New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Joshua 8
1
Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, "Do not be afraid. Do not lose hope. Go up and attack Ai. Take the whole army with you. I have handed the king of Ai over to you. I have given you his people, his city and his land.
Reference
People
Kingdom
Joshua 6:2
Parallel theme
Isaiah 43:2
References Lord
Joshua 1:9
Deuteronomy 7:18
Deuteronomy 1:21
Deuteronomy 31:8
2
"Remember what you did to Jericho and its king. You will do the same thing to Ai and its king. But this time you can keep for yourselves the livestock and everything else you take from them. Have some of your fighting men hide behind the city and take them by surprise."
Reference
3
So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose 30,000 of his best fighting men. He sent them out at night.
4
He gave them orders. He said, "Listen carefully to what I'm saying. You must hide behind the city. Don't go very far away from it. All of you must be ready to attack it.
Reference
Parallel theme
Judges 20:29
5
"I and all of the men who are with me will go up to the city. The men of Ai will come out to fight against us, just as they did before. Then we'll run away from them.
Reference
Parallel theme
Joshua 7:5
6
They'll chase us until we've drawn them away from the city. They'll say, 'They are running away from us, just as they did before.' "When we run away from them,
7
come out of your hiding place. Take over the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you.
Reference
8
When you have taken it, set it on fire. Do what the Lord has commanded. Make sure you obey my orders."
Reference
9
Then Joshua sent them away. They went to the place where they had planned to hide. They hid in a place west of Ai. It was between Bethel and Ai. But Joshua spent that night with his men.
10
Early the next morning Joshua brought his men together. He and the leaders of Israel marched in front of them to Ai.
11
The whole army that was with him marched up to the city. They stopped in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai. There was a valley between them and the city.
12
Joshua had chosen about 5,000 soldiers. He had ordered them to hide in a place west of Ai. It was between Bethel and Ai.
13
The men took up their battle positions. All of the men who were in the camp that was north of the city took up their positions. So did those who were supposed to hide west of the city. That night Joshua went into the valley.
14
The king of Ai saw what the army of Israel was doing. So he and all of his men hurried out of the city early in the morning. They marched out to meet Israel in battle. They went to a place that looked out over the Arabah Valley. The king didn't know that some of Israel's fighting men were hiding behind the city.
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 24:39
15
Joshua and all of his men let the men of Ai drive them back. The men of Israel ran away toward the desert.
Reference
Parallel theme
Joshua 18:12
16
All of the men of Ai were called out to chase them. They chased Joshua. So they were drawn away from the city.
Reference
Parallel theme
Judges 20:31
17
Not even one man remained in Ai or Bethel. All of them went out to chase Israel. When they did, they left the city wide open.
18
Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, "Point the javelin that is in your hand at Ai. I will hand the city over to you." So Joshua pointed his javelin at Ai.
Reference
19
As soon as he did, the men who were hiding behind the city got up quickly. They came out of their hiding places and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it. They quickly set it on fire.
20
The men of Ai looked back. They saw smoke rising up from the city into the sky. But they couldn't escape in any direction. The men of Israel had been running away toward the desert. But now they turned around to face those who were chasing them.
21
Joshua and all of his men saw that the men who had been hiding behind the city had captured it. They also saw the smoke that was going up from it. So they turned around and attacked the men of Ai.
22
The men who had set Ai on fire came out of the city. They also fought against the men of Ai. So the men of Ai were caught in the middle. The army of Israel was on both sides of them. Israel struck them down. They didn't let anyone remain alive or get away.
Reference
Parallel theme
Deuteronomy 7:2
23
But they took the king of Ai alive. They brought him to Joshua.
Reference
Kingdom
1 Samuel 15:8
24
Israel finished killing all of the men of Ai. They destroyed them in the fields and in the desert where they had chased them. They struck every one of them down with their swords. Then all of the men of Israel returned to Ai. And they killed those who were left in it.
25
The total number of men and women they killed that day was 12,000. They put to death all of the people of Ai.
26
Joshua kept the javelin that was in his hand pointed at Ai. He didn't lower his hand until he and his men had totally destroyed everyone who lived there.
Reference
Parallel theme
Joshua 8:18
27
But this time Israel kept for themselves the livestock and everything else they had taken from the city. The Lord had directed Joshua to let them do it.
