'City' in the Bible

Later, Cain had sexual relations with his wife. She became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain founded a city and named it after his son Enoch.

along with Resen, which was located between Nineveh and the great city of Calah.

Then they said, "Come on! Let's build ourselves a city and a tower, with its summit in the heavens, and let's make a name for ourselves so we won't be scattered over the surface of the whole earth."

However, the LORD descended to look over the city and the tower that the humans were building.

So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the surface of the whole earth, so that they had to stop building the city.

Perhaps there are 50 righteous ones within the city. Will you actually destroy it and not forgive the place for the sake of the 50 righteous that are found there?

What if there are five less than 50 righteous ones? Will you bring destruction upon the city because of those five?" The LORD said, "I won't destroy it if I find 45 there."

The two angels entered Sodom at sunset while Lot was sitting in the gate area of the city. When Lot saw them, he got up, greeted them, bowed low with his face to the ground,

"Do you have anyone else here in the city?" the angels asked Lot. "A son-in-law? Sons? Daughters? Get them out of this place,

Lot then went out and told his sons-in-law (they had married his daughters), "Get out of here! The LORD is going to destroy this city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

As dawn was breaking, the angels pressured Lot. "Get going!" they told him. "Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be engulfed by the devastation that's coming to this city."

But Lot kept lingering in the city, so the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters (because of the LORD's compassion for him!), brought them out of the city, and left them outside.

Now since Ephron the Hittite had taken a seat there among the Hittites, he responded publicly to Abraham where the Hittites and everyone who was entering the gate of his city could hear him:

to Abraham in the presence of all the Hittites and everyone who was entering the city gate.

As they were leaving, they all blessed Rebekah by saying, "Our sister, may you become the mother of tens of millions! May your descendants take over the city gates of those who hate them."

So Isaac named the well Shebah, which is why the city is named Beer-sheba to this day.

and named the place Beth-el, although previously the city had been named Luz.

After Jacob had arrived safely from Paddan-aram, he entered the city of Shechem, which was located in the territory of Canaan, and encamped facing that city.

Now Shechem was the most important person in his father's household. So Hamor and his son Shechem entered the gate of their city and addressed the men of their city.

All of the males who heard Hamor and his son Shechem, who had gone out to the city gate, were circumcised.

Three days later, while they were still in pain, Jacob's sons Simeon and Levi, two of Dinah's brothers, each grabbed a sword and entered the city unannounced, intending to kill all the males.

Jacob's other sons came along afterward and plundered the city where their sister had been defiled,

seizing all of their flocks, herds, donkeys, and whatever else was in the city or had been left out in the field.

Joseph collected the surplus food throughout the land of Egypt, storing food in cities; that is, he gathered the food from fields that surrounded every city and stored it there.

They had not traveled far from the city when Joseph ordered his palace manager, "Get up, follow those men, and when you've caught up with them, ask them, "Why did you repay evil for good?

At this, they all tore their clothes, reloaded their donkeys, and returned to the city.

Moses told him, "When I leave the city I'll spread out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease and the hail won't continue, so that you may know that the earth belongs to the LORD.

Then Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to the LORD. The thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured out on the land.

then the priest is to command that they take out the contaminated stones and discard them in an unclean place outside the city.

"Now as for the house, they are to scrape off inside and outside the house and then discard the torn out plaster in an unclean place outside the city.

He is to pull down the house, its stones, its lumber, and all the plaster on the house, and discard them in an unclean place outside the city.

Then he is to send the bird away, outside the city, facing the fields, to make atonement for the house. Then it is to be considered clean.

"If a person sells a residential house in a walled city, he is to redeem it within the year in which it was sold. He may have right to its redemption for a full year.

Then we cried to the LORD and he heard our voice, sending us a messenger who brought us out of Egypt. Now look! We've arrived in Kadesh, a city at the extreme end of your territory.

