# Joshua 08 đ: The Victory at Ai
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đ Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#đ§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#âď¸ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#đ Key Principles / đ Life Application]]
> [[#đŹ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#âď¸ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đ Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#đ Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đ Internal Notes]]
## đ Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### Israel Conquers Ai
[[#Verse 01.]] The Lord told Joshua, âDonât be afraid and donât panic! Take the whole army with you and march against Ai! See, I am handing over to you the king of Ai, along with his people, city, and land.
[[#Verse 02.]]Â Do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho and its king, except you may plunder its goods and cattle. Set an ambush behind the city.â
[[#Verse 03.]] Joshua and the whole army marched against Ai. Joshua selected 30,000 brave warriors and sent them out at night.Â
[[#Verse 04.]]Â He ordered them, âLook, set an ambush behind the city. Donât go very far from the city; all of you be ready!Â
[[#Verse 05.]] I and all the troops who are with me will approach the city. When they come out to fight us like before, we will retreat from them.Â
[[#Verse 06.]] They will attack us until we have lured them from the city, for they will say, âThey are retreating from us like before.â We will retreat from them.Â
[[#Verse 07.]] Then you rise up from your hiding place and seize the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you.
[[#Verse 08.]] When you capture the city, set it on fire in keeping with the Lordâs message. See, I have given you orders.âÂ
[[#Verse 09.]] Joshua sent them away and they went to their hiding place west of Ai, between Bethel and Ai. Joshua spent that night with the army.
[[#Verse 10.]] Bright and early the next morning Joshua gathered the army, and he and the leaders of Israel marched at the head of it to Ai.
[[#Verse 11.]] All the troops that were with him marched up and drew near the city. They camped north of Ai on the other side of the valley.Â
[[#Verse 12.]]Â He took 5,000 men and set an ambush west of the city between Bethel and Ai.Â
[[#Verse 13.]] The army was in positionâthe main army north of the city and the rear guard west of the city. That night Joshua went into the middle of the valley.
[[#Verse 14.]] When the king of Ai and all his people saw Israel, they rushed to get up early. Then the king and the men of the city went out to meet Israel in battle, at the meeting place near the rift valley. But he did not realize an ambush was waiting for him behind the city.
[[#Verse 15.]]Â Joshua and all Israel pretended to be defeated by them, and they retreated along the way to the wilderness.Â
[[#Verse 16.]] All the reinforcements in Ai were ordered to chase them; they chased Joshua and were lured away from the city.Â
[[#Verse 17.]] No men were left in Ai or Bethel; they all went out after Israel. They left the city wide open and chased Israel.
[[#Verse 18.]] The Lord told Joshua, âHold out toward Ai the curved sword in your hand, for I am handing the city over to you.â So Joshua held out toward Ai the curved sword in his hand.Â
[[#Verse 19.]] When he held out his hand, the men waiting in ambush rose up quickly from their place and attacked. They entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire.
[[#Verse 20.]] When the men of Ai turned around, they saw the smoke from the city ascending into the sky and were so shocked they were unable to flee in any direction. In the meantime the men who were retreating to the wilderness turned against their pursuers.Â
[[#Verse 21.]] When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the city was going up in smoke, they turned around and struck down the men of Ai.Â
[[#Verse 22.]] At the same time the men who had taken the city came out to fight, and the men of Ai were trapped in the middle. The Israelites struck them down, leaving no survivors or refugees.Â
[[#Verse 23.]]Â But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
[[#Verse 24.]] When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai who had chased them toward the wilderness (they all fell by the sword), all Israel returned to Ai and put the sword to it.Â
[[#Verse 25.]] So 12,000 men and women died that day, including all the men of Ai.Â
[[#Verse 26.]]Â Joshua kept holding out his curved sword until Israel had annihilated all who lived in Ai.
[[#Verse 27.]] But Israel did plunder the cattle and the goods of the city, in keeping with the Lordâs orders to Joshua.Â
[[#Verse 28.]]Â Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanently uninhabited mound (it remains that way to this very day).Â
[[#Verse 29.]] He hung the king of Ai on a tree, leaving him exposed until evening. At sunset Joshua ordered that his corpse be taken down from the tree. 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).
