Joshua 8:4

4 And he commanded them, saying, "Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city. Go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready;

Joshua 8:4 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 8:4

And he commanded them, saying
At the time he sent them away;

behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, [even] behind the city;
that is, on the west side of it, ( Joshua 8:9 ) ;

go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready;
to enter into it, as soon as the forces are drawn out eastward to meet the army of Israel.

Joshua 8:4 In-Context

2 And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king. Only the spoil thereof and the cattle thereof shall ye take for booty unto yourselves. Lay thee an ambush for the city behind it."

3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valor, and sent them away by night.

4 And he commanded them, saying, "Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city. Go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready;

5 and I and all the people who are with me will approach unto the city. And it shall come to pass, when they come out against us as at the first, that we will flee before them

6 (for they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, `They flee before us, as at the first.' Therefore we will flee before them.