Heshbon was the capital city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who fought against the previous king of Moab and captured all his land from his capital city to Arnon.

Therefore the ones who speak in proverbs say: Come to Heshbon and let it be built! Let the city of Sihon be established!

A fire has gone out from Heshbon, and a flame from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab and the lords of the high places who lived in Arnon.

When Balak heard that Balaam had arrived, he went out to meet him in the city of Moab on the border of Arnon at the extreme end of his territory.

He will rule over Jacob, annihilating those who survive in the city."

From Aroer on the edge of Arnon Valley and from the town all the way to Gilead, there was no city that was too strong for us the LORD our God delivered them all to us.

Then we captured all his cities at that time. There was not a city left that we didn't capture from them 60 cities in all from the region of Argob, which is part of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

We utterly destroyed them, just as we did King Sihon of Heshbon, attacking them in every city the men, women, and children.

"Rejoice in the presence of the LORD your God you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the descendant of Levi who is in your city for there is no territorial allotment for him as you have.

Rejoice in the presence of the LORD your God with your son, daughter, male and female slaves, the descendants of Levi who is in your city, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow among you, at the place where the LORD your God will choose to establish his name.

summon the man or the woman who did this evil thing to your city gates. Then stone the man or the woman to death.

"Any descendant of Levi who wishes to do so may come from any city or part of Israel where he resides to the place that the LORD will choose.

then the elders of his own city shall send for him, remove him from there, and deliver him to the related avenger for execution.

"When you approach a city to wage war against it, extend terms of peace.

The women, children, all the livestock in the city, and all of the spoil and plunder will belong to you. Appropriate the spoil of your enemies, which the LORD your God will give you.

"When you attack a city and have to fight against it for many days, don't destroy its trees by cutting them down with an ax. You may eat from them, but you must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human beings, that you would come and attack them?

However, you may cut down the trees whose fruit you know isn't edible, in order to build siege works against the city that waged war with you, until it falls."

Then the elders of the city nearest the body are to take a heifer that hasn't been put to work or hasn't pulled a yoke

All the elders of the city nearest the dead body are to wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley,

then his parents are to seize him and bring him before the elders at the gate of his city.

Then they are to declare to the elders of their city: "Our son is stubborn and rebellious. He does not obey us. He lives wildly and is a drunkard.'

Then all the men of his city are to stone him with boulders so that he dies. This is how you will remove this evil from among you. Then all Israel will hear of it and will be afraid."

Now look, he has invented charges against her by saying, "I haven't found your daughter to be a virgin." But here is the proof of my daughter's virginity.' Then they are to spread the cloth before the elders of the city.

The elders of that city will then take the man, punish him,

they are to bring her to the door of her father's house. Then the men of the city are to stone her with boulders until she dies for doing a detestable thing in Israel acting like a prostitute while in her father's house. By doing this, you will remove this evil from among you.

"If a man meets a young virgin lady in the city who is engaged to be married and has sexual relations with her,

then the two must be brought to the city gate and there they must be stoned to death the girl because she was in a city but did not cry out for help, and the man who abused a woman who was engaged to another man. By doing this you are to remove this evil from among you.

Don't take advantage of a hired person who is poor and needy, whether he's your fellow citizen or a foreigner who lives in your city.

But if the man does not want to marry his brother's widow, then she must go to the elders at the city gate and declare, "My husband's brother refuses to perform the duty of a brother-in-law in order to preserve the name of his brother in Israel. He is not willing to perform the duty of a brother-in-law.'

Then the elders of the city are to summon him and speak with him. If he insists on saying, "I don't want to marry her,'

"Blessed will you be in the city and blessed will you be in the country.

"Cursed will you be in the city and cursed will you be in the country.

including the Negev, the Arabah, the valley of Jericho, and the city of the palm trees as far as Zoar.

At dusk, when it was time to close the city gates, the men left. I don't know where the men went. Go after them quickly, and you might overtake them."