Reference
Parallel theme
Joshua 8:2
28
So Joshua burned Ai down. He tore it down so it could never be built again. It has been deserted to this very day.
Reference
Parallel theme
Deuteronomy 13:16
29
Joshua killed the king of Ai. He stuck a pole through the body. Then he set it up where people could see it. He left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered his men to remove the body from the pole. He told them to throw the body down at the entrance of the city gate. They put a large pile of rocks over the body. That pile is still there to this very day.
Reference
30
Joshua built an altar to honor the Lord, the God of Israel. He built it on Mount Ebal.
31
Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded the people of Israel to do that. Joshua built the altar in keeping with what is written in the Scroll of the Law of Moses. He built an altar out of stones that iron tools had never touched. Then the people offered on the altar burnt offerings to the Lord. They also sacrificed friendship offerings on it.
32
Joshua copied the written law of Moses on stones. He did it while all of the people of Israel were watching.
Reference
Word
Deuteronomy 27:8
33
They were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord. All of the people of Israel, including outsiders and citizens, were there. Israel's elders, officials and judges were also there. All of them faced the priests, who were Levites. They were carrying the ark. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim. The other half stood in front of Mount Ebal. Moses, the servant of the Lord, had earlier told them to do it. It was when he had given directions to bless the people of Israel.
Reference
Blessing
Deuteronomy 11:29
Covenant
Deuteronomy 31:9
Deuteronomy 31:25
Joshua 4:18
Joshua 3:3
Judgment
Joshua 24:1
Parallel theme
Exodus 12:49
Numbers 15:16
References Israel
Numbers 15:29
References Lord
Deuteronomy 31:12
34
Then Joshua read all of the words of the law out loud. He read the blessings and the curses. He read them in keeping with what is written in the Scroll of the Law.
Reference
Parallel theme
Nehemiah 13:1
Chapter Summary
Joshua chapter 8 describes how Israel fought the city of Ai following on from the events of the previous chapter. Here the Lord gives Joshua instructions for the battle, which involved an ingenious ambush of the enemy which was hidden from them. After fighting at Ai, Joshua builds an altar on Mount Ebal and reads the law of Moses to the people. The chapter shows how Israel's successes were tied up with obedience and worship to God.
Following on from the events concerning Achan and Israel's disobedience, God told Joshua not to be afraid or disheartened. He told Joshua to take the army and fight Ai, and that he would give the town, people and land to Israel. God also told them to take the livestock and the goods from Ai as plunder, which was in contrast to their experiences at Jericho. The people of Israel had obeyed the commands of the Lord concerning Jericho, and so they were not allowed to take anything to themselves. However, since they had shown such faith at Jericho, God let them take the plunder from Ai.
Joshua prepared his army for battle and selected thirty thousand mighty men of valour from his forces. He sent them out by night and told them to lie in wait behind the city. They were to lure the defenders of Ai out of the city so that they could enter uncontested and set it on fire. Joshua and the main part of the Israelite forces would have pretended to be fleeing to the wilderness when the men of Ai came out in pursuit. The men of Ai would then see the Israelite forces in ambush behind city, set off in pursuit of the Israelite vanguard, see the city on fire and not know what to do. They would be caught between the Israelites who had set the city on fire and those still fighting them, and would soon find themselves overwhelmed.
Sure enough, the King of Ai saw the Israelite forces and sent his men out to fight, just as Joshua had promised. They drew alongside the Israelites and seemed to be prepared to fight. However, just like the Israelites had done at the time of the battle with Jericho, the Israelite vanguard started to flee. The men of Ai pursued them and were led away from the city.
It was then that the Israelites who had been lying in wait set off to fight. Just like the Israelites at the start of the battle, they set the city on fire. The men of Ai soon turned and saw the smoke rising to the sky and the Israelites in ambush behind the city. Joshua and the Israelite forces halted their flight and turned to face the men of Ai. The men of Ai saw the Israelites coming towards them and the Israelites who had set the city on fire, and they were caught between the two forces. The Israelites defeated them and captured one of the Kings.
The chapter records that Israel took the livestock and goods of Ai as spoil, as the Lord had commanded. This was a sign of God's blessing upon them for following his instructions for the battle and not disobeying as they had done when Achan had taken the banned items for Jericho.