### Covenant Renewal
[[#Verse 30.]] Then Joshua built an altar for the Lord God of Israel on Mount Ebal,Â
[[#Verse 31.]] just as Moses the Lordâs servant had commanded the Israelites. As described in the law scroll of Moses, it was made with uncut stones untouched by an iron tool. On it they offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord and sacrificed tokens of peace.Â
[[#Verse 32.]]Â There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a duplicate of the law written by Moses.Â
[[#Verse 33.]] All the people, rulers, leaders, and judges were standing on either side of the ark, in front of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Both resident foreigners and native Israelites were there. Half the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the Lordâs servant had previously instructed them to do for the formal blessing ceremony.
[[#Verse 34.]] Then Joshua read aloud all the words of the law, including the blessings and the curses, just as they are written in the law scroll.Â
[[#Verse 35.]] Joshua read aloud every commandment Moses had given before the whole assembly of Israel, including the women, children, and resident foreigners who lived among them.
## đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
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###### Verse 05.
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###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
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###### Verse 18.
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###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
###### Verse 26.
###### Verse 27.
###### Verse 28.
###### Verse 29.
###### Verse 30.
###### Verse 31.
###### Verse 32.
###### Verse 33.
###### Verse 34.
###### Verse 35.
## đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. The ambush numbers (30,000 in 8:3 and 5,000 in 8:12) are hard to reconcile, and scholars offer different explanations.
2. Joshua held out his javelin until Ai was destroyed (8:18, 26), much like Moses held up his hands against Amalek (Exodus 17:11-12).
3. Ai was located near Bethel (8:9, 12).
4. This time the Lord allowed Israel to take the livestock and plunder (8:27).
5. The king of Ai's body was taken down at sunset, following Deuteronomy 21:23 (8:29).
6. The altar on Mount Ebal fulfilled Moses' command in Deuteronomy 27:2-8 (8:30-31).
7. Joshua wrote a copy of the law of Moses on the stones (8:32).
8. Half the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal (8:33).
9. The site of Ai is debated. The traditional site, et-Tell, seems unoccupied in Joshua's time, so some scholars suggest Khirbet el-Maqatir instead.
10. Foreigners living among Israel were included in hearing the law (8:35).
## đ§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## âď¸ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the One who restores us after failure and brings us back under God's Word. After Israel's defeat, the Lord told Joshua not to fear (8:1), and Joshua read all the law to the people (8:34-35). Jesus likewise restored Peter after his failure (John 21:15-17).
## đ Key Principles / đ Life Application
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đŹ Discussion Questions
1. After the defeat, God told Joshua not to fear or be discouraged (8:1). How does God meet us after failure?
2. This time Israel was allowed to keep the plunder (8:2, 27). What does that suggest about Achan's impatience?
3. Joshua read every word of the law to everyone, including women, children, and foreigners (8:34-35). Why do all of God's people need all of God's Word?
## âď¸ Key Verses to Remember
- đ verse 1: The Lord tells Joshua not to be afraid or discouraged, because He has given Ai into his hand.
- đ verses 30-31: Joshua builds an altar to the Lord on Mount Ebal.
- đ verses 34-35: Joshua reads every word of the law to the whole assembly.
## đ Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đ [[Deuteronomy 27#Verse 02.|Deuteronomy 27:2-8]] - Moses commands the altar and the stones.
- đ [[Deuteronomy 11#Verse 29.|Deuteronomy 11:29]] - The blessing and the curse on the two mountains.
- đ [[Exodus 17#Verse 11.|Exodus 17:11-12]] - Moses' raised hands bring victory.
- đ [[Nehemiah 08#Verse 01.|Nehemiah 8:1-3]] - The law read to all the people.
- đ [[John 21#Verse 15.|John 21:15-17]] - Jesus restores Peter.
## đ Devotional Reflection
đ SOAP: [[Joshua 8 - SOAP|Share the Truth]]
## đ Internal Notes