Yehoshua 8:28

28 And Yehoshua burned Ai, and made it a tel olam (heap forever), even a desolation unto yom hazeh.

Yehoshua 8:28 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 8:28

And Joshua burnt Ai
The whole city, fire being only set before to a few houses, to make a smoke as a signal; he did with it as he had done with Jericho, for so he was ordered, ( Joshua 8:2 ) ;

and made it an heap for ever;
that is, for a long time, for it appears to have been rebuilt, and to have been inhabited by the Jews, after their return from their Babylonish captivity, ( Nehemiah 11:31 ) ;

[even] a desolation unto this day;
to the time of the writing of this book; and by what has been just observed, it appears that Ezra could not be the writer of it, since this city was inhabited in his time.

Yehoshua 8:28 In-Context

26 For Yehoshua drew not his yad back, wherewith he stretched out the kidon, until he had utterly destroyed kol yoshvei HaAi.

27 Only the behemah and the plunder of that Ir Yisroel carried off for themselves, according to the Davar Hashem which He commanded Yehoshua.

28 And Yehoshua burned Ai, and made it a tel olam (heap forever), even a desolation unto yom hazeh.

29 And the melech HaAi he hanged on HaEtz until the time of erev; and as soon as the shemesh was down, Yehoshua commanded that they should take his nevelah (body) down from HaEtz, and cast it at the petach sha’ar HaIr, and raised thereon a pile of avanim, that remaineth unto Yom Hazeh.

30 Then Yehoshua built a Mizbe’ach unto Hashem Elohei Yisroel in Har Eval,