<<SON OF>> etc The Commentator Daat Sofrim says that Scripture emphasizes the high birth of the culprit to illustrate that something was wrong with the entire community. The fish begins to smell from the head. <<ANGER...WAS KINDLED>>: literally nostrils burned as opposed to nostrils extended denoting restraint.  The Commentator Daat Sofrim says that the intention is that up to now God had been holding Himself back and overlooking all kinds of faults. This particular offence caused an arousal not only against the offence itself but also against all the other sins that had until now had been overlooked.

They were over-confident, relied on past successes and assumed that God would continue to intercede for them. They under-estimated the enemy and over-estimated themselves.

<<SHEBARIM>>: means the "breaks". Israel broke down at that point. The names of places often presage events that  later occur there.

Joshua had a point. They had conquered the eastern side of the Jordan. There was plenty of room. They could have stayed there and then perhaps attempted to conquer the western side later. God told them to cross the Jordan and conquer the western side. This was despite the fact that the western side was well-populated with strong fortified cities, warlike peoples who were probably more sophisticated militarily than they were.
The Israelites relied on God, were obeying the commandment of God and therefore it was logical to expect God to help them. Even now people who come to Israel from  overseas when they encounter difficulties suddenly regret leaving their former place of residence or wishing that (if they had to leave anyway, as many of them did) that they had gone elsewhere. This is natural. Human nature is essentially the same all over. We can improve ourselves by small increments and then it is the marginal differences that determine the end result. Water at 99 degrees is still in a liquid state, one more degree and it changes altogether and becomes something else. So too, with human beings. So too, with all of us. We can change and even if we cannot where there is life there is hope. Keep trying and God helps. He  is always there, we must learn to turn to him from time to time.

The defeat was not only a physical one but a moral spiritual one as well. Until now much of their success was due to the terror they struck into the hearts of the opponent, the reputation they had for invincibility and their claim that the God of Israel was the God the Universe and would fight for them. Now everything had been reversed. Suddenly they were revealed as a mass of family-oriented citizens who could not fight  but would run away and allow themselves to be beaten by a relatively small number of opponents. Their enemies were liable to sense the vulnerability of the Israelites and come swarming down for the kill.

Defeat would also be a desecration of the name of God in the eyes of the whole world.
Even now when something bad happens to the Jews in Israel the name of God is desecrated. The calamities may be caused by sin but nevertheless in the eyes of others the Jews are still considered representative of God.
The same applies, surprisingly enough, on another level to the USA. The USA in the eyes of others is considered a religious country. By religious I mean honoring God in the Israelite sense. America and even Britain in a way are also considered as the equivalent of Israelites in the eyes of the heathen. This is a strange phenomenon but it can be sensed.
The same applies to people like you and I. I started out doing research etc and writing. Things took their own turn and now a certain standard is expected of myself for better or for worse. The same applies to Brit-Am people in general. We must now watch more closely how we act, endeavor to act well, and not antagonize people unnecessarily. We made a few mistakes in the past but on the whole I think we learned from them.
How Brit-Am functions and to what degree it succeeds may have implications on how people view the whole subject of Israelite Identity.
We are in need of all of you.  We have a true good message that deserves to succeed and needs to be made known for the good of others and of ourselves. Each one of you should realize that in a way he/she has a stake in us and should endeavor however possible to strengthen yourselves and us.  In some way we are all part of one entity. Nothing is by chance.

<<DISSEMBLED ALSO>>: Joshua had apparently made an enquiry and endeavored to induce the guilty party to come forward of his own volition. An examination and investigation had been conducted and the culprit had lied.

<<BECAUSE THEY WERE ACCURSED>>: I repeat: Not only for the particular sin but for other things as well they had aroused the ire of the Almighty. This anger had been triggered off by the sin in question.

<<SANCTIFY THE PEOPLE>>: This meant to undergo a ritual immersion in a spring, pond, or river and spiritually cleanse themselves.

The lot is about to happen who the individual offender was but it starts off with the tribe and then works down through the household clan before reaching the family. This comes to tell us that even though the individual offender is to be punished he became what he is at least partially due to where he had come from. He is not to be excused for his offence but the society and family structure that produced him is also going to sweat as all eyes turn towards it. It too has offended by not taking care of its own while there was opportunity. A lot of us have children and some children have a tendency to be frequently in trouble. It is not always our fault or if it is the time to do something is sometimes beyond us. Even so, if one prays and corrects oneself and does better  things get improved and sometimes change for the good altogether.

<<MY SON>>: Joshua was a good man. He had compassion even on he who whose behavior had threatened the whole community. He spoke kindly unto him.

<<BABYLONISH>>: The Hebrew has 'of Shinar'. Shinar was the area of Babylonia. In modern terms Shinar is pronounced as Sumer.

<<HIS SONS, AND HIS DAUGHTERS>>:  They too, it appears, had been accomplices and had helped hide the booty.

<<THIS DAY>>: The Commentators mention that Achan would be punished on that day but then it would be over. Through the punishment he would be purified of his sin. After this day he would be free and not be punished in the next world. All Israel stoned him because in a sense all Israel bore some of the guilt and this was their atonement. Punishment of wrongdoers is necessary for the health of society as much as for the sake of the criminal and not just as revenge on behalf of the offended parties.

<<A GREAT HEAP OF STONES>>: The Israelites were accustomed to regularly erect stone heaps and monuments. They continued to do so in their places of exile, as explained in "Ephraim".  Usually however these monuments were erected to commemorate important positive events or future messages.