Achan

Achan (also called Achar, meaning one who troubles) was a man of the tribe of Judah whose covert sin brought military defeat on Israel at Ai. During the conquest of Jericho, which had been placed under the ban of total dedication to the LORD, Achan secretly took a Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold, hiding them under his tent floor. Israel's subsequent defeat at Ai was traced to this violation of the sacred ban.

Joshua's casting of lots identified Achan, who confessed. He and his household and possessions were taken to the Valley of Achor, stoned, and burned. The place-name Achor (trouble) preserved the memory of the episode, while the prophets Isaiah and Hosea later reinterpreted the Valley of Achor as a place of hope and restoration (Isaiah 65:10; Hosea 2:15).