Joshua 8:12
in Joshua 8Now Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set up an ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of the city.
KJV
And he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Beth–el and Ai, on the west side of the city.
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This verse in Joshua 8
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThat we - I and the twenty five thousand with me. Sent them - The same party. Among the people - Hebrew. that people, the people of war as they are called, ver. 11, that is, the main body of the host consisting of thirty thousand.
This site's exposition
about five thousand men
on Joshua 8:12-13
Joshua goes into the valley while it is still night, so the king sees one body of men. Barnes reads the king’s mistake from that, taking the men for a detachment like the one he had beaten. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown identify the ravine with the wady below the tell.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
At first, we were overcome because of sins, and those who were living in Ai destroyed very many of us. Ai means chaos. But we know chaos to be the place or habitation of opposing powers, of which the devil is the king and chief. Against him, as Jesus [Joshua] comes, he divides the people into two parts; he stations some in the front and others in the rear, so they may come behind the enemies unexpectedly.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
If we admit such a seeming disturbance in the order of the narrative (of which, perhaps, similar instances might be cited from the other scripture histories), it seems most probable that there was but one ambushment, which consisted only of 5000, enough for such a purpose.
And he took - Or rather, but he had taken, namely, out of the said number of thirty thousand, for this is added by way of recapitulation and farther explication of what is said in general, ver. 9.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-9-anchored-12-12
And he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He took - Rather “had taken;” the words refer to the ambuscade which Joshua had detached during the previous night.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
He took about five thousand men. One ambush contingent following the other each approaching nearer to the city than its fellow. 4 The question is, what was the purpose of this second ambush party? Some suggest that these five thousand men were not to enter the city.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The people positioned. This positioning expresses readiness to wage war near the [city] wall. This is similar to what is said regarding Ben-Hadad, in I Melachim:12, (who said to his servants:) “Position yourselves against the city and they positioned themselves.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּ֕ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| כַּחֲמֵ֥שֶׁת | kachameshet | about five | H2568 → | 343 times |
| אֲלָפִ֖ים | ʾalafim | thousand<s> | H505 → | 505 times |
| אִ֑ישׁ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וַיָּ֨שֶׂם | vaiyasem | and he set | H7760 → | 584 times |
| אוֹתָ֜ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֹרֵ֗ב | ʾorev | an ambush | H693 → | 41 times |
| בֵּ֧ין | bein | between | H996 → | 407 times |
| בֵּֽית־ | beit- | Beth- | H1008 → | 142 times |
| אֵ֛ל | ʾel | -el | H1008 → | 142 times |
| וּבֵ֥ין | uvein | and between | H996 → | 407 times |
| הָעַ֖י | haai | <the> Ai | H5857 → | 40 times |
| מִיָּ֥ם | miyam | from [the] west | H3220 → | 396 times |
| לָעִֽיר׃ | lair | of the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
וַיִּקַּ֕חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
כַּחֲמֵ֥שֶׁתabout five
kachameshetH2568 →343 times
אֲלָפִ֖יםthousand<s>
ʾalafimH505 →505 times
אִ֑ישׁman
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וַיָּ֨שֶׂםand he set
vaiyasemH7760 →584 times
אוֹתָ֜ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
אֹרֵ֗בan ambush
ʾorevH693 →41 times
בֵּ֧יןbetween
beinH996 →407 times
בֵּֽית־Beth-
beit-H1008 →142 times
אֵ֛ל-el
ʾelH1008 →142 times
וּבֵ֥יןand between
uveinH996 →407 times
הָעַ֖י<the> Ai
haaiH5857 →40 times
מִיָּ֥םfrom [the] west
miyamH3220 →396 times
לָעִֽיר׃of the city
lairH5892 →1090 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About Joshua
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonConquestJoshuaMoses' minister and successor, one of the two faithful spies; he led Israel across Jordan, around Jericho, and through the conques…
- PlaceCentral hill countryBethelThe house of God, where Jacob saw the ladder and heard the promise, where he returned to raise an altar, and where Jeroboam’s gold…
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 8.2.