Joshua 8:13

13 So they stationed the forces; all the army [was] north of the city while {the rear guard was west}. But Joshua went that night to the middle of the valley.

Joshua 8:13 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 8:13

And when they had set the people
In battle array, as in ( 1 Kings 20:12 ) ; that is, Joshua and the officers of the army:

[even] all the host that [was] on the north of the city;
where Joshua and the main army were:

and the liers in wait on the west of the city:
both the first and second ambush; when all, were prepared and got ready by their several officers, to act the part they were to do:

Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley;
according to Ben Gersom, to see whether the guards or sentinels which were placed there were awake or asleep, lest the men of Ai should come suddenly upon them and smite them; but perhaps it might be to pray and meditate.

Joshua 8:13 In-Context

11 {All the fighting men} who [were] with him {went up and drew near before the city} and camped north of Ai; [there was] a valley between him and Ai.

12 And he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city.

13 So they stationed the forces; all the army [was] north of the city while {the rear guard was west}. But Joshua went that night to the middle of the valley.

14 When the king of Ai saw [this], the men of the city hurried and rose early and went out to meet Israel for battle--he and all his army--to the meeting place before the Arabah. He did not know that [there was] an ambush for him behind the city.

15 Then Joshua and all Israel acted like they were beaten before them, and they fled {in the direction of the wilderness}.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "while its rear guard [was] west of the city"