Joshua 8:18

18 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "1Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand." So Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city.

Joshua 8:18 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 8:18

And the Lord said unto Joshua, stretch out the spear that [is]
in thy hand towards Ai
On which was a flag, as Abarbinel and Ben Melech think; and which is not improbable, and served for a signal for the ambush to come out and seize the city, as both they and Jarchi observe, as well as a signal also to the army of Israel to prepare to turn and face about, and engage with the enemy; though they did not actually do this until they saw the smoke of the city, ( Joshua 8:21 ) ;

for I will give it into thine hand;
of which the stretching out of his spear seems also to be a confirming sign to him, and which he kept stretched out until all the inhabitants of Ai were destroyed, ( Joshua 8:26 ) ;

and Joshua stretched out the spear that [he had] in his hand toward
the city:
and therefore must turn himself towards it; and it is highly probable that at the same time there was a full stop of the army, and that they immediately turned or prepared to turn about.

Joshua 8:18 In-Context

16 And all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city.
17 So not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who had not gone out after Israel, and they left the city unguarded and pursued Israel.
18 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand." So Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city.
19 The men in ambush rose quickly from their place, and when he had stretched out his hand, they ran and entered the city and captured it, and they quickly set the city on fire.
20 When the men of Ai turned back and looked, behold, the smoke of the city ascended to the sky, and they had no place to flee this way or that, for the people who had been fleeing to the wilderness turned against the pursuers.

Cross References 1

  • 1. Exodus 14:16; Exodus 17:9-13; Joshua 8:26
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