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Joshua 8:17

in Joshua 8

Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, leaving the city wide open while they pursued Israel.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

And there was not a man left in Ai or Beth-el, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel.

KJV

And there was not a man left in Ai or Beth–el, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel.

This verse in Joshua 8

Commentary

3 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

There was not a man left in Ai or Beth-el - It is very likely that the principal strength of Beth-el had been previously brought into Ai, as the strongest place to make a stand in; Beth-el being but about three miles distant from Ai, and probably not greatly fortified. Therefore Ai contained on this occasion all the men of Beth-el - all the warriors of that city, as well as its own troops and inhabitants.

This site's exposition

were called together to pursue

on Joshua 8:16-17

Bethel empties itself into the field alongside Ai, and the two towns stand about three miles apart. Clarke takes it that the fighting strength of Bethel had already been moved into Ai as the stronger place to hold. This chapter never records Bethel being taken; its king is listed among the defeated at 12:16, and Judges 1:22-25 tells of the house of Joseph taking the town later after a man showed them the way in.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

It may be remarked, however, that the words, "or Beth-el," are not in the Septuagint, and are rejected by some eminent scholars, as an interpolation not found in the most ancient manuscripts.

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְלֹֽא־and not

    velo'-H38085168 times

  • נִשְׁאַ֣רhe remained

    nisharH7604133 times

  • אִ֗ישׁanyone

    ʾishH3761663 times

  • בָּעַי֙in <the> Ai

    baaiH585740 times

  • וּבֵ֣יתand Beth-

    uveitH1008142 times

  • אֵ֔ל-el

    ʾelH1008142 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֥רwho

    ʾasherH8345497 times

  • לֹֽא־not

    lo'-H38085168 times

  • יָצְא֖וּthey went out

    yatzeuH33181067 times

  • אַחֲרֵ֣יafter

    ʾachareiH310715 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael

    yisraelH34782507 times

  • וַיַּעַזְב֤וּand they left

    vaiyaazvuH5800215 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H85310935 times

  • הָעִיר֙the city

    hairH58921090 times

  • פְּתוּחָ֔הopen

    petuchahH6605

  • וַֽיִּרְדְּפ֖וּand they pursued

    vaiyirdefuH7291143 times

  • אַחֲרֵ֥יafter

    ʾachareiH310715 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ פIsrael

    yisraelH34782507 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 2:30

    But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as…

    it leads to

    • Exodus 4:21

      The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Numbers 21:23

      But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. Instead, he gathered his whole army and went out to confront Israel in the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel.

  • Through

    Job 5:13

    He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 9:15–16

      The nations have fallen into a pit of their making; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

    • 1 Corinthians 3:19

      For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”

    • Luke 1:51

      He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

    • Psalms 7:15–16

      He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making.

    • 1 Corinthians 1:19–20

      For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

  • Through

    Joshua 11:20

    For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts to engage Israel in battle, so that they would be set apart for destruction and would receive no mercy, being annihilated as the LORD…

    it leads to

    • Romans 9:18

      Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.

About Joshua

Joshua Burns the Town of Ai — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Joshua Burns the Town of Ai — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.