יהושע, פרק ז׳, פסוק י״ז

The search for the guilty individual unfolded in a highly structured, narrowing process of elimination. It began at the broadest level of an entire tribe and methodically drilled down to one specific household. Although Judah was a massive tribe, it is initially referred to as a family. The primary approach among commentators is that the biblical narrative occasionally uses the term "family" to represent a whole tribe, or uses a common shorthand to refer collectively to all the families within that tribe [מצודת דוד, רד"ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The lottery operated through gradual stages. Initially, one representative from every family in the tribe was brought forward. Once a specific family was chosen, a representative from each household within that family was presented, and finally, all the members of that specific household were brought forth [רש"י]. During the stage where the family was narrowed down to a household, the gathering did not involve every single man in the broader family. Instead, it focused exclusively on the men serving as the heads of the households. From these representatives, the lot fell upon Zabdi, marking his household as the one from which the guilty man, Achan, would ultimately be singled out [רש"י, מצודת דוד, רד"ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The narrative subtly shifts between describing the selection as an active action and a passive event. One perspective suggests this active phrasing highlights that the Ark of the Covenant itself was doing the catching, actively singling out the guilty party [רד"ק]. Another approach offers a logical explanation based on the process of elimination. Unlike the tribes that passed before the Ark one by one until Judah was selected, the Zerahite family was the very last in line among the families of Judah. Because all the preceding families had already passed before the Ark and were cleared, the Zerahites were identified by default. They did not even need to pass before the Ark. Consequently, it was Joshua who actively singled them out based on this elimination, rather than them being passively selected by the Ark [מלבי"ם].