Collective Punishment for Akhan's Sin

Exegetical Approaches

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Those who were killed had sinned and were deserving of punishment.

What was their sin?

Forgetting Hashem – The people sinned in thinking that it was their own military power, rather than Hashem, which brought them victory.¹ Akhan's taking of the spoils had betrayed the same sentiment, that he, not Hashem was the victor in battle. Thus, all penalized parties were guilty of the same crime.

Taking of spoils – R"Y Bekhor Shor, Rabbi Yaakov Fidanque, and Hoil Moshe maintain that Yehoshua had warned the people to watch over the spoils to ensure that no one took of them, and to report to him if anyone had. The people either did not watch properly, failed to report the offender, or worse, actively helped Akhan to hide the spoils. Thus, those punished were, in effect, accessories to the crime.
Unknown sins – The people who died were each independently guilty of their own crimes, unrelated to Akhan's actions or the battle at hand.

Attribution of Sin to Israel – The attributing of sin to the nation is logical, for they too were guilty:

According to the approach that the people were accomplices to Akhan, the heading "וַיִּמְעֲלוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מַעַל בַּחֵרֶם" is appropriate as they too participated in the trespassing. They would explain that the language of "חָטָא יִשְׂרָאֵל וְגַם עָבְרוּ אֶת בְּרִיתִי" in verse 11 refers to the actions listed in the rest of the verse: "לָקְחוּ מִן הַחֵרֶם וְגַם גָּנְבוּ וְגַם כִּחֲשׁוּ וְגַם שָׂמוּ בִכְלֵיהֶם". Since the people either condoned or abetted the action, the theft itself is attributed to them. Hoil Moshe adds that the verb "כִּחֲשׁוּ" (denied) supports that they tried to cover up for Akhan.

Singling out of Akhan

Why was Akhan originally spared?

Collective punishment

Despite the fact that only Akhan sinned, innocent people were also punished.