On the brink of conquering the land, the new leader of the Israelites stands before the impenetrable walls of Jericho, deeply immersed in military strategy. In this tense atmosphere, a sudden and dramatic encounter unfolds between the human commander and a divine messenger, an event destined to fundamentally alter his understanding of the impending war.
Although Joshua is described as being in Jericho at the time, he was not actually inside the heavily fortified city. Rather, he was standing at its border, surveying the outskirts. This spatial detail establishes a legal principle that the immediate periphery of a city is treated as the city itself [רש"י, רד"ק, מצודת דוד, חומת אנך]. Pacing the perimeter alone on a strategic patrol, his mind was actively calculating how to breach the defenses and capture the stronghold [רלב"ג, ביאור שטיינזלץ, אברבנאל].
The nature of how this divine messenger appeared is a matter of discussion. One perspective suggests that the entire encounter was a prophetic vision that occurred while Joshua's mind was focused on the upcoming battle, as human senses cannot perceive angels through natural means [רלב"ג]. Conversely, another approach maintains that the event took place while he was fully awake. The figure appeared exclusively to him and was invisible to anyone else who might have been present, a fact that led Joshua to realize he was experiencing a divine revelation rather than confronting a mortal [אברבנאל].
The messenger appeared in the guise of a soldier with a drawn sword, fully unsheathed and ready for combat [מצודת ציון]. This martial presentation was intended to fortify Joshua's courage and herald the approaching victory [רד"ק], while also signaling that the forthcoming divine message would pertain directly to the immediate military conflict [רלב"ג, מלבי"ם].
Approaching the unfamiliar figure in this zone of conflict, Joshua asked a seemingly straightforward question: are you with us, or with our adversaries? On a basic level, he was simply trying to ascertain the allegiance of the armed stranger [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. However, a deeper strategic and theological layer exists within this inquiry. Having recognized the figure as an angel, Joshua was puzzled as to why the messenger stood facing him rather than facing the enemy. He was asking whether the angel had arrived merely to embolden the Israelites so they could fight with their own strength, or if the angel intended to strike the enemies directly, delivering a grand salvation without requiring human effort [מלבי"ם].
Another approach views this question as a challenge to the angel's very mission. Knowing that his teacher Moses had previously refused the assistance of an angel, insisting that God alone lead the nation, Joshua questioned whether this messenger was sent to manage the war, or if the salvation would still come directly from God [אלשיך]. On a homiletic level, the question represents a spiritual investigation into the nature of the angel's impending rebuke. Joshua wondered if the nation was being reprimanded for neglecting the study of Torah—a pursuit that belongs exclusively to the Israelites and protects only them—or for the neglect of the sacrificial offerings, which have a broader impact that extends even to the surrounding nations [אהבת יהונתן].
Ultimately, the purpose of this startling revelation was to initiate a profound shift in perspective. While Joshua was preoccupied with tactical, human plans for the siege of Jericho, the angel arrived to clarify that the city would not fall by sword and spear, but through a divine miracle. The instruction he would soon receive to remove his shoes served as a symbolic directive: he needed to strip away his reliance on conventional military strategies and recognize that both the physical location and the entire campaign were completely holy to God [אברבנאל].