1 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land:
2 And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it.
3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valor, and sent them away by night.
4 And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready:
5 And I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them,
6 (For they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them.
7 Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand.
8 And it shall be, when ye have taken the city, that ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the LORD shall ye do. See, I have commanded you.
9 Joshua therefore sent them forth: and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people.
10 And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and numbered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.
11 And all the people, even the people of war that were with him, went up, and drew nigh, and came before the city, and pitched on the north side of Ai: now there was a valley between them and Ai.
12 And he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
13 And when they had set the people, even all the host that was on the north of the city, and their liers in wait on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley.
14 And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he wist not that there were liers in ambush against him behind the city.
15 And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
16 And all the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city.
17 And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel.
18 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thine hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city.
19 And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand: and they entered into the city, and took it, and hasted and set the city on fire.
20 And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.
21 And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and slew the men of Ai.
22 And the other issued out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side: and they smote them, so that they let none of them remain or escape.
23 And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.
24 And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness wherein they chased them, and when they were all fallen on the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned unto Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword.
25 And so it was, that all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai.
26 For Joshua drew not his hand back, wherewith he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
27 Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for a prey unto themselves, according unto the word of the LORD which he commanded Joshua.
28 And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever, even a desolation unto this day.
29 And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcass down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day.
30 Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal,
31 As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings.
32 And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.
33 And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.
34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law.
35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them.
1 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Joshua, H3091 Fear H3372 not, neither be thou dismayed: H2865 take H3947 all the people H5971 of war H4421 with thee, and arise, H6965 go up H5927 to Ai: H5857 see, H7200 I have given H5414 into thy hand H3027 the king H4428 of Ai, H5857 and his people, H5971 and his city, H5892 and his land: H776
2 And thou shalt do H6213 to Ai H5857 and her king H4428 as thou didst H6213 unto Jericho H3405 and her king: H4428 only the spoil H7998 thereof, and the cattle H929 thereof, shall ye take for a prey H962 unto yourselves: lay H7760 thee an ambush H693 for the city H5892 behind H310 it.
3 So Joshua H3091 arose, H6965 and all the people H5971 of war, H4421 to go up H5927 against Ai: H5857 and Joshua H3091 chose out H977 thirty H7970 thousand H505 mighty H1368 men H376 of valour, H2428 and sent them away H7971 by night. H3915
4 And he commanded H6680 them, saying, H559 Behold, H7200 ye shall lie in wait H693 against the city, H5892 even behind H310 the city: H5892 go H7368 not very H3966 far H7368 from the city, H5892 but be ye all ready: H3559
5 And I, and all the people H5971 that are with me, will approach H7126 unto the city: H5892 and it shall come to pass, when they come out H3318 against H7125 us, as at the first, H7223 that we will flee H5127 before H6440 them,
6 (For they will come out H3318 after H310 us) till we have drawn H5423 them from the city; H5892 for they will say, H559 They flee H5127 before H6440 us, as at the first: H7223 therefore we will flee H5127 before H6440 them.
7 Then ye shall rise up H6965 from the ambush, H693 and seize H3423 upon the city: H5892 for the LORD H3068 your God H430 will deliver H5414 it into your hand. H3027
8 And it shall be, when ye have taken H8610 the city, H5892 that ye shall set H3341 the city H5892 on fire: H784 according to the commandment H1697 of the LORD H3068 shall ye do. H6213 See, H7200 I have commanded H6680 you.
9 Joshua H3091 therefore sent them forth: H7971 and they went H3212 to lie in ambush, H3993 and abode H3427 between Bethel H1008 and Ai, H5857 on the west side H3220 of Ai: H5857 but Joshua H3091 lodged H3885 that night H3915 among H8432 the people. H5971
10 And Joshua H3091 rose up early H7925 in the morning, H1242 and numbered H6485 the people, H5971 and went up, H5927 he and the elders H2205 of Israel, H3478 before H6440 the people H5971 to Ai. H5857
11 And all the people, H5971 even the people of war H4421 that were with him, went up, H5927 and drew nigh, H5066 and came H935 before the city, H5892 and pitched H2583 on the north side H6828 of Ai: H5857 now there was a valley H1516 between them and Ai. H5857
12 And he took H3947 about five H2568 thousand H505 men, H376 and set H7760 them to lie in ambush H693 between Bethel H1008 and Ai, H5857 on the west side H3220 of the city. H5857 H5892
13 And when they had set H7760 the people, H5971 even all the host H4264 that was on the north H6828 of the city, H5892 and their liers in wait H6119 on the west H3220 of the city, H5892 Joshua H3091 went H3212 that night H3915 into the midst H8432 of the valley. H6010
14 And it came to pass, when the king H4428 of Ai H5857 saw H7200 it, that they hasted H4116 and rose up early, H7925 and the men H582 of the city H5892 went out H3318 against H7125 Israel H3478 to battle, H4421 he and all his people, H5971 at a time appointed, H4150 before H6440 the plain; H6160 but he wist H3045 not that there were liers in ambush H693 against him behind H310 the city. H5892
15 And Joshua H3091 and all Israel H3478 made as if they were beaten H5060 before H6440 them, and fled H5127 by the way H1870 of the wilderness. H4057
16 And all the people H5971 that were in Ai H5857 H5892 were called H2199 together to pursue H7291 after H310 them: and they pursued H7291 after H310 Joshua, H3091 and were drawn away H5423 from the city. H5892
17 And there was not a man H376 left H7604 in Ai H5857 or Bethel, H1008 that went not out H3318 after H310 Israel: H3478 and they left H5800 the city H5892 open, H6605 and pursued H7291 after Israel. H3478
18 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Joshua, H3091 Stretch out H5186 the spear H3591 that is in thy hand H3027 toward Ai; H5857 for I will give H5414 it into thine hand. H3027 And Joshua H3091 stretched out H5186 the spear H3591 that he had in his hand H3027 toward the city. H5892
19 And the ambush H693 arose H6965 quickly H4120 out of their place, H4725 and they ran H7323 as soon as he had stretched out H5186 his hand: H3027 and they entered H935 into the city, H5892 and took H3920 it, and hasted H4116 and set H3341 the city H5892 on fire. H784
20 And when the men H582 of Ai H5857 looked H6437 behind H310 them, they saw, H7200 and, behold, the smoke H6227 of the city H5892 ascended up H5927 to heaven, H8064 and they had no power H3027 to flee H5127 this way or that way: H2008 and the people H5971 that fled H5127 to the wilderness H4057 turned back H2015 upon the pursuers. H7291
21 And when Joshua H3091 and all Israel H3478 saw H7200 that the ambush H693 had taken H3920 the city, H5892 and that the smoke H6227 of the city H5892 ascended, H5927 then they turned again, H7725 and slew H5221 the men H582 of Ai. H5857
22 And the other H428 issued out H3318 of the city H5892 against H7125 them; so they were in the midst H8432 of Israel, H3478 some on this side, and some on that side: and they smote H5221 them, so that H5704 they let H7604 none of them remain H8300 or escape. H6412
