Joshua 8:29

29 And he hanged the king thereof in a gibbet, till to the eventide, and the going down of the sun. And Joshua commanded, and they putted down his dead body from the cross; and they casted forth him in that entering of the city, and gathered on him a great heap of stones, which heap dwelleth till into present day. (And he hanged its king upon a gallows, or a tree, until the evening, and the going down of the sun. And then Joshua commanded, and they took down his dead body from the tree; and they threw him forth at the entrance to the city gate, and gathered upon him a great heap of stones, which heap remaineth there until this present day.)

Joshua 8:29 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 8:29

And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide
By way of terror to other kings in the land of Canaan, that should refuse to submit unto him:

and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should
take his carcass down from the tree;
according to the law in ( Deuteronomy 21:23 ) ; and that the land might not be defiled:

and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city;
this was done, according to Ben Gersom and Abarbinel, that it might be publicly known to the rest of the kings of the nations, that they might be afraid to fight with Israel:

and raise thereon a great heap of stones, [that remaineth] unto this
day;
as a sepulchral monument, showing that there was a person lay interred there; whether there was any inscription on the stone, showing who he was, does not appear; it looks as if it was only a rude heap of stones; and such kind of sepulchral monuments were common in former times in other countries.

Joshua 8:29 In-Context

27 And the sons of Israel parted to themselves the work beasts (And the Israelites divided among themselves the work beasts), and the prey of the city, as the Lord commanded to Joshua;

28 and Joshua burnt that city (and Joshua burned down that city), and made it an everlasting burial.

29 And he hanged the king thereof in a gibbet, till to the eventide, and the going down of the sun. And Joshua commanded, and they putted down his dead body from the cross; and they casted forth him in that entering of the city, and gathered on him a great heap of stones, which heap dwelleth till into present day. (And he hanged its king upon a gallows, or a tree, until the evening, and the going down of the sun. And then Joshua commanded, and they took down his dead body from the tree; and they threw him forth at the entrance to the city gate, and gathered upon him a great heap of stones, which heap remaineth there until this present day.)

30 Then Joshua builded an altar to the Lord God of Israel in the hill of Ebal, (Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel on Mount Ebal,)

31 as Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded to the sons of Israel, and (as) it is written in the book of Moses? law, an altar of stones unpolished, that iron hath not touched. And he offered thereon burnt sacrifices to the Lord, and he offered also peaceable sacrifices; (as Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded to the Israelites, and as it is written in the Book of the Law by Moses, yea, an altar of unpolished stones that iron hath not touched. And he offered on it burnt sacrifices to the Lord, and also peace offerings;)