The King of Ai was taken alive and killed in accordance to the instructions for the battle. Joshua acted as the Lord had told him to and his body was displayed as the Lord had instructed. At sunset Joshua ordered his body to be taken down and cast at the city gate, and a great heap of stones raised over him.
Having fought and defeated the forces at Ai, the focus of the events change entirely. Joshua built an altar to the Lord on Mount Ebal as the Lord had instructed through Moses. He did this using whole stones which had not been shaped by iron tools.
The Israelites burnt offerings and sacrifices to the Lord upon the altar. Joshua also carved a copy of the law of Moses upon the stones to show that the people were to live by the law as they entered the land.
The place where Joshua built this altar was significant. It was on Mount Ebal, with Mount Gerizim nearby. These places were to the west of Shechem, in the centre of the land. Moses had previously instructed Israel to gather in this place after they had entered Canaan and to renew the covenant with God.
Joshua gathered the whole congregation of Israel with him. This included the women, children and strangers who lived with them. They were divided in accordance to the instructions of Moses, and half of the people stood before Mount Gerizim and the other half stood before Mount Ebal. The priests and Levites stood with the Ark of the Covenant at the front of the assembly, reading the word of God and teaching the Israelites.
Joshua read all the words of the law to the people of Israel. The people were told the blessings and curses as described in the whole of the law of Moses. It records that the chapter specifically said that Joshua read out all the words of the law to all the people.
The reading of the law was important as Israel had not fought the battles to conquer Canaan so that they could simply occupy the land. They were to live as a covenant people under the law which Moses had given them. The Israelites' victories were not the end of God's covenant with Israel, but a beginning. Joshua had followed God's instructions throughout the battles, and Israel was now to follow them now as they lived in the land.
It was also significant that the women, children and strangers were included in the audience for the reading. They were to be taught the covenant as well as their fathers and were bound to live by the covenant instructions. They were not to have knowledge of God's law through the military leaders only, but through the whole nation.
Joshua chapter 8 therefore brings together two very different events. The first was a military victory, the second an act of worship.
It contrasts significantly with Joshua chapter 7. When Israel had fought Ai previously, they had suffered a defeat because of the disobedience of Achan. In this chapter Joshua followed the instructions of the Lord and Israel was victorious. He then reminded the people of the Lord's instructions for them.
The chapter also shows that Israel's conquests were not just campaigns of expansionism. Following the battle at Ai, Joshua spent time building the altar, making sacrifices, writing the law and reading it to the people. It showed that the people were to remember that they had responsibility and duty to God beyond simply conquering the land.
This reminder of the covenant was significant because Joshua was continuing the work which Moses had begun. Moses had laid out the instructions Israel to follow as they entered Canaan. The people of Israel were now in the land, but were to live by God's covenant as a society. The reading of the law was also important as the Israelites had not obeyed God's commands before when they had refused to obey all of the instructions for Jericho. The covenant was binding, and they had to renew it again. They were to remember always the law which Moses had received from God. They were a nation set apart, under God's instructions.
Joshua chapter 8 ends on the note of Israel renewing their covenant with God. The events recorded in this chapter show that just as Israel's successes were dependent on following the commands of the Lord, so was their faithfulness in keeping them. Following Joshua's military successes, Israel were reminded of the law and were to follow it.
Following on from the events concerning Achan and Israel's disobedience, God told Joshua not to be afraid or disheartened. He told Joshua to take the army and fight Ai, and that he would give the town, people and land to Israel. God also told them to take the livestock and the goods from Ai as plunder, which was in contrast to their experiences at Jericho. The people of Israel had obeyed the commands of the Lord concerning Jericho, and so they were not allowed to take anything to themselves. However, since they had shown such faith at Jericho, God let them take the plunder from Ai.
Joshua prepared his army for battle and selected thirty thousand mighty men of valour from his forces. He sent them out by night and told them to lie in wait behind the city. They were to lure the defenders of Ai out of the city so that they could enter uncontested and set it on fire. Joshua and the main part of the Israelite forces would have pretended to be fleeing to the wilderness when the men of Ai came out in pursuit. The men of Ai would then see the Israelite forces in ambush behind city, set off in pursuit of the Israelite vanguard, see the city on fire and not know what to do. They would be caught between the Israelites who had set the city on fire and those still fighting them, and would soon find themselves overwhelmed.