23 And the king H4428 of Ai H5857 they took H8610 alive, H2416 and brought H7126 him to Joshua. H3091
24 And it came to pass, when Israel H3478 had made an end H3615 of slaying H2026 all the inhabitants H3427 of Ai H5857 in the field, H7704 in the wilderness H4057 wherein they chased H7291 them, and when they were all fallen H5307 on the edge H6310 of the sword, H2719 until they were consumed, H8552 that all the Israelites H3478 returned H7725 unto Ai, H5857 and smote H5221 it with the edge H6310 of the sword. H2719
25 And so it was, that all that fell H5307 that day, H3117 both of men H376 and women, H802 were twelve H8147 H6240 thousand, H505 even all the men H582 of Ai. H5857
26 For Joshua H3091 drew H7725 not his hand H3027 back, H7725 wherewith he stretched out H5186 the spear, H3591 until he had utterly destroyed H2763 all the inhabitants H3427 of Ai. H5857
27 Only the cattle H929 and the spoil H7998 of that city H5892 Israel H3478 took for a prey H962 unto themselves, according unto the word H1697 of the LORD H3068 which he commanded H6680 Joshua. H3091
28 And Joshua H3091 burnt H8313 Ai, H5857 and made H7760 it an heap H8510 for ever, H5769 even a desolation H8077 unto this day. H3117
29 And the king H4428 of Ai H5857 he hanged H8518 on a tree H6086 until eventide: H6256 H6153 and as soon as the sun H8121 was down, H935 Joshua H3091 commanded H6680 that they should take H3381 his carcase H5038 down H3381 from the tree, H6086 and cast H7993 it at the entering H6607 of the gate H8179 of the city, H5892 and raise H6965 thereon a great H1419 heap H1530 of stones, H68 that remaineth unto this day. H3117
30 Then Joshua H3091 built H1129 an altar H4196 unto the LORD H3068 God H430 of Israel H3478 in mount H2022 Ebal, H5858
31 As Moses H4872 the servant H5650 of the LORD H3068 commanded H6680 the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 as it is written H3789 in the book H5612 of the law H8451 of Moses, H4872 an altar H4196 of whole H8003 stones, H68 over which no man hath lift up H5130 any iron: H1270 and they offered H5927 thereon burnt offerings H5930 unto the LORD, H3068 and sacrificed H2076 peace offerings. H8002
32 And he wrote H3789 there upon the stones H68 a copy H4932 of the law H8451 of Moses, H4872 which he wrote H3789 in the presence H6440 of the children H1121 of Israel. H3478
33 And all Israel, H3478 and their elders, H2205 and officers, H7860 and their judges, H8199 stood H5975 on this side the ark H727 and on that side before the priests H3548 the Levites, H3881 which bare H5375 the ark H727 of the covenant H1285 of the LORD, H3068 as well the stranger, H1616 as he that was born H249 among them; half H2677 of them over H413 against H4136 mount H2022 Gerizim, H1630 and half H2677 of them over against H4136 mount H2022 Ebal; H5858 as Moses H4872 the servant H5650 of the LORD H3068 had commanded H6680 before, H7223 that they should bless H1288 the people H5971 of Israel. H3478
34 And afterward H310 he read H7121 all the words H1697 of the law, H8451 the blessings H1293 and cursings, H7045 according to all that is written H3789 in the book H5612 of the law. H8451
35 There was not a word H1697 of all that Moses H4872 commanded, H6680 which Joshua H3091 read H7121 not before all the congregation H6951 of Israel, H3478 with the women, H802 and the little ones, H2945 and the strangers H1616 that were conversant H1980 among H7130 them.
1 And Jehovah said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai; see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land;
2 And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: set thee an ambush for the city behind it.
3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up to Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand men, the mighty men of valor, and sent them forth by night.
4 And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city; go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready:
5 and I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city. And it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them;
6 and they will come out after us, till we have drawn them away from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: so we will flee before them;
7 and ye shall rise up from the ambush, and take possession of the city: for Jehovah your God will deliver it into your hand.
8 And it shall be, when ye have seized upon the city, that ye shall set the city on fire; according to the word of Jehovah shall ye do: see, I have commanded you.
9 And Joshua sent them forth; and they went to the ambushment, and abode between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people.
10 And Joshua arose up early in the morning, and mustered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.
11 And all the people, `even' the `men of' war that were with him, went up, and drew nigh, and came before the city, and encamped on the north side of Ai: now there was a valley between him and Ai.
12 And he took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of the city.
13 So they set the people, even all the host that was on the north of the city, and their liers-in-wait that were on the west of the city; and Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley.
14 And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at the time appointed, before the Arabah; but he knew not that there was an ambush against him behind the city.
15 And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
16 And all the people that were in the city were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city.
17 And there was not a man left in Ai or Beth-el, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel.
18 And Jehovah said unto Joshua, Stretch out the javelin that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thy hand. And Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city.
19 And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand, and entered into the city, and took it; and they hasted and set the city on fire.
20 And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.
21 And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and slew the men of Ai.
22 And the others came forth out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side: and they smote them, so that they let none of them remain or escape.
23 And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.
24 And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness wherein they pursued them, and they were all fallen by the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all Israel returned unto Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword.
25 And all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai.
26 For Joshua drew not back his hand, wherewith he stretched out the javelin, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
27 Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for prey unto themselves, according unto the word of Jehovah which he commanded Joshua.
28 So Joshua burnt Ai, and made it a heap for ever, even a desolation, unto this day.
29 And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until the eventide: and at the going down of the sun Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree, and cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raised thereon a great heap of stones, unto this day.
30 Then Joshua built an altar unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, in mount Ebal,
31 as Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of unhewn stones, upon which no man had lifted up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt-offerings unto Jehovah, and sacrificed peace-offerings.
32 And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote, in the presence of the children of Israel.
33 And all Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges, stood on this side of the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, that bare the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, as well the sojourner as the homeborn; half of them in front of mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of Jehovah had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel.
34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law.
35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners that were among them.
1 And Jehovah saith unto Joshua, `Fear not, nor be affrighted, take with thee all the people of war, and rise, go up to Ai; see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land,
2 and thou hast done to Ai and to her king as thou hast done to Jericho and to her king; only, its spoil and its cattle ye spoil for yourselves; set for thee an ambush for the city at its rear.'
