Joshua 7:5

5 And the men of Gai slew of them to the number of thirty-six men, and they pursued them from the gate, and destroyed them from the steep hill; and the heart of the people was alarmed and became as water.

Joshua 7:5 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 7:5

And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men
In the pursuit of them, which were but few, but a sufficient rebuke of Providence; their loss was but small, but their shame and disgrace great:

for they chased them [from] before the gate;
the gate of the city of Ai:

[even] unto Shebarim;
not that there was a place of this name before, but it was so called from hence, because there they were broken, as Kimchi observes; and the Targum and Jarchi render it,

``until they were broken,''

their lines broken, not being able to retreat in order, but were scattered, and fled to their camp as they could: Gussetius ^F17 thinks it was the; name of a place, but not so called for the above reason, but because there lay broken pieces of the rock scattered about:

and smote them in the going down;
the hill from Ai; "Morad", rendered "going down", may taken for the proper name of a place, and which, Kimchi says, was a place before Ai, in which there was a declivity and descent, and in that place they smote them when they fled:

wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water;
that is, the whole body of the people, when this little army returned defeated, their spirits failed them, their courage was lost, their nerves were loosed, and they became languid, faint, and feeble; not that their loss was so great, but that they perceived God had forsaken them, and what the issue of this would be they dreaded.

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 Comment. Ebr. p. 825.

Joshua 7:5 In-Context

3 And they returned to Joshua, and said to him, Let not all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and take the city by siege: carry not up thither the whole people, for are few.

4 And there went up about three thousand men, and they fled from before the men of Gai.

5 And the men of Gai slew of them to the number of thirty-six men, and they pursued them from the gate, and destroyed them from the steep hill; and the heart of the people was alarmed and became as water.

6 And Joshua tore his garments; and Joshua fell on the earth on his face before the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they cast dust on their heads.

7 And Joshua said, I pray, Lord, wherefore has thy servant brought this people over Jordan to deliver them to the Amorite to destroy us? would we had remained and settled ourselves beyond Jordan.