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 to Jericho and her king: only its spoil, and its cattle, shall ye take for a prey to 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 that [are] with me, will approach to 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.