Joshua 8:2

8:2 Do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho ¹  and its king, except you may plunder its goods and cattle. Set an ambush behind the city!”

Joshua 7:3

7:3 They returned and reported to Joshua, ²  “Don’t send the whole army. ³  About two or three thousand men are adequate to defeat Ai. ⁴  Don’t tire out the whole army, for Ai is small.” ⁵ 

Joshua 8:16

8:16 All the reinforcements ⁶  in Ai ⁷  were ordered ⁸  to chase them; they chased Joshua and were lured away from the city.

Joshua 7:5

7:5 The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them and chased them from in front of the city gate all the way to the fissures ⁹  and defeated them on the steep slope. ¹⁰  The people’s ¹¹  courage melted away like water. ¹² 

Joshua 8:14

8:14 When the king of Ai saw Israel, he and his whole army quickly got up the next day and went out to fight Israel at the meeting place near the Arabah. ¹³  But he did not realize ¹⁴  men were hiding behind the city. ¹⁵ 

Joshua 8:20

8:20 When the men of Ai turned around, they saw ¹⁶  the smoke from the city ascending into the sky and were so shocked they were unable to flee in any direction. ¹⁷  In the meantime the men who were retreating to the desert turned against their pursuers.

Joshua 8:29

8:29 He hung the king of Ai on a tree, leaving him exposed until evening. ¹⁸  At sunset Joshua ordered that his corpse be taken down from the tree. ¹⁹  They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and erected over it a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day). ²⁰ 

¹ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

² tn Heb “and they returned to Joshua and said to him.”

³ tn Heb “Don’t let all the people go up.”

⁴ tn Heb “Let about two thousand men or about three thousand men go up to defeat Ai.”

⁵ tn Heb “all the people for they are small.”

³ tn Heb “All the people.”

⁴ tc Some textual witnesses read “the city.”

⁵ tn Or “were summoned”; or “were mustered.”

⁴ tn The meaning and correct translation of the Hebrew word שְׁבָרִים (shÿvarim) is uncertain. The translation “fissures” is based on usage of the plural form of the noun in Ps 60:4 HT (60:2 ET), where it appears to refer to cracks in the earth caused by an earthquake. Perhaps deep ravines or gorges are in view, or the word is a proper noun (“all the way to Shebarim”).

⁵ sn The precise geographical location of the Israelite defeat at this “steep slope” is uncertain.

⁶ tn Or “army’s.”

⁷ tn Heb “and the heart of the people melted and became water.”

⁵ tn Heb “When the king of Ai saw, the men of Ai hurried and rose early and went out to meet Israel for battle, he and all his people at the meeting place before the Arabah.”

⁶ tn Or “know.”

⁷ tn Heb “that (there was) an ambush for him behind the city.”

⁶ tn Heb “and they saw, and look.” The Hebrew term הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to the scene and invites the audience to view the events from the perspective of the men of Ai.

⁷ tn Heb “and there was not in them hands to flee here or there.” The Hebrew term יָדַיִם (yadayim, “hands”) is idiomatic for “strength.”

⁷ tn Heb “on a tree until evening.” The words “leaving him exposed” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁸ sn For the legal background of this action, see Deut 21:22-23.

⁹ tn Heb “to this day.”