3 And Joshua riseth, and all the people of war, to go up to Ai, and Joshua chooseth thirty thousand men, mighty ones of valour, and sendeth them away by night,
4 and commandeth them, saying, `See, ye are liers in wait against the city, at the rear of the city, ye go not very far off from the city, and all of you have been prepared,
5 and I and all the people who `are' with me draw near unto the city, and it hath come to pass when they come out to meet us as at the first, and we have fled before them,
6 and they have come out after us till we have drawn them out of the city, for they say, They are fleeing before us as at the first, and we have fled before them,
7 and ye rise from the ambush, and have occupied the city, and Jehovah your God hath given it into your hand;
8 and it hath been, when ye capture the city, ye burn the city with fire, according to the word of Jehovah ye do, see, I have commanded you.'
9 And Joshua sendeth them away, and they go unto the ambush, and abide between Bethel and Ai, on the west of Ai; and Joshua lodgeth on that night in the midst of the people.
10 And Joshua riseth early in the morning, and inspecteth the people, and goeth up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai;
11 and all the people of war who `are' with him have gone up, and draw nigh and come in over-against the city, and encamp on the north of Ai; and the valley `is' between him and Ai.
12 And he taketh about five thousand men, and setteth them an ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west of the city;
13 and they set the people, all the camp which `is' on the north of the city, and its rear on the west of the city, and Joshua goeth on that night into the midst of the valley.
14 And it cometh to pass, when the king of Ai seeth `it', that hasten, and rise early, and go out do the men of the city to meet Israel for battle, he and all his people, at the appointed season, at the front of the plain, and he hath not known that an ambush `is' against him, on the rear of the city.
15 And Joshua and all Israel `seem' stricken before them, and flee the way of the wilderness,
16 and all the people who `are' in the city are called to pursue after them, and they pursue after Joshua, and are drawn away out of the city,
17 and there hath not been left a man in Ai and Bethel who hath not gone out after Israel, and they leave the city open, and pursue after Israel.
18 And Jehovah saith unto Joshua, `Stretch out with the javelin which `is' in thy hand towards Ai, for into thy hand I give it;' and Joshua stretcheth out with the javelin which `is' in his hand toward the city,
19 and the ambush hath risen `with' haste, out of its place, and they run at the stretching out of his hand, and go into the city, and capture it, and hasten, and burn the city with fire.
20 And the men of Ai look behind them, and see, and lo, the smoke of the city hath gone up unto the heavens, and there hath not been in them power to flee hither and thither -- and the people who are fleeing to the wilderness have turned against the pursuer, --
21 and Joshua and all Israel have seen that the ambush hath captured the city, and that the smoke of the city hath gone up, and they turn back and smite the men of Ai;
22 and these have come out from the city to meet them, and they are in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that, and they smite them till he hath not left to them a remnant and escaped one;
23 and the king of Ai they caught alive, and bring him near unto Joshua.
24 And it cometh to pass, at Israel's finishing to slay all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness in which they pursued them (and they fall all of them by the mouth of the sword till their consumption), that all Israel turn back to Ai, and smite it by the mouth of the sword;
25 and all who fall during the day, of men and of women, are twelve thousand -- all men of Ai.
26 And Joshua hath not brought back his hand which he stretched out with the javelin till that he hath devoted all the inhabitants of Ai;
27 only, the cattle and the spoil of that city have Israel spoiled for themselves, according to the word of Jehovah which He commanded Joshua.
28 And Joshua burneth Ai, and maketh it a heap age-during -- a desolation unto this day;
29 and the king of Ai he hath hanged on the tree till even-time, and at the going in of the sun hath Joshua commanded, and they take down his carcase from the tree, and cast it unto the opening of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones till this day.
30 Then doth Joshua build an altar to Jehovah, God of Israel, in mount Ebal,
31 as Moses, servant of Jehovah, commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses -- an altar of whole stones, over which he hath not waved iron -- and they cause to go up upon it burnt-offerings to Jehovah, and sacrifice peace-offerings;
32 and he writeth there on the stones the copy of the law of Moses, which he hath written in the presence of the sons of Israel.
33 And all Israel, and its elders, and authorities, and its judges, are standing on this side and on that of the ark, over-against the priests, the Levites, bearing the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, as well the sojourner as the native, half of them over-against mount Gerizim, and the half of them over-against mount Ebal, as Moses servant of Jehovah commanded to bless the people of Israel at the first.
34 And afterwards he hath proclaimed all the words of the law, the blessing and the reviling, according to all that is written in the book of the law;
35 there hath not been a thing of all that Moses commanded which Joshua hath not proclaimed before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the infants, and the sojourner who is going in their midst.
1 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Fear not, neither be dismayed. Take with thee all the people of war, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land.
2 And thou shalt do to Ai and to its king as thou didst to Jericho and to its king; only, the spoil thereof and the cattle thereof shall ye take as prey for yourselves. Set an ambush against the city behind it.
3 And Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up to Ai. And Joshua chose thirty thousand valiant men, and sent them away by night.
4 And he commanded them, saying, See, ye shall be in ambush against the city, behind the city: go not very far from the city, and be all of you ready.
5 And I and all the people that are with me will approach to the city; and it shall come to pass when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them.
6 And they will come out after us till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first; and we will flee before them.
7 And ye shall rise up from the ambush and take possession of the city; and Jehovah your God will deliver it into your hand.
8 And it shall be when ye have taken the city, that ye shall set the city on fire; according to the word of Jehovah shall ye do. See, I have commanded you.
9 And Joshua sent them forth; and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west of Ai. And Joshua lodged that night among the people.
10 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and inspected the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.
11 And all the people of war that were with him went up, and drew near, and came before the city; and they encamped on the north of Ai; and the valley was between them and Ai.
12 Now he had taken about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west of the city.
13 And when they had set the people, the whole camp on the north of the city, and their ambush on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley.
14 And it came to pass when the king of Ai saw it, that the men of the city hasted and rose early, and went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at the appointed place before the plain. But he knew not that there was an ambush against him behind the city.
15 And Joshua and all Israel let themselves be beaten before them; and they fled by the way of the wilderness.
16 And all the people that were in the city were called together to pursue after them; and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city.
17 And not a man remained in Ai and Bethel that went not out after Israel; and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel.
18 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Stretch out the javelin that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thy hand. And Joshua stretched out the javelin that he had in his hand toward the city.
19 And the ambush arose quickly from their place, and they ran when he stretched out his hand, and came into the city, and took it, and hasted and set the city on fire.
20 And the men of Ai turned and saw, and behold, the smoke of the city went up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way; and the people that fled to the wilderness turned upon the pursuers.
21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city went up, they turned again, and slew the men of Ai.
22 And the others went out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side; and they smote them, until they let none of them escape or flee away.
23 And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.
24 And it came to pass when Israel had ended slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness wherein they had chased them, and they had all fallen by the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all Israel returned to Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword.