So the men pursued them along the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan River. As soon as the search party had left, they shut the city gate after them.

the water flowing downstream from above stood still in a single location, a great distance away at Adam, a city near Zarethan. The water that flowed south toward the sea in the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho.

March around the city, all the soldiers circling the city once. Do this for six days,

with seven priests carrying in front of the ark seven trumpets made from rams' horns. On the seventh day march around the city seven times while the priests blow their trumpets.

When they sound a long blast with the ram's horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then the entire army is to cry out loud, the city wall will collapse, and then all of the soldiers are to charge straight ahead."

He told the army, "Go out and encircle the city. Have the armed men march out in front of the ark of the LORD."

So the ark of the LORD was taken once around the city, then they went back to camp and spent the night there.

On the second day they marched around the city once and then went back to camp. They did this for six days.

They rose early at dawn on the seventh day and marched around the city seven times, just as they had before, except that on that day only they marched around the city seven times.

As they completed the seventh time, after the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua told the army, "Shout, because the LORD has given you the city!

The city along with everything in it is to be turned over to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone who is with her in her house may live, because she hid the scouts we sent.

So the army shouted and the trumpets were blown again. As soon as the army heard the sound of the trumpets, they shouted loudly and the wall collapsed. The army charged straight ahead into the city and captured it.

They turned over everyone in the city for destruction and executed them, including both men and women, young and old, and oxen, sheep, and donkeys.

Then the army set fire to the city and to everything in it, except that they reserved the silver, gold, and vessels of bronze and iron for the treasury of the LORD.

Then Joshua made everyone take the following oath at that time. He said: "Cursed in the presence of the LORD is the man who restores and rebuilds this city of Jericho! He will lay its foundation at the cost of his firstborn, and at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates."

The men of Ai killed about 36 of them, pursuing them outside the city gates as far as Shebarim, killing them as they descended. As a result, the army became terrified and lost their confidence.

The LORD then told Joshua, "Don't be afraid or lose heart! Take all the fighting men with you, and go up right now to Ai. Take note that I have handed over the king of Ai into your control, along with his people, his city, and his land.

Do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, but take its spoil and its livestock as war booty for yourselves. Set an ambush around the city."

telling them, "Pay attention now! You are to set up an ambush around the city. Don't go very far from the city, and all of you remain on alert.

I and all of the army with me will advance upon the city. When they come out after us like they did before, we'll run away from them.

They'll come after us until we've drawn them away from the city, because they'll say, "They're running away from us just like they did before.' While we're running away from them,

you get up from the ambush and seize the city, because the LORD your God will give it into your control.

When you've taken the city, set it on fire, just as the LORD ordered. Look! These are your orders!"

The entire fighting force with him attacked, approaching the city, and camped on the north side of Ai, with a ravine between them and Ai.

Taking about 5,000 men, he set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai to the west of the city,

stationing their forces with its main encampment north of the city and its rear guard to the west. Joshua spent that night in the valley.

When the king of Ai saw what had happened, he and his army quickly got up early and went out to meet Israel in battle. He and all his people met at the place adjacent to the desert plain. But he didn't know about the ambush that had been set for him on the other side of the city.

everyone in the city followed after them. As they pursued Joshua, they were drawn away from the town.

There wasn't a single man left in Ai or Bethel who didn't run out after Israel. They left the city open and pursued Israel.

Then the LORD told Joshua, "Stretch out the battle lance that's in your hand toward Ai, because I will give it into your control." So Joshua stretched out the battle lance that was in his hand toward the city.

As soon as he stretched out his hand, the troops in ambush quickly got up from their place of hiding and attacked. They entered the city, seized it, and immediately set it on fire.

Then the men of Ai looked back behind them and all of a sudden! smoke from the city was rising into the sky. They were unable to run in any direction, because the Israelis who had fled toward the wilderness had turned around to attack their pursuers.