יהושע, פרק ו׳, פסוק ז׳

As the Israelites prepared to circle the walls of Jericho, a unique marching order was established to highlight the miraculous nature of the upcoming battle. The command to begin the march was issued collectively by Joshua and the priests, though Joshua stood at the forefront as the primary leader directing the people [רד״ק].

He instructed the nation to move forward, fundamentally altering their usual travel formation. Normally, the Ark of the Covenant led the camp. For this event, however, the entire nation was required to advance and position themselves ahead of the Ark. To ensure the Ark was treated with the utmost respect and not simply moved backward, the people advanced to the front first. They were then followed by the armed vanguard, which ultimately positioned the Ark at the rear of the procession [מלבי״ם].

This vanguard consisted of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, who were fully armed and equipped for combat [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Their specific placement ahead of the Ark of God reveals the true essence of the conflict at Jericho. In standard warfare, these heavily armed tribes would march at the very front of the entire nation as the lead warriors. But the conquest of Jericho was a clear miracle, a battle where the Ark itself acted as the central warrior and conqueror.

Because of this divine intervention, the vanguard did not lead the nation into battle as they normally would. Instead, they functioned as an honor guard surrounding the Ark, much like bodyguards protecting a military commander. This specific arrangement fulfilled the original condition these tribes had agreed to with Moses: they were to cross over as a vanguard directly before God for a miraculous campaign, rather than merely marching ahead of the people [מלבי״ם].