25 And so it was, that all who fell that day, men as well as women, were twelve thousand, all the people of Ai.
26 And Joshua did not draw back his hand, which he had stretched out with the javelin, until they had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
27 Only, the cattle and the spoil of the city Israel took as prey to themselves, according to the word of Jehovah which he had commanded Joshua.
28 And Joshua burned Ai, and made it an everlasting heap of desolation to this day.
29 And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until the evening; and at the going down of the sun Joshua commanded, and they took his carcase down from the tree, and threw it down at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raised upon it a great heap of stones, [which remains] to this day.
30 Then Joshua built an altar to Jehovah the God of Israel, in mount Ebal,
31 as Moses the servant of Jehovah had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which iron had not been lifted up. And they offered up burnt-offerings on it to Jehovah, and sacrificed peace-offerings.
32 And he wrote there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written before the children of Israel.
33 And all Israel, and their elders, and their officers and judges, stood on this side and on that side of the ark before the priests the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, as well the stranger as the home-born [Israelite]; half of them toward mount Gerizim, and the other half of them toward mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of Jehovah had commanded, that they should bless the people of Israel, in the beginning.
34 And afterwards he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law.
35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua read not before the whole congregation of Israel, and the women, and the children, and the strangers that lived among them.
1 Yahweh said to Joshua, Don't be afraid, neither be dismayed: take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai; behold, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land;
2 You shall do to Ai and her king as you did to Jericho and her king: only the spoil of it, and the cattle of it, shall you take for a prey to yourselves: set you an ambush for the city behind it.
3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up to Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand men, the mighty men of valor, and sent them forth by night.
4 He commanded them, saying, Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city; don't go very far from the city, but be all ready:
5 and I, and all the people who are with me, will approach to the city. It shall happen, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them;
6 and they will come out after us, until we have drawn them away from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: so we will flee before them;
7 and you shall rise up from the ambush, and take possession of the city: for Yahweh your God will deliver it into your hand.
8 It shall be, when you have seized on the city, that you shall set the city on fire; according to the word of Yahweh shall you do: behold, I have commanded you.
9 Joshua sent them forth; and they went to set up the ambush, and stayed between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people.
10 Joshua arose up early in the morning, and mustered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.
11 All the people, [even] the [men of] war who were with him, went up, and drew near, and came before the city, and encamped on the north side of Ai: now there was a valley between him and Ai.
12 He took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
13 So they set the people, even all the host who was on the north of the city, and their liers-in-wait who were on the west of the city; and Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley.
14 It happened, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hurried and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at the time appointed, before the Arabah; but he didn't know that there was an ambush against him behind the city.
15 Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
16 All the people who were in the city were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city.
17 There was not a man left in Ai or Beth El, who didn't go out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel.
18 Yahweh said to Joshua, Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai; for I will give it into your hand. Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city.
19 The ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand, and entered into the city, and took it; and they hurried and set the city on fire.
20 When the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people who fled to the wilderness turned back on the pursuers.
21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and killed the men of Ai.
22 The others came forth out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side: and they struck them, so that they let none of them remain or escape.
23 The king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.
24 It happened, when Israel had made an end of killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness in which they pursued them, and they were all fallen by the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all Israel returned to Ai, and struck it with the edge of the sword.
25 All that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai.
26 For Joshua didn't draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the javelin, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
27 Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for prey to themselves, according to the word of Yahweh which he commanded Joshua.
28 So Joshua burnt Ai, and made it a heap forever, even a desolation, to this day.
29 The king of Ai he hanged on a tree until the evening: and at the going down of the sun Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree, and cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raised thereon a great heap of stones, to this day.
30 Then Joshua built an altar to Yahweh, the God of Israel, in Mount Ebal,
31 as Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones, on which no man had lifted up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings to Yahweh, and sacrificed peace-offerings.
32 He wrote there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote, in the presence of the children of Israel.
33 All Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges, stood on this side of the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, as well the foreigner as the native; half of them in front of Mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of Mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of Yahweh had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel.
34 Afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law.
35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua didn't read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the foreigners who were among them.
1 Then the Lord said to Joshua, Have no fear and do not be troubled: take with you all the fighting-men and go up against Ai: for I have given into your hands the king of Ai and his people and his town and his land:
2 And you are to do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king: but their goods and their cattle you may take for yourselves: let a secret force be stationed to make a surprise attack on the town from the back.
3 So Joshua and the fighting-men got ready to go up against Ai; and Joshua took thirty thousand men of war, and sent them out by night.
4 And he gave them their orders, saying, Go and take up your position secretly at the back of the town: do not go very far away, and let all of you be ready:
5 And I and all the people with me will come near the town, and when they come out against us as they did before, we will go in flight from them;
6 And they will come out after us, till we have got them away from the town; for they will say, They have gone in flight from us as before; so we will go in flight before them;
7 Then you will get up from your secret position and take the town, for the Lord your God will give it up into your hands.
8 And when you have taken the town, put fire to it, as the Lord has said: see, I have given you your orders.
9 So Joshua sent them out: and they took up a secret position between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua kept with the people that night.
10 And early in the morning Joshua got up, and put the people in order, and he and the chiefs of Israel went up before the people to Ai.
11 And all the fighting-men who were with him went up and came near the town, and took up a position on the north side of Ai facing the town, with a valley between him and the town.
12 And taking about five thousand men, he put them in position for a surprise attack on the west side of Ai, between Beth-el and Ai.
13 So all the people were in their places, the army on the north side of the town and the secret force on the west; and that night Joshua went down into the valley.
14 Now when the king of Ai saw it, he got up quickly and went out to war against Israel, he and all his people, to the slope going down to the valley; but he had no idea that a secret force was waiting at the back of the town.
15 Then Joshua and all Israel, acting as if they were overcome before them, went in flight by way of the waste land.
16 And all the people in Ai came together to go after them; and they went after Joshua, moving away from the town.
17 There was not a man in Ai and Beth-el who did not go out after Israel; and the town was open and unwatched while they went after Israel.
18 And the Lord said to Joshua, Let your spear be stretched out against Ai; for I will give it into your hands. So Joshua took up his spear, stretching it out in the direction of the town.
19 Then the secret force came quickly from their place, and running forward when they saw his hand stretched out, went into the town and took it, and put fire to it straight away.
20 Then the men of Ai, looking back, saw the smoke of the town going up to heaven, and were unable to go this way or that: and the people who had gone in flight to the waste land were turned back on those who were coming after them.
21 And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the town had been taken by the surprise attack, and that the smoke of the town had gone up, turning round they overcame the men of Ai.
22 Then the other force came out of the town against them, so that they were being attacked on this side and on that: and Israel overcame them and let not one of them get away with his life.
