VIII. (1) FEAR NOT, NEITHER BE THOU DISMAYED. — See Joshua 1:9; Joshua 10:25. In Joshua 1:9, “For the Lord thy God is with thee.” These words indicate the return of Jehovah to the host of Israel, for the prosecution of the war. TAKE ALL THE PEOPLE. — Not merely “two or three thousand,” as before.... [ Continue Reading ]
ONLY THE SPOIL THEREOF, AND THE CATTLE THEREOF, SHALL YE TAKE — _i.e.,_ the material spoil, not the persons of the inhabitants. (See Joshua 11:14.) Jericho was treated exceptionally, in that the material spoil was made _chêrem,_ devoted to destruction, as the thing accursed of God.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND JOSHUA CHOSE OUT THIRTY THOUSAND MIGHTY MEN. — Some difficulty arises from the fact that thirty thousand men are mentioned as having been sent away with general instructions to form an ambush in the first instance, while five thousand were ultimately posted between Bethel and Ai. Were there two... [ Continue Reading ]
(4-8) Joshua’s general plan of operations is stated in these verses. The following verses explain how it was worked out.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY WENT TO LIE IN AMBUSH. — Or, _they went to the lurking-place;_ and remained between Bethel and Ai. The ambush itself (Joshua 8:2; Joshua 8:7; Joshua 8:19; Joshua 8:21) is described by a slightly different word. AMONG THE PEOPLE — i.e., at Gilgal. 10) JOSHUA... NUMBERED. — Or, rather, _mustere... [ Continue Reading ]
ON THE NORTH SIDE. — The lurking-place of the thirty thousand was on the west side, between Bethel and Ai. There is a ravine called the Wady Maheesin which runs nearly east and west, on the north of et-Tel, and probably Joshua’s main body took up a position on the rising ground to the north of this... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE TOOK ABOUT FIVE THOUSAND MEN, AND SET THEM TO LIE IN AMBUSH... — Is this a fresh body, or only a portion of the thirty thousand mentioned in Joshua 8:3? It is, of course, _possible_ that the body of thirty thousand, having closed the communications between Bethel and Ai on the first night, an... [ Continue Reading ]
JOSHUA WENT THAT NIGHT INTO THE.... VALLEY (EMEK). — Not the ravine (or Gai) before mentioned (Joshua 8:11), but a wider and more open part of the valley, probably a little further to the south;· the object being to draw the men of Ai into a pursuit in the direction of the road to Gilgal.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN THE KING OF AI SAW IT.... THE CITY WENT OUT. — The stratagem succeeded perfectly. Joshua gave them ample time, by his movements in open daylight, to discover what his apparent intentions were, viz., to renew the direct attack upon the city with a larger force. Accordingly, the Canaanites came o... [ Continue Reading ]
THERE WAS NOT A MAN LEFT IN AI OR BETH-EL. — Another singular justification of the peculiar strategy of Joshua. The road past Beth-el to Ai had been left open. It passes the north end of the two ravines in which Joshua’s ambush was posted. At the same time, it would have been easy to conceal a chain... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE LORD SAID UNTO JOSHUA, STRETCH OUT THE SPEAR. — In the capture of Ai, as in that of Jericho, each stage of the process must be ordered by the Lord. In the former case the hand of Jehovah alone does the work. The ark is borne round the walls until they fall down before it. Against Ai, the han... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SPOIL OF THAT CITY ISRAEL TOOK. — The spoil of Ai was assigned to Israel, the spoil of Jericho had been claimed for Jehovah alone.... [ Continue Reading ]
AN HEAP FOR EVER. — Heb., _Tel-ôlam;_ modern name, _Et-tel. _... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE KING OF AI HE HANGED ON A TREE. — (See Note on Deuteronomy 21:22.) Heb., _on the tree._ Why “_the_ tree”? It would appear from Joshua 8:2; Joshua 10:1, that the king of Jericho was also hanged; possibly both were hanged on the same tree, and were exhibited, each in turn, as “the curse of God... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LAW SET UP IN THE HEART OF THE COUNTRY. (30) THEN JOSHUA BUILT. — The word _then_ is not “and” in the Hebrew; as is too often the case where “then” occurs in our English Old Testament. It is a note of time. Josephus places this transaction later. The LXX. places Joshua 8:1 of Joshua 9 before thi... [ Continue Reading ]
AN ALTAR... IN MOUNT EBAL... — This was explicitly commanded in Deuteronomy. The blessing was put on mount Gerizim, the altar and the curse on mount Ebal. We do not hear elsewhere of any sacrifice on Ebal. But it is certain that God accepted sacrifices in many places in Canaan. (Cf. Exodus 19:24.)... [ Continue Reading ]