Joshua 8:1

Israel Conquers Ai

8:1 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! ¹  Take the whole army with you and march against Ai! ²  See, I am handing over to you ³  the king of Ai, along with his people, city, and land.

Joshua 8:14

8:14 When the king of Ai saw Israel, he and his whole army quickly got up the next day and went out to fight Israel at the meeting place near the Arabah. ⁴  But he did not realize ⁵  men were hiding behind the city. ⁶ 

Joshua 8:29

8:29 He hung the king of Ai on a tree, leaving him exposed until evening. ⁷  At sunset Joshua ordered that his corpse be taken down from the tree. ⁸  They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and erected over it a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day). ⁹ 

Joshua 12:2

12:2 King Sihon of the Amorites who lived ¹⁰  in Heshbon and ruled from Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) – including the city in the middle of the valley ¹¹  and half of Gilead – all the way to the Jabbok Valley bordering Ammonite territory.

Joshua 13:21

13:21 It encompassed ¹²  all the cities of the plain and the whole realm of King Sihon of the Amorites who ruled in Heshbon. Moses defeated him and the Midianite leaders Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba (they were subjects of Sihon and lived in his territory). ¹³ 

---

¹ tn Or perhaps “and don’t get discouraged!”

² tn Heb “Take with you all the people of war and arise, go up against Ai!”

³ tn Heb “I have given into our hand.” The verbal form, a perfect, is probably best understood as a perfect of certitude, indicating the certainty of the action.

⁴ tn Heb “When the king of Ai saw, the men of Ai hurried and rose early and went out to meet Israel for battle, he and all his people at the meeting place before the Arabah.”

⁵ tn Or “know.”

⁶ tn Heb “that (there was) an ambush for him behind the city.”

⁷ tn Heb “on a tree until evening.” The words “leaving him exposed” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁸ sn For the legal background of this action, see Deut 21:22-23.

⁹ tn Heb “to this day.”

¹⁰ tn Or perhaps, “reigned.”

¹¹ tc The MT reads here, “and the middle of the valley,” but the reading “the city in the middle of valley” can be reconstructed on the basis of Josh 13:9, 16.

¹² tn The words “it encompassed” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

¹³ tn Heb “princes of Sihon, inhabitants of the land.”