23 But the king of Ai they made prisoner, and took him to Joshua.
24 Then, after the destruction of all the people of Ai in the field and in the waste land where they went after them, and when all the people had been put to death without mercy, all Israel went back to Ai, and put to death all who were in it without mercy.
25 On that day twelve thousand were put to death, men and women, all the people of Ai.
26 For Joshua did not take back his hand with the outstretched spear till the destruction of the people of Ai was complete.
27 But the cattle and the goods from that town, Israel took for themselves, as the Lord had given orders to Joshua.
28 So Joshua gave Ai to the flames, and made it a waste mass of stones for ever, as it is to this day.
29 And he put the king of Ai to death, hanging him on a tree till evening: and when the sun went down, Joshua gave them orders to take his body down from the tree, and put it in the public place of the town, covering it with a great mass of stones, which is there to this day.
30 Then Joshua put up an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, in Mount Ebal,
31 In the way ordered by Moses, the servant of the Lord, as it is recorded in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones, untouched by any iron instrument: and on it they made burned offerings and peace-offerings to the Lord.
32 And he made there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, writing it before the eyes of the children of Israel.
33 And all Israel, those who were Israelites by birth, as well as the men from other lands living with them, and their responsible men and their overseers and judges, took their places round the ark, in front of the priests, the Levites, whose work it was to take up the ark of the Lord's agreement; half of them were stationed in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal, in agreement with the orders for the blessing of the children of Israel which Moses, the servant of the Lord, had given.
34 And after, he gave them all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, as it is all recorded in the book of the law;
35 Reading to all the meeting of Israel, with the women and the children and the men from other lands who were living among them, every word of the orders which Moses had given.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Joshua 8
Commentary on Joshua 8 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Conquest and Burning of Ai. - Joshua 8:1, Joshua 8:2. After the ban which rested upon the people had been wiped away, the Lord encouraged Joshua to make war upon Ai, promising him that the city should be taken, and giving him instructions what to do to ensure the success of his undertaking. With evident allusion to Joshua's despair after the failure of the first attack, the Lord commences with these words, “Fear not, neither be thou dismayed ” (as in Deuteronomy 1:21; Deuteronomy 31:8), and then commands him to go against Ai with all the people of war. By “all the people of war” we are hardly to understand all the men out of the whole nation who were capable of bearing arms; but as only a third of these were contributed by the two tribes and a half to cross over into Canaan and take part in the war, the other tribes also are not likely to have levied more than a third, say about 160,000, which would form altogether an army of about 200,000 men. But even such an army as this seems out of all proportion to the size of Ai, with its 12,000 inhabitants (Joshua 8:25). On the other hand, however, we must bear in mind that the expression “ all the people of war” simply denotes the whole army, in contrast with the advice of the spies that only a portion of the army should be sent (Joshua 7:3), so that we are not warranted in pressing the word “all” to absolutely;
(Note: “As we have just before seen how their hearts melted, God consulted their weakness, by putting no heavier burden upon them than they were able to bear, until they had recovered from their alarm, and hearkened readily to His commands.” - Calvin .)
and also that this command of God was not given with reference to the conquest of Ai alone, but applied at the same time to the conquest of the whole land, which Joshua was not to attempt by sending out detachments only, but was to carry out with the whole of the force at his command. עלה , to go up, is applied to the advance of an army against a hostile town, independently of the question whether the town was situated upon an eminence or not, as every town that had to be taken was looked upon as a height to be scaled, though as a fact in this instance the army had really to ascend from Jericho to Ai, which was situated up in the mountains (On Joshua 8:1 , see Joshua 6:2.) “His land ” is the country round, which belonged to the town and was under its king.
Joshua 8:2
Joshua was to do the same to Ai and her king as he had already done to Jericho and her king, except that in this case the conquerors were to be allowed to appropriate the booty and the cattle to themselves. In order to conquer the town, he was to lay an ambush behind it.
(Note: The much agitated question, whether it could be worthy of God to employ stratagem in war, to which different replies have been given, has been answered quite correctly by Calvin . “Surely,” he says, “wars are not carried on by striking alone; but they are considered the best generals who succeed through art and counsel more than by force ... . Therefore, if war is lawful at all, it is beyond all controversy that the way is perfectly clear for the use of the customary arts of warfare, provided there is no breach of faith in the violation of treaty or truce, or in any other way.”)
ארב , a collective noun, signifying the persons concealed in ambush; מארב (Joshua 8:9), the place of ambush. “ Behind it ,” i.e., on the west of the town.
Joshua 8:3-9
Accordingly Joshua set out with all the people of war against Ai, and selected 30,000 brave men, and sent them out in the night, with instructions to station themselves as an ambuscade behind the town, and at no great distance from it. As the distance from Gilgal to Ai was about fifteen miles, and the road runs pretty straight in a north-westerly direction from Jericho through the Wady Faran, the detachment sent forward might easily accomplish the distance in a night, so as to arrive on the western side of Ai before the break of day. They were then to hold themselves in readiness to fight. He (Joshua) himself would approach the town with the people of war that remained with him; and if the inhabitants of Ai should come out against him as they did before, they would flee before them till they had drawn them quite away from their town (Joshua 8:5). This was to be expected; “for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: and we will flee before them ” (Joshua 8:6). When this was done, the warriors were to come forth from their ambush, fall upon the town, and set it on fire (Joshua 8:7, Joshua 8:8). Having been sent away with these instructions, the 30,000 men went into ambush, and posted themselves “between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai ” (Joshua 8:9), i.e., according to Strauss, in the Wady es Suweinit, to the north-west of Ai, where it forms almost a perpendicular wall, near to which the ruins of Chai are to be found, though “not near enough to the rocky wady for it to be possible to look down its almost perpendicular wall” ( Ritter , Erdk. xvi. p. 528). Joshua remained for the night in the midst of the people, i.e., in the camp of that portion of the army that had gone with him towards Ai; not in Gilgal, as Knobel supposes.
Joshua 8:10
The next morning he mustered the people as early as possible, and then went, with the elders of Israel, “before the people of Ai.” The elders of Israel are not “military tribunes, who were called elders because of their superiority in military affairs,” as Masius supposes, but, as in every other case, the heads of the people, who accompanied Joshua as counsellors.
