Joshua 8

This chapter belongs to the opening part of the conquest narrative in the Book of Joshua. It recounts how Israel, having failed in its attack on Ai because of Achan's sin in Joshua 7, strikes Ai again, and it goes on to describe a covenant ceremony.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 The LORD says, "Fear not," and promises to deliver Ai into Israel's hand. Israel is to do as it did at Jericho, but this time the people may take the spoil and the cattle; He commands them to lay an ambush behind the city.
• Verses 3–9 Joshua sends out thirty thousand mighty men by night. The plan is for the main force to feign flight and draw the enemy out of the city, while the ambush seizes the city and sets it on fire. The ambush hides between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
• Verses 10–13 In the morning Joshua musters the people, goes up with the elders, and pitches camp north of Ai. He sets about five thousand men in a separate ambush on the west.
• Verses 14–17 The king of Ai comes out to fight before the Arabah, and Israel, feigning defeat, flees by the way of the wilderness. The men of Ai and Bethel all give chase, leaving the city gates open.
• Verses 18–23 At the LORD's command Joshua stretches out his spear (a short spear or javelin) toward Ai, and the ambush takes the city and sets it on fire. The men of Ai are caught between forces in front and behind, and the king of Ai is taken alive.
• Verses 24–29 Twelve thousand men and women die that day. Israel takes the cattle and the spoil and burns the city, making it "an heap for ever." The king of Ai is hanged on a tree until evening; at sundown his body is taken down, and a heap of stones is raised over it at the entrance of the city gate.
• Verses 30–35 Joshua builds an altar of unhewn stones on Mount Ebal and offers burnt offerings and peace offerings. He writes the law on the stones and stations the people on either side of the ark of the covenant, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal. Then, in an assembly that includes the women, the children, and the strangers living among them, he reads all the words of the law, both the blessings and the cursings.

Key Verses

• Joshua 8:1 "Fear not, neither be thou dismayed" — a promise given anew after failure.
• Joshua 8:31 "An altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron" — showing that Joshua acted according to the law of Moses.
• Joshua 8:35 "There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not" — a scene of covenant renewal in the midst of the conquest.

People and Places

• Joshua: The leader of Israel, who directs both the battle and the covenant ceremony.
• King of Ai: The unnamed king of Ai, who is captured and executed.
• Ai: A city east of Bethel. Its Hebrew name is commonly understood to mean "ruin."
• Bethel: A city west of Ai whose inhabitants also join the pursuit.
• Arabah: The lowland region of the Jordan Valley.
• Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim: Two mountains facing each other near Shechem.
• Moses: Mentioned as the one who had commanded this ceremony in advance.
• Levitical priests: They carry the ark of the covenant and stand in the midst of the congregation.

Points for Reflection

• Size of the ambush force: Interpreters differ on how the thirty thousand of verse 3 relate to the five thousand of verse 12. Some hold that the same unit is described in different terms, others that these are separate units, and still others that the discrepancy arose in the course of the text's transmission.
• Permission to take spoil: Unlike at Jericho, the people are permitted to take the spoil this time (verses 2 and 27). For this reason the passage is often read in contrast with Achan's sin in chapter 7.
• Interpreting the destruction: Views vary on how to read accounts of total destruction in which all the inhabitants of a city are killed. Some regard them as God's judgment, while others see them as the hyperbolic literary conventions of ancient Near Eastern war records.
• The one hanged on a tree: Taking down the king's body at sundown accords with the regulation in Deuteronomy 21:22–23. Paul connects this Deuteronomic regulation with the cross of Christ in Galatians 3:10–14.
• Placement of verses 30–35: This section depicts the fulfillment of the command in Deuteronomy 27. In the Septuagint, however, it appears after 9:2, and in one of the Dead Sea Scrolls it is reportedly placed even earlier.
• Location of Ai: Archaeological discussion continues over the exact site of Ai and how it fits with the date of the conquest.

In the Korean Church

The account of Israel's second attempt on Ai is frequently used, together with chapter 7, as a sermon text on the theme of "repentance and restoration after failure."