Discovery BoxJoshua 8:4-12 
Context8:4 He told 1 them, “Look, set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from the city; all of you be ready! 8:5 I and all the troops 2 who are with me will approach the city. When they come out to fight us like before, we will retreat from them. 8:6 They will attack 3 us until we have lured them from the city, for they will say, ‘They are retreating from us like before.’ We will retreat from them. 8:7 Then you rise up from your hiding place 4 and seize 5 the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you. 8:8 When you capture the city, set it 6 on fire. Do as the Lord says! See, I have given you orders.” 7 8:9 Joshua sent them away and they went to their hiding place 8 west of Ai, between Bethel 9 and Ai. 10 Joshua spent that night with the army. 11
8:10 Bright and early the next morning Joshua gathered 12 the army, 13 and he and the leaders 14 of Israel marched 15 at the head of it 16 to Ai. 8:11 All the troops that were with him marched up and drew near the city. 17 They camped north of Ai on the other side of the valley. 18 8:12 He took five thousand men and set an ambush west of the city between Bethel 19 and Ai.
1 tn Or “commanded, ordered.”
2 tn Heb “the people.”
3 tn Heb “come out after.”
4 tn Heb “from the ambush.”
5 tn Heb “take possession of.”
6 tn Heb “the city.”
7 tn Heb “I have commanded you.”
8 tn Or “the place of ambush.”
9 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
10 tn Heb “and they stayed between Bethel and Ai, west of Ai.”
11 tn Heb “in the midst of the people.”
12 tn Or “summoned, mustered.”
13 tn Heb “the people.”
14 tn Or “elders.”
15 tn Heb “went up.”
16 tn Heb “them” (referring to “the people” in the previous clause, which requires a plural pronoun). Since the translation used “army” in the previous clause, a singular pronoun (“it”) is required in English.
17 tn Heb “All the people of war who were with him went up and approached and came opposite the city.”
18 tn Heb “and the valley [was] between them and Ai.”
19 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