Joshua 8:11-13
The whole of the people of war also advanced with him to the front of the town, and encamped on the north of Ai, so that the valley was between it ( בינו , as in Joshua 3:4) and Ai. This was probably a side valley branching off towards the south from the eastern continuation of the Wady es Suweinit. - In Joshua 8:12, Joshua 8:13, the account of the preparations for the attack is founded off by a repetition of the notice as to the forces engaged, and in some respects a more exact description of their disposition. Joshua, it is stated in Joshua 8:12, took about 5000 men and placed them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west of the town. As the place where this ambuscade was posted is described in precisely the same terms as that which was occupied, according to Joshua 8:9, by the 30,000 men who were sent out to form an ambuscade in the night before the advance of the main army against Ai (for the substitution of “ the city ” for Ai cannot possibly indicate a difference in the locality), the view held by the majority of commentators, that Joshua 8:12 refers to a second ambuscade, which Joshua sent out in addition to the 30,000, and posted by the side of them, is even more than questionable, and is by no means raised into a probability by the expression את־עקבו ( Eng . “their liers in wait”) in Joshua 8:13. The description of the place, “on the west of the city,” leaves no doubt whatever that “their liers in wait” are simply the ambuscade ( ארב ) mentioned in Joshua 8:12, which was sent out from the whole army, i.e., the ambuscade that was posted on the west of the town. עקב signifies literally the lier in wait (Psalms 49:5), from עקב , insidiari , and is synonymous with ארב . The meaning which Gesenius and others attach to the word, viz., the rear or hinder part of the army, cannot be sustained from Genesis 49:19. If we add to this the fact that Joshua 8:13 is obviously nothing more than a repetition of the description already given in Joshua 8:11 of the place where the main army was posted, and therefore bears the character of a closing remark introduced to wind up the previous account, we cannot regard Joshua 8:12 as anything more than a repetition of the statements in Joshua 8:3, Joshua 8:9, and can only explain the discrepancy with regard to the number of men who were placed in ambush, by supposing that, through a copyist's error, the number which was expressed at first in simple letters has in one instance been given wrongly. The mistake, however, is not to be found in the 5000 (Joshua 8:12), but in the 30,000 in Joshua 8:3, where ה has been confounded with ל . For a detachment of 5000 men would be quite sufficient for an ambuscade that had only to enter the town after the soldiers had left it in pursuit of the Israelites, and to set it on fire, whereas it hardly seems possible that 30,000 men should have been posted in ambush so near to the town.
(Note: We need have no hesitation in coming to the conclusion that there is a mistake in the number given in Joshua 8:3, as the occurrence of such mistakes in the historical books is fully established by a comparison of the numbers given in the books of Samuel and Kings with those in the books of Chronicles, and is admitted by every commentator. In my earlier commentary on Joshua, I attempted to solve the difficulty by the twofold assumption: first , that Joshua 8:12 contains a supplementary statement, in which the number of the men posted in ambush is given for the firs time; and secondly, that the historian forgot to notice that out of the 30,000 men whom Joshua chose to make war upon Ai, 5000 were set apart to lie in ambush. But, on further examination of the text, I have come to the conclusion that the second assumption is irreconcilable with the distinct words of Joshua 8:3, and feel obliged to give it up. On the other hand, I still adhere to the conviction that there is not sufficient ground either for the assumption that Joshua 8:12, Joshua 8:13, contain an old marginal gloss that has crept into the text, or for the hypothesis of Ewald and Knobel , that these verses were introduced by the last editor of the book out of some other document. The last hypothesis amounts to a charge of thoughtlessness against the latest editor, which is hardly reconcilable with the endeavour, for which he is praised in other places, to reconcile the discrepancies in the different documents.)
- In Joshua 8:13, העם (the people) is to be taken as the subject of the sentence: “ The people had set all the host, that was on the north of the city, and its ambuscade on the west of the city .” In the night, namely the night before the army arrived at the north of the town, Joshua went through the midst of the valley, which separated the Israelites from the town, so that in the morning he stood with all the army close before the town.
Joshua 8:14-23
When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, he hurried out in the morning against them to battle at the (previously) appointed place ( למּועד , in locum condictum , as in 1 Samuel 20:35) before the steppe ( Arabah , not the valley of the Jordan, but the steppe or desert of Bethaven; see at Joshua 7:2), as he knew nothing of the ambuscade behind the town.
Joshua 8:15
But the Israelites let them beat them, and fled along the desert (of Bethaven).
Joshua 8:16-17
And all the people in the town were called together to pursue the Israelites, and were drawn away from the town, so that not a man, i.e., not a single soldier who could take part in the pursuit, remained either in Ai or the neighbouring town of Bethel, and the town stood open behind them. It is evident from Joshua 8:17 that the inhabitants of Bethel, which was about three hours' journey from Ai, took part in the battle, probably in consequence of a treaty which the king of Ai had made with them in the expectation of a renewed and still stronger attack on the part of the Israelites. Nothing further is known upon this point; nor can anything be inferred from the fact that the king of Bethel is included in the list of the kings slain by Joshua (Joshua 12:16). Consequently, we cannot decide whether the Bethelites came to the help of the Aites for the first time on the day of the battle itself, or, what is more probable, had already sent men to Ai, to help to repulse the expected attack of the Israelites upon that town.
Joshua 8:18-19
At the command of God Joshua now stretched out the javelin in his hand towards the town. At this sign the ambuscade rose hastily from its concealment, rushed into the town, and set it on fire. בּכּידון נטה signifies to stretch out the hand with the spear. The object יד , which is missing (cf. Joshua 8:19, Joshua 8:26), may easily be supplied from the apposition בּידך אשׁר . The raising of the javelin would probably be visible at a considerable distance, even if it was not provided with a small flag, as both earlier and later commentators assume, since Joshua would hardly be in the mist of the flying Israelites, but would take his station as commander upon some eminence on one side. And the men in ambush would have scouts posted to watch for the signal, which had certainly been arranged beforehand, and convey the information to the others.
Joshua 8:20-22
The men of Ai then turned round behind them, being evidently led to do so by the Israelites, who may have continued looking round to the town of Ai when the signal had been given by Joshua, to see whether the men in ambush had taken it and set it on fire, and as soon as they saw that this had been done began to offer still further resistance to their pursuers, and to defend themselves vigorously against them. On looking back to their town the Aites saw the smoke of the town ascending towards heaven: “ and there were not hands in them to flee hither and thither ,” i.e., they were utterly unable to flee. “ Hand ,” as the organs of enterprise and labour, in the sense of “strength,” not “room,” for which we should expect to find להם instead of בּהם . There is an analogous passage in Psalms 76:6, “None of the men of might have found their hands.” For the people that fled to the wilderness (the Israelitish army) turned against the pursuers (the warriors of Ai), or, as is added by way of explanation in Joshua 8:21, when Joshua and all Israel saw the town in the hands of the ambuscade, and the smoke ascending, they turned round and smote the people of Ai; and (Joshua 8:22) these (i.e., the Israelites who had formed the ambuscade) came out of the town to meet them. “ These ” ( Eng . the other), as contrasted with “the people that fled” in Joshua 8:20, refers back to “the ambush” in Joshua 8:19. In this way the Aites were in the midst of the people of Israel, who came from this side and that side, and smote them to the last man. “ So that they let none of them remain :” as in Numbers 21:35 and Deuteronomy 3:3, except that in this case it is strengthened still further by וּפליט , “ or escape .”
