Joshua 8:8

8 And it shall be when ye have taken the city, [that] ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the LORD shall ye do. See, I have commanded you.

Joshua 8:8 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 8:8

And it shall be, when ye have taken the city
Entered it and become masters of it:

[that] ye shall set the city on fire;
not the whole city, only some outlying houses of it, to make a smoke which might be seen both by Israel and the men of Ai, for different purposes; for the spoil of the city was first to be taken before it was utterly burnt with fire:

according to the commandment of the Lord shall ye do;
plunder the city, destroy the inhabitants of it, and then burn it:

see I have commanded you;
delivered the command of the Lord unto them, and therefore were left without excuse, and could not plead ignorance; besides, he was their general, and he expected his orders to be obeyed, as they ought to have been.

Joshua 8:8 In-Context

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.

7 Then ye shall rise from the ambush and seize upon the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand,

8 And it shall be when ye have taken the city, [that] ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the LORD shall ye do. See, I have commanded you.

9 Joshua therefore sent them forth; and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people.

10 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and numbered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.