Bible Strands
Joshua 8:4
with these orders: “Pay attention. You are to lie in ambush behind the city, not too far from it. All of you must be ready.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua issues tactical orders to the thirty thousand chosen men at night, directing them to position themselves for an operation against Ai.
The words — The Hebrew רְאוּ (Re'u) commands "see" or "pay attention," while אֹרְבִים (o'revim) literally denotes the state of "lying in wait" or ambush.
The thread — The text records this rear positioning, which parallels the ambush setup in Judges 20:29 around Gibeah and Judges 9:25 on the hilltops of Shechem, while Joshua 8:16 confirms the enemy is drawn away from the city to complete the maneuver.
Why it lands — The passage commands precise positioning and collective readiness, requiring the reader to acknowledge that the operation's success depends entirely on strict compliance with the stated deployment orders.
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 he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready:
Cross-references
- Judges 20:29 So Israel set up an ambush around Gibeah.
- 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.
- Judges 9:25 The leaders of Shechem set up an ambush against Abimelech on the hilltops, and they robbed all who passed by them on the road. So this was reported to Abimelech.
- Judges 20:33 So all the men of Israel got up from their places and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamar, and the Israelites in ambush charged from their positions west of Gibeah.
- 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.
- 1 Samuel 15:2 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I witnessed what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they opposed them on their way up from Egypt.
- 1 Samuel 15:5 Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley.
- Ecclesiastes 7:19 Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.
- Ecclesiastes 9:16 And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”
- Acts 23:21 Do not let them persuade you, because more than forty men are waiting to ambush him. They have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him; they are ready now, awaiting your consent.”