Person Old Testament
Achan
Also known as Achan =ESV; Achar =NIV, KJV
Achan took devoted things, leading to Israel's defeat at Ai. Mentioned in 7 verses across 2 books, first at Joshua 7:1.
Why it matters. An Israelite who stole devoted things, causing Israel's defeat.
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Achan
Achan was an Israelite from the tribe of Judah who violated God's command by taking devoted things from the conquered city of Jericho (Jos. 7:1). His sin caused Israel's defeat in the battle against Ai. When Joshua sought the Lord's guidance, God revealed that someone had stolen from the devoted things (Jos. 7:10-15).
Through a process of elimination, Achan was identified as the culprit (Jos. 7:16-18). He confessed to taking a beautiful cloak from Shinar, silver, and gold, hiding them in his tent (Jos. 7:19-21). As a result, Achan and his family were stoned to death, and their remains were burned (Jos. 7:24-25). The place where this occurred was named the Valley of Achor, meaning "trouble" (Jos. 7:26). Achan's sin and its consequences were remembered as a warning against unfaithfulness to God (Jos. 22:20).
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Parents
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Appears in Scripture
Named in 7 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.