Bible Strands
Joshua 8:16
Then all the men of Ai were summoned to pursue them, and they followed Joshua and were drawn away from the city.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua and the Israelite army execute a feigned retreat toward the wilderness while the ambush waits. The commander of Ai mobilizes the city's defenders to chase the fleeing troops.
The words — וַ/יִּזָּעֲק֗וּ (va/i.yi.za.'a.Ku) literally means "and they were called together," describing the summoning of the Ai forces. לִ/רְדֹּ֖ף (li/r.Dof) translates as "to pursue," denoting the active chase directed at Joshua and his men.
The thread — This tactical withdrawal appears in Joshua 8:5 as the initial plan and repeats in Judges 20:31 and Judges 20:36 during the war against Benjamin. Each passage uses a deliberate retreat to lure opponents from fortified positions.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to see how apparent retreat functions as a deliberate tactical move rather than a rout. It demands recognition that obedience to specific commands creates the conditions for victory.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And all the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city.
Cross-references
- Judges 20:31 The Benjamites came out against them and were drawn away from the city. They began to attack the people as before, killing about thirty men of Israel in the fields and on the roads, one of which led up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah.
- Joshua 8:5 Then I and all the troops with me will advance on the city. When they come out against us as they did the first time, we will flee from them.
- Judges 20:36 Then the Benjamites realized they had been defeated. Now the men of Israel had retreated before Benjamin because they were relying on the ambush they had set against Gibeah.
- Psalms 9:16 The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah
- Ezekiel 38:11 You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will come against a quiet people who dwell securely, all of them living without walls or bars or gates—
- Revelation 16:14 These are demonic spirits that perform signs and go out to all the kings of the earth, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.
- Revelation 19:19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies assembled to wage war against the One seated on the horse, and against His army.