seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Joshua 8:20 The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising up into the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any direction; the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the wilderness had turned back against their pursuers. 21 For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that smoke was going up from it, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai. 22 Those in the ambush also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives. 23 But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
24 When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. 25 Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. 26 For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed[a] all who lived in Ai. 27 But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua.
28 So Joshua burned Ai(b) and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. 29 He impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.
24 When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. 25 Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. 26 For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed[a] all who lived in Ai. 27 But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua.
28 So Joshua burned Ai(b) and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. 29 He impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.
a. Joshua 8:26 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
b. Joshua 8:28 Ai means the ruin
Did you see that? These are some pretty graphic verses. They caught them in an ambush... killed every single man woman and child. They stuck the king on a pole until sundown, then they tore him off the pole and threw his body to the ground in front of the city entrance and covered it with rocks so the animals wouldn't get it.
The commentaries are not so helpful this morning. I did find an article about the demise of Ai though while looking for a photo.
The Bible provides us with numerous other requirements for a prospective site to be Ai. The city must also be (1) smaller than Gibeon (Joshua 10:2), (2) near Beth Aven (Joshua 7:2), (3) east of Bethel (Joshua 7:2), (4) near Bethel (Joshua 12:9), (5) a desolate place “to this day” (Joshua 8:28), and (6) have a valley north of Ai shallow enough for the king of Ai to observe Joshua and his men (Joshua 8:13–14). All these criteria severely limit any possible candidate for Ai.
Ai had to be occupied at the time of the Israelite entry into Canaan, in the late fifteenth century BC. The best way to verify such an occupation is to find pottery that can be dated to that same time period. ABR has discovered storage jars, jar rims, sling stones, and other artifacts similar to those from Joshua’s time.8 The west wall of the city has been uncovered and measures up to 12 feet (4 m) thick. Both the pottery near the wall and the size and style of the wall match the time period of Joshua well.
Joshua 8:25 indicates that women lived in the area, despite the fact that women did not normally live at a military fortress. In 2009, our team discovered an infant burial near the gate. The child apparently died in childbirth or soon thereafter. He or she was placed in a pottery jar in what appears to be a ritual burial. The pottery has been dated to the time just before Joshua’s conquest, affirming that women were present at Ai.
Joshua 8:25 indicates that women lived in the area, despite the fact that women did not normally live at a military fortress. In 2009, our team discovered an infant burial near the gate. The child apparently died in childbirth or soon thereafter. He or she was placed in a pottery jar in what appears to be a ritual burial. The pottery has been dated to the time just before Joshua’s conquest, affirming that women were present at Ai.
To me it's interesting that there were women in the city of Ai. God takes a really bad rap for killing women and children in the conquest of the Promised Land. According to this article, women didn't normally live at the fort. God knew they were there.... He knows everything. They chose to live at a fort. That's a very dangerous place to live, unless you were not afraid of an assault on the village. The walls were 12 feet thick. They were well trained soldiers... they could guard their women and children and keep them safe. BUT they couldn't.
This Theocracy's Army had God as Commander & Chief. I'm sure people in Canaan were going to get the word and get out.
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