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The tribes Ephraim and Manasseh, with the Lord’s assistance, goes up against Bethel, previously known as Luz. They use a local man to find the city’s entrance, conquer Bethel, and spare the man’s family. The man then relocates to the land of the Hittites, where he builds a new city and names it Luz.

The descendants of the Kenite join the tribe of Judah in their territory. Despite the Lord’s presence, Judah fails to drive out the inhabitants of the valley, beginning to show the start of their failures. Caleb is given Hebron and drives out the Anakim, but the tribe of Benjamin also fails in their war efforts.

Caleb offers his daughter Achsah in marriage to whoever captures Kiriath—sepher. Othniel, Caleb’s nephew, successfully captures the city and marries Achsah. Achsah then asks Caleb for a field and additional water resources, and Caleb grants her the upper and lower springs.

The sons of Judah capture Jerusalem, defeating its inhabitants and setting the city on fire. They then continue their campaign against the Canaanites in various regions, ultimately conquering Hebron and defeating its notable inhabitants, Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

After many years as leader of the twelve tribes of Israel, Joshua dies. Though they now live in the Promised Land, the Israelites are still in the process of establishing their control of the region.

The two-thirds of mankind that were not killed by the plagues of the sixth trumpet are stubborn. They do not repent of their evil ways, even in the face of destruction, much like how Pharaoh’s heart was hardened even after nine plagues in Exodus.

The horses of the army display traits unlike earthly horses, like the ability to breathe fire, smoke, and brimstone and tails like serpents, which they use to kill a third of mankind.

The sixth trumpet is sounded and four angels that will kill a third of mankind are released, along with multitudes of armies of horsemen.

The locusts from the pit are described in more physical detail. They are otherworldly in appearance; war imagery like breastplates and chariots is used to describe them, increasing our understanding of their might and terror.

The fifth trumpet is sounded and a bottomless pit is opened, out of which come beings described as locusts like scorpions, who are given the authority to use their sting to torment those who do not have God’s seal. This will last for five months.

The Securing of the Tomb: The day after Jesus’s crucifixion, the religious leaders who conspired to murder Him are still worried. They recalled how Jesus claimed that He would rise from the dead after three days. They feared that His disciples may come and steal His body out of the tomb and falsely claim that He did rise from the grave. If they did these things, then it would potentially make the Jesus Movement bigger, more threatening, and more difficult to stop than ever before. Therefore, they request that Pilate guard the tomb for three days. He gives them permission to secure it as best they know how, and they do.

The Burial of Jesus: Matthew explains how the Messiah’s body was hastily buried before the Sabbath. A rich man named Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate to request Jesus’s body, which Pilate granted. Joseph then wrapped Jesus’s corpse in clean linen cloth and laid it in his own nearby tomb and rolled a large stone in front of it. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary saw where His body was laid. Matthew’s explanation is also a reference to a Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 53:9.

Matthew reports that there were many women who witnessed Jesus suffer and die. These women had been longtime followers and supporters of Jesus and were from Galilee. Matthew identifies three of these women: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John.

The Centurion who was in charge of overseeing Jesus’s crucifixion, along with the other soldiers with him, became very afraid when they saw the earthquake and similar events which occurred when Jesus died. They confess that Jesus truly was the Son of God. This event is sometimes called “The Centurion’s Confession.”

Matthew notes four remarkable events that happened when Jesus the Messiah died.

Jesus cried out with a loud voice and dismissed His spirit. The death of Jesus makes the Gospel possible.

Matthew addresses a misconception that some of those standing there had about what Jesus said in the previous verse. They thought Jesus was calling for the prophet Elijah to rescue Him, instead of crying out to God. One of them brings Jesus sour wine to drink, thus fulfilling the second prophecy of Psalm 69:21. The bystanders wait in curiosity or scorn to see whether or not Elijah will come rescue Him from the cross.

After three hours of darkness, Jesus cries out, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken Me?” This expression is a quotation of Psalm 22, which is prophetic of the Messiah’s sufferings. Jesus’s outcry is also the Gospel’s clearest glimpse into His suffering on the cross as He bore the sins of the world.

Darkness fell upon all the land between the sixth and ninth hour on the day Jesus was crucified. Matthew’s simple and factual account of the crucifixion darkness is both rich in meaning and is the fulfillment of a dozen or more prophecies.

The third and fourth of seven trumpets are sounded, at which a great star, being a spiritual being, falls from heaven, and a third of the sun, moon, and stars are darkened. An eagle then appears to declare woe and warn of the final three trumpets.