Joshua 8:22

22 And also those men that had taken and burnt the city, went out of the city against their enemies, and they began to smite the middle men of their enemies (And those men who had taken and set the city afire, now came out of the city against their enemies, and they began to strike down the enemies who were in their midst); and when their adversaries were slain behind and before, so that no man of so great [a] multitude was saved,

Joshua 8:22 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 8:22

And the other issued out of the city against them
That is, the ambush, or at least a part of them:

so that they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some
on that side;
or, as we commonly say, they were between two fires, the ambush on one side, the army of Israel on the other:

and they smote them, so that they let none of them remain or escape;
not one was saved alive, excepting their king, as in ( Joshua 8:23 ) ; no quarter was given them, nor any suffered to make their escape.

Joshua 8:22 In-Context

20 Forsooth the men of the city, that pursued Joshua, beheld, and saw the smoke of the(ir) city ascend till to (the) heaven(s); and they might no more flee hither and thither; most(ly) since they that had feigned flight, and went to (the) wilderness, withstood strongliest against the pursuers (now strongly withstood their pursuers).

21 And Joshua saw, and all Israel, that the city was taken, and that the smoke of the city went up; and he turned again, and killed the men of Ai. (And Joshua, and all of Israel, saw that the city was taken, and that the smoke of the city went up; and then they turned, and killed the men of Ai.)

22 And also those men that had taken and burnt the city, went out of the city against their enemies, and they began to smite the middle men of their enemies (And those men who had taken and set the city afire, now came out of the city against their enemies, and they began to strike down the enemies who were in their midst); and when their adversaries were slain behind and before, so that no man of so great [a] multitude was saved,

23 they took also the king of Ai living (they took the king of Ai alive), and they brought him to Joshua.

24 Therefore, when all the men were slain, that pursued Israel fleeing to desert, and had fallen by sword in the same place, the sons of Israel turned again, and destroyed the city of Ai. (And so, when all the men were killed, that Israel had pursued fleeing to the desert, and they had fallen by the sword in that place, then the Israelites turned back, and completely destroyed the city of Ai.)