Joshua 8:9

9 And Joshua sent them, and they went to lie in ambush; and they lay between Baethel and Gai, westward of Gai.

Joshua 8:9 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 8:9

Joshua therefore sent them forth
The thirty thousand chosen men:

and they went to lie in ambush;
as they were ordered, ( Joshua 8:2 ) :

and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai;
for as Ai was on the east of Bethel, ( Joshua 7:2 ) . Bethel must be on the west of Ai, as Jarchi notes:

but Joshua lodged that night among the people;
the main body of the army, to direct them in the affair of war, how they should behave the next day, when they came to fight; and to inspire them with courage and confidence, that they might not be afraid, because of their having been smitten before by this people, so Ben Gersom; or rather that he and they might be ready in the morning to march towards Ai, as Jarchi and Kimchi.

Joshua 8:9 In-Context

7 And ye shall rise up out of the ambuscade, and go into the city.

8 Ye shall do according to this word, lo! I have commanded you.

9 And Joshua sent them, and they went to lie in ambush; and they lay between Baethel and Gai, westward of Gai.

10 And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and numbered the people; and he went up, he and the elders before the people to Gai.

11 And all the men of war went up with him, and they went forward and came over against the city eastward.