Sure enough, the King of Ai saw the Israelite forces and sent his men out to fight, just as Joshua had promised. They drew alongside the Israelites and seemed to be prepared to fight. However, just like the Israelites had done at the time of the battle with Jericho, the Israelite vanguard started to flee. The men of Ai pursued them and were led away from the city.
It was then that the Israelites who had been lying in wait set off to fight. Just like the Israelites at the start of the battle, they set the city on fire. The men of Ai soon turned and saw the smoke rising to the sky and the Israelites in ambush behind the city. Joshua and the Israelite forces halted their flight and turned to face the men of Ai. The men of Ai saw the Israelites coming towards them and the Israelites who had set the city on fire, and they were caught between the two forces. The Israelites defeated them and captured one of the Kings.
The chapter records that Israel took the livestock and goods of Ai as spoil, as the Lord had commanded. This was a sign of God's blessing upon them for following his instructions for the battle and not disobeying as they had done when Achan had taken the banned items for Jericho.
The King of Ai was taken alive and killed in accordance to the instructions for the battle. Joshua acted as the Lord had told him to and his body was displayed as the Lord had instructed. At sunset Joshua ordered his body to be taken down and cast at the city gate, and a great heap of stones raised over him.
Having fought and defeated the forces at Ai, the focus of the events change entirely. Joshua built an altar to the Lord on Mount Ebal as the Lord had instructed through Moses. He did this using whole stones which had not been shaped by iron tools.
The Israelites burnt offerings and sacrifices to the Lord upon the altar. Joshua also carved a copy of the law of Moses upon the stones to show that the people were to live by the law as they entered the land.
The place where Joshua built this altar was significant. It was on Mount Ebal, with Mount Gerizim nearby. These places were to the west of Shechem, in the centre of the land. Moses had previously instructed Israel to gather in this place after they had entered Canaan and to renew the covenant with God.
Joshua gathered the whole congregation of Israel with him. This included the women, children and strangers who lived with them. They were divided in accordance to the instructions of Moses, and half of the people stood before Mount Gerizim and the other half stood before Mount Ebal. The priests and Levites stood with the Ark of the Covenant at the front of the assembly, reading the word of God and teaching the Israelites.
Joshua read all the words of the law to the people of Israel. The people were told the blessings and curses as described in the whole of the law of Moses. It records that the chapter specifically said that Joshua read out all the words of the law to all the people.
The reading of the law was important as Israel had not fought the battles to conquer Canaan so that they could simply occupy the land. They were to live as a covenant people under the law which Moses had given them. The Israelites' victories were not the end of God's covenant with Israel, but a beginning. Joshua had followed God's instructions throughout the battles, and Israel was now to follow them now as they lived in the land.
It was also significant that the women, children and strangers were included in the audience for the reading. They were to be taught the covenant as well as their fathers and were bound to live by the covenant instructions. They were not to have knowledge of God's law through the military leaders only, but through the whole nation.
Joshua chapter 8 therefore brings together two very different events. The first was a military victory, the second an act of worship.
It contrasts significantly with Joshua chapter 7. When Israel had fought Ai previously, they had suffered a defeat because of the disobedience of Achan. In this chapter Joshua followed the instructions of the Lord and Israel was victorious. He then reminded the people of the Lord's instructions for them.
The chapter also shows that Israel's conquests were not just campaigns of expansionism. Following the battle at Ai, Joshua spent time building the altar, making sacrifices, writing the law and reading it to the people. It showed that the people were to remember that they had responsibility and duty to God beyond simply conquering the land.
This reminder of the covenant was significant because Joshua was continuing the work which Moses had begun. Moses had laid out the instructions Israel to follow as they entered Canaan. The people of Israel were now in the land, but were to live by God's covenant as a society. The reading of the law was also important as the Israelites had not obeyed God's commands before when they had refused to obey all of the instructions for Jericho. The covenant was binding, and they had to renew it again. They were to remember always the law which Moses had received from God. They were a nation set apart, under God's instructions.
Joshua chapter 8 ends on the note of Israel renewing their covenant with God. The events recorded in this chapter show that just as Israel's successes were dependent on following the commands of the Lord, so was their faithfulness in keeping them. Following Joshua's military successes, Israel were reminded of the law and were to follow it.