Joshua 8:22

22 Then the men in the ambush poured out of the city. The men of Ai were caught in the middle with Israelites on both sides - a real massacre. And not a single survivor.

Joshua 8:22 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 8:22

And the other issued out of the city against them
That is, the ambush, or at least a part of them:

so that they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some
on that side;
or, as we commonly say, they were between two fires, the ambush on one side, the army of Israel on the other:

and they smote them, so that they let none of them remain or escape;
not one was saved alive, excepting their king, as in ( Joshua 8:23 ) ; no quarter was given them, nor any suffered to make their escape.

Joshua 8:22 In-Context

20 The men of Ai looked back and, oh! saw the city going up in smoke. They found themselves trapped with nowhere to run.

21 The army on the run toward the wilderness did an about-face - Joshua and all Israel, seeing that the ambush had taken the city, saw it going up in smoke, turned and attacked the men of Ai.

22 Then the men in the ambush poured out of the city. The men of Ai were caught in the middle with Israelites on both sides - a real massacre. And not a single survivor.

23 Except for the king of Ai; they took him alive and brought him to Joshua.

24 When it was all over, Israel had killed everyone in Ai, whether in the fields or in the wilderness where they had chased them. When the killing was complete, the Israelites returned to Ai and completed the devastation.