Joshua 8:23
The king of Ai was taken alive and brought to Joshua.
Joshua 8:24-26
When all the men of Ai, who had come out to pursue the Israelites, had been slain upon the field (namely) in the desert, all Israel returned to Ai and smote it (the town, i.e., the inhabitants), so that on that day there fell of men and women, 12,000, all the people of Ai: for Joshua did not draw back his hand, which had been stretched out with the javelin, till all the inhabitants of Ai were smitten with the ban, i.e., put to death; according to the common custom of war, that the general did not lower the war-signal till the conflict was to cease (see Suidas in Σημεῖα , and Lipsius de militia, Rom. iv. dial . 12).
Joshua 8:27
Only the cattle and the rest of the booty the conquerors retained for themselves, according to the word of the Lord (Joshua 8:2).
Joshua 8:28
Joshua had the town burnt down and made into a heap of rubbish for ever.
Joshua 8:29
He had the king of Ai hanged upon a tree, i.e., put to death, and then suspended upon a stake (see Numbers 25:4) until the evening; but at sunset he had him taken down (in accordance with Deuteronomy 21:22-23), and thrown at the entrance of the town-gate, and a heap of stones piled upon him (as in the case of Achan, Joshua 7:26).
Blessings and Curses upon Gerizim and Ebal. - After the capture of Ai, Israel had gained so firm a footing in Canaan that Joshua was able to carry out the instructions of Moses in Deut 27, that, after crossing the Jordan, he was to build an altar upon Mount Ebal for the setting up the covenant. The fulfilment of these instructions, according to the meaning of this solemn act, as a symbolical setting up of the law of the Lord to be the invariable rule of life to the people of Israel in the land of Canaan (see at Deut 27), was not only a practical expression of thanksgiving on the part of the covenant nation for its entrance into this land through the almighty assistance of its God, but also a practical acknowledgement, that in the overthrow of the Canaanites thus far it had received a strong pledge of the conquest of the foes that still remained and the capture of the whole of the promised land, provided only it persevered in covenant faithfulness towards the Lord its God. The account of this transaction is attached, it is true, to the conquest of Ai by the introduction, “ Then Joshua built ,” etc. (Joshua 8:30); but simply as an occurrence which had no logical connection with the conquest of Canaan and the defeat of its kings. The particle אז ( sequ. imperf .) is used, for example, in cases where the historian either wishes to introduce contemporaneous facts, that do not carry forward the main course of the history, or loses sight for the time of the strictly historical sequence and simply takes note of the occurrence of some particular event (vid., Ewald , §136, b .). The assertion of modern critics, which Knobel repeats, that this account is out of place in the series of events as contained in Josh 6-12, is so far correct, that the promulgation of the law and the renewal of the covenant upon Ebal form no integral part of the account of the conquest of Canaan; but it by no means proves that this section has been interpolated by the Jehovist from his first document, or by the last editor of this book from some other source, and that what is related here did not take place at the time referred to. The circumstance that, according to Josh 6-8:29, Joshua had only effected the conquest of Jericho in the south of the land from Gilgal as a base, and that even in Josh 9-10 he was still engaged in the south, by no means involves the impossibility or even the improbability of a march to Shechem, which was situated further north, where he had not yet beaten the Canaanites, and had not effected any conquests. The distance from Ai to Shechem between Gerizim and Ebal is about thirty miles in a straight line. Robinson made the journey from Bireh (Beeroth) to Sichem on mules in eleven and a half hours, and that not by the most direct route (Pal. iii. pp. 81-2), and Ai was not more than an hour to the south of Beeroth; so that Joshua could have gone with the people from Ai to Gerizim and Ebal in two days without any excessive exertion. Now, even if the conquests of the Israelites had not extended further north than Ai at that time, there was no reason why Joshua should be deterred from advancing further into the land by any fear of attack from the Canaanites, as the people of war who went with him would be able to repulse any hostile attack; and after the news had spread of the fate of Ai and Jericho, no Canaanitish king would be likely to venture upon a conflict with the Israelites alone. Moreover, Shechem had no king, as we may gather from the list of the thirty-one kings who were defeated by Joshua. To the further remark of Knobel , that “there was no reason for their hurrying with this ceremony, and it might have been carried out at a later period in undisturbed security,” we simply reply, that obedience to the command of God was not a matter of such indifference to the servant of the Lord as Knobel imagines. There was no valid reason after the capture of Ai for postponing any longer the solemn ceremony of setting up the law of Jehovah which had been enjoined by Moses; and if we consider the reason for this solemnity, to which we have already referred, there can be no doubt that Joshua would proceed without the least delay to set up the law of the Lord in Canaan as early as possible, even before the subjugation of the whole land, that he might thereby secure the help of God for further conflicts and enterprises.
The account of this religious solemnity is given very briefly. It presupposes an acquaintance with the Mosaic instructions in Deut 27, and merely gives the leading points, to show that those instructions were carefully carried out by Joshua. Of the three distinct acts of which the ceremony consisted, in the book of Deuteronomy the setting up of the stones with the law written upon them is mentioned first (Deuteronomy 27:2-4), and then (Joshua 8:5-7) the building of the altar and the offering of sacrifice. Here, on the contrary, the building of the altar and offering of sacrifice are mentioned first (Joshua 8:30, Joshua 8:31), and then (Joshua 8:32) the writing of the law upon the stones; which was probably the order actually observed. - In Joshua 8:30 Jehovah is called “ the God of Israel ,” to show that henceforth no other god was to be worshipped in Canaan than the God of Israel. On Mount Ebal, see at Deuteronomy 11:29 and Deuteronomy 27:4.
Joshua 8:31-33
“ As Moses commanded :” namely, Deuteronomy 27:5. “ As it is written in the book of the law of Moses :” viz., in Exodus 20:22 (25). On the presentation of burnt-offerings and slain-offerings, see at Deuteronomy 27:6-7. - In Joshua 8:32 nothing is mentioned but the writing of the law upon the stones; all the rest is presupposed from Deuteronomy 27:2., to which the expression “ the stones” refers. “ Copy of the law :” as in Deuteronomy 17:18; see the explanation at Deuteronomy 27:3. In connection with the third part of the ceremony the promulgation of the law with the blessing and cursing, the account of the Mosaic instructions given in Deuteronomy 27:11. is completed in Joshua 8:33 by the statement that “ all Israel, and their elders (i.e., with their elders), and shoterim , and judges ,” stood on both sides of the ark before the Levitical priests, the stranger as well as the native, i.e., without any exception, one half (i.e., six tribes) towards Mount Ebal, and the other half towards Mount Gerizim. For further remarks, see at Deuteronomy 27:11. “ As Moses commanded to bless the people before :” i.e., as he had previously commanded. The fact that the thought itself does not suit the context is quite sufficient to show that the explanation given by many commentators, viz., that they were to commence with the blessings, is incorrect. But if, on the other hand, we connect the word “before” with the principal verb of the sentence, “commanded,” the meaning will be that Moses did not give the command to proclaim the blessings and cursings to the people for the first time in connection with these instructions (Deut 27), but had done so before, at the very outset, namely, as early as Deuteronomy 11:29.
