Joshua 8 Study Notes

8:1 God’s words do not be afraid or discouraged recall his first charge to Joshua, where they set the stage for his promise of presence and for the miracles that followed (1:9). With all the troops, Israel would again be united (unlike 7:3) and thus their victory was more likely. As with the promise about Jericho (6:2), God’s instructions to Joshua began with the promise that victory was already assured.

8:2 As with Jericho (6:21), all the people of Ai were to be destroyed. However, here it was possible for Israel to keep the livestock for their own use. The change demonstrates that flexibility in the matter of devoting things to God was possible. The use of an ambush is a strategy known in the ancient Near East and used more than once in Israel’s history (Jdg 9; 20). Its deceptive nature recalls the ruse of Rahab in Jos 2:4-5. The references to the king of Ai and the city might suggest that Ai was not a fort. However, as with Jericho, a “king” could be a military leader rather than an independent sovereign (6:2); the word for city refers to any population center, including a fort (2Sm 5:7).

8:3 Joshua sent the army out at night so they would not be detected easily.

8:4,9 Given the traditional locations of Ai and Bethel (7:2), there is a ravine between them, west of Ai, in which it would be possible for troops to hide and escape notice from either town.

8:5-7 Joshua (with God’s blessing) assumed the army of Ai would act the same as before because they thought Israel would behave just as before, even though they had a larger force.

8:8 After capturing Ai, they were to set it on fire as they did to Jericho (6:24). Joshua understood this as the Lord’s command, a message he had received directly from God.

8:9-13 The position of the ambush is described twice, in vv. 9 and 13. The sentences but he spent that night with the troops in v. 9 and that night Joshua went into the valley are identical in Hebrew except for one letter.

The positions of Joshua’s forces were far from the road from which they would be expected to approach. Coming from west of Ai provided an additional element of sur-prise.

8:14-17 The ruse worked as Ai was emptied of its inhabitants. The attack took place early in the morning when the advantage would be with Israel’s main force because the rising sun would blind the army of Ai as they pursued Joshua’s forces eastward.

8:18-19 The javelin in Joshua’s hand symbolized war so that Joshua’s action declared the beginning of the hostilities. The javelin is also an offensive weapon, indicating the turning point in the battle. Israel moved from the defensive to the offensive when Ai’s army experienced the reverse. The ambush accomplished its task without resistance.

8:20-22 As the main body of Israel turned west toward the pursuing army of Ai, the warriors of the city were driven back. At that point they saw Ai ablaze and found the ambush moving east out of the city and blocking their retreat. Caught between the two forces and despairing at the destruction of their defenses, they were easily defeated, and their army was destroyed.

8:23 The capture of the king of Ai was a symbolic act because he had led the defeat of the earlier Israelite army sent out against him. Now his role as a defeated leader contrasted with the victorious role of Joshua.

8:24-27 The destruction of all the inhabitants of Ai fulfilled God’s clear command in v. 2.

8:27 Joshua followed God’s command in v. 2 about the cattle.

8:28 The word Ai (pronounced like eye) means “ruin.” Like Jericho, this defeated city would be a memorial to Israel’s victory. On still . . . today see the note at 4:8-9.

8:29 The focus on the king of Ai in chap. 8 corresponds to that of Rahab at the destruction of Jericho in chap. 6. Rahab was delivered from death because of her faith, whereas the king of Ai was put to death because of his antagonism toward Israel. The king of Ai also compares to Achan, as both were executed by Israel. The hanging of his body exposed it to shame. In Israel it was forbidden to allow a body to remain overnight so exposed (Dt 21:23; Jn 19:31).

8:30-31 Joshua’s construction of an altar on Mount Ebal, north of Shechem, was a fulfillment of what Moses . . . had commanded in Dt 27:5. The burnt offerings and fellowship offerings were the same offerings required in the first law of the altar in Ex 20:24 and in instructions for this gathering on Mount Ebal in Dt 27:6-7.

8:32 Joshua’s copying of the law of Moses was commanded in Dt 27:3. It resembled the actions of the king who had to make his own copy of the law (Dt 17:18).

8:33 In Dt 27:12-13 half of Israel was to stand in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal in order to pronounce the blessings and curses for obeying or disobeying the covenant. This account in Joshua included the resident alien as well as the citizen; thus, the entire nation and all who lived with Israel were present and standing around the ark of the Lord’s covenant.

8:34 Joshua represented Israel in both the writing and reading of the covenant with its blessings and curses.

8:35 The perfect obedience of Joshua is underscored. Here again, the totality of Israel is emphasized, including women and dependents as well as the officers. Resident aliens were also included.