achor is a place of disaster but God will convert it into a blessing.  In both of these occurrences, the reference is to the event in Joshua, marking the valley of Achor as cursed.  This helps us understand the need for a change in location.  This is one of those cases where the name of the place is fixed because of the event.  The valley was not called Achor prior to Achan’s execution.  It was named Achor because of what happened there.  As a result of this judgment, this valley becomes a cursed place, a place that exists as a reminder of the tragic event.  No one would want to live in such a place.  And since the children of Israel will occupy this land, Joshua chooses to execute Achan in a place that is set apart.  Not surprisingly, the verbal form of ʿākôr means “trouble, disturb, pollute, something foul.”  Only God can rescue Achor from its history.

Now, what about the wife?  Interestingly, Achan’s wife is never mentioned in Scripture.  Since everything of Achan’s is destroyed right down to the tent, it is remarkable that there is not a single word about her.  Since Achan’s act polluted the entire family, all that pollution had to be removed.  That she isn’t mentioned may indicate that she died prior to these circumstances.  Who knows?  Oh, and by the way, rabbinic commentaries all say that the children were not executed.  No one wants to claim that the children were punished for the sin of the father.

One more point.  If the children were not executed, how did they survive?  All their inheritance was gone right down to the tent.  They become the first homeless citizens of Israel.  What do you suppose happened to them?

Topical Index: ʿākôr, curse, Isaiah 65:10, Hosea 2:15, Joshua 7:24