Joshua 8:34-35
“ And afterwards (after the people had taken the place assigned them) he read to them all the words of the law ,” i.e., he had the law proclaimed aloud by the persons entrusted with the proclamation of the law, viz., the Levitical priests. קרא , lit . to call out of proclaim, then in a derivative sense to read, inasmuch as reading aloud is proclaiming (as, for example, in Exodus 24:7). The words “ the blessing and the curse ” are in apposition to “ all the words of the law ,” which they serve to define, and are not to be understood as relating to the blessings in Deuteronomy 28:1-14, and the curses in Deuteronomy 27:15-26 and 28:15-68. The whole law is called “the blessing and the curse” with special reference to its contents, inasmuch as the fulfilment of it brings eo ipso a blessing, and the transgression of it eo ipso a curse. In the same manner, in Deuteronomy 11:26, Moses describes the exposition of the whole law in the steppes of Moab as setting before them blessing and cursing. In Joshua 8:35 it is most distinctly stated that Joshua had the whole law read to the people; whilst the expression “all Israel,” in v. 33, is more fully explained as signifying not merely the congregation in its representatives, or even the men of the nation, but “all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were in the midst of it.”
Nothing is said about the march of Joshua and all Israel to Gerizim and Ebal. All that we know is, that he not only took with him the people of war and the elders or heads of tribes, but all the people. It follows from this, however, that the whole of the people must have left and completely vacated the camp at Gilgal in the valley of the Jordan. For if all Israel went to the mountains of Gerizim and Ebal, which were situated in the midst of the land, taking even the women and children with them, it is not likely that they left their cattle and other possessions behind them in Gilgal, exposed to the danger of being plundered in the meantime by the Canaanites of the southern mountains. So again we are not informed in what follows (Joshua 9:1) in which direction Joshua and the people went after these solemnities at Ebal and Gerizim were over. It is certainly not stated that he went back to Gilgal in the Jordan valley, and pitched his tent again on the old site. No doubt we find Gilgal still mentioned as the encampment of Israel, not only in Joshua 9:6; Joshua 10:6, Joshua 10:9, Joshua 10:15, Joshua 10:43, but even after the defeat and subjugation of the Canaanites in the south and north, when a commencement was made to distribute the land (Joshua 14:6). But when it is asked whether this Gilgal was the place of encampment on the east of Jericho, which received its name from the circumcision of the whole nation which took place there, or the town of Gilgal by the side of the terebinths of Moreh, which is mentioned in Deuteronomy 11:30, and by which Moses defines the situation of Gerizim and Ebal, this question cannot be answered unhesitatingly according to the traditional view, viz., in favour of the encampment in the Jordan valley. For when not only the army, but all the people with their wives and children, had once proceeded from the Jordan valley to the mountains of Gerizim and Ebal, we cannot imagine any reason why Joshua should go back again to the plain of Jericho, that is to say, to the extreme corner of Canaan on the east, for the purpose of making that the base of his operations for the conquest and extermination of the Canaanites. And there is just as much improbability in the assumption, that after Joshua had not only defeated the kings of southern Canaan, who had allied themselves with Adonizedek of Jerusalem in the battle fought at Gibeon (Josh 10), but had also overthrown the kings of northern Canaan, who were allied with Jabin of Hazor at the waters of Merom above the Sea of Galilee (Josh 11), he should return again to Gilgal in the Jordan valley, and there quietly encamp with all the people, and commence the distribution of the land. The only thing that could bring us to assent to such extremely improbable assumptions, would be the fact that there was no other Gilgal in all Canaan than the encampment to the east of Jericho, which received the name of Gilgal for the first time from the Israelites themselves. But as the other Gilgal by the side of the terebinths of Moreh-i.e., the present Jiljilia, which stands upon an eminence on the south-west of Shiloh at about the same distance from Jerusalem as from Sichem-was a well-known place even in Moses' days (Deuteronomy 11:30), and from its situation on a lofty ridge, from which you can see the great lowlands and the sea towards the west, the mountains of Gilead towards the east, and far away in the north-east even Hermon itself (Rob. Pal. iii. p. 81), was peculiarly well adapted for a place of encampment, from which Joshua could carry on the conquest of the land toward both the north and south, we can come to no other conclusion than that this Gilgal or Jiljilia was the Gilgal mentioned in Joshua 9:6; Joshua 10:6, Joshua 10:9,Joshua 10:15, Joshua 10:43, and Joshua 14:6, as the place where the Israelites were encamped. We therefore assume, that after the setting up of the law on Gerizim and Ebal, Joshua did not conduct the people with their wives and children back again to the camp which they had left in the Jordan valley on the other side of Jericho, but chose the Gilgal which was situated upon the mountains, and only seven hours' journey to the south of Sichem, as the future place of encampment, and made this the central point of all his further military operations; and that this was the place to which he returned after his last campaign in the north, to commence the division of the conquered land among the tribes of Israel (Joshua 14:6), and where he remained till the tabernacle was permanently erected at Shiloh, when the further distribution was carried on there (Joshua 18:1.). This view, which even Van de Velde (Memoir, p. 316) has adopted as probable, is favoured still further by the fact that this Gilgal of Jiljilia, which is still a large village, is frequently mentioned in the subsequent history of Israel, not only in 2 Kings 2:1 and 2 Kings 4:38, as the seat of a school of the prophets in the time of Elijah and Elisha, and in Hosea 4:15; Hosea 9:15; Hosea 12:12; Amos 4:4; Amos 5:5, as a place which was much frequented for the purpose of idolatrous worship; but even at an earlier date still, namely, as one of the places where Samuel judged the people (1 Samuel 7:16), and as the place where he offered sacrifice (1 Samuel 10:8; cf. Joshua 13:7-9), and where he gathered the people together to confirm the monarchy of Saul (1 Samuel 11:14-15), at a time when the tabernacle at Shiloh had ceased to be the only national sanctuary of Israel, on account of the ark having been taken away. Gilgal had no doubt acquired this significance along with Bethel, which had been regarded as a holy place ever since the time of Jacob, from the fact that it was there that Joshua had established the camp of Israel with the ark of the covenant, until the land was divided, and Shiloh was appointed as the site for the national sanctuary.