Bible Strands
Joshua 8:2
And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set up an ambush behind the city.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks to Joshua, directing military strategy immediately after promising to deliver the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land into his hands. This instruction occurs at the moment Joshua is preparing to lead the Israelite army in the assault on Ai.
The words — The term רַק (rak) translates literally as "only" or "except," marking the sole deviation from the prior command given at Jericho. The verb עָשִׂיתָ ('a.Si.ta) appears twice, meaning "you will do" and "you did," explicitly linking the upcoming action to the previous campaign.
The thread — This directive echoes the conquest regulations in Deuteronomy 20:14, which permits taking plunder from conquered cities, while contrasting with Joshua 6:21 where Jericho was entirely devoted to destruction. The tactical command to "set up an ambush" parallels divine ambush strategies described in 2 Chronicles 20:22.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to recognize that divine victory operates through specific, disclosed instructions rather than uniform ritual. It demands obedience to strategic detail while accepting that God’s provision of plunder remains a tangible reward for compliance.
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 thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 20:14 But the women, children, livestock, and whatever else is in the city—all its spoil—you may take as plunder, and you shall use the spoil of your enemies that the LORD your God gives you.
- Joshua 6:21 With the edge of the sword they devoted to destruction everything in the city—man and woman, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.
- 2 Chronicles 20:22 The moment they began their shouts and praises, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were defeated.
- Proverbs 13:22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is passed to the righteous.
- Deuteronomy 3:2 But the LORD said to me, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, along with all his people and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.”
- Joshua 8:7 you are to rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand.
- Joshua 8:9 So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But Joshua spent that night among the people.
- Joshua 8:12 Now Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set up an ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city.
- Joshua 8:14 When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, he hurried out early in the morning with the men of the city to engage them in battle at an appointed place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set up against him behind the city.
- Joshua 8:19 and as soon as he did so, the men in ambush rose quickly from their position. They rushed forward, entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire.