Joshua 8:18
in Joshua 8Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Hold out your battle lance toward Ai, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out his battle lance toward Ai,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto Joshua, Stretch out the javelin that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thy hand. And Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city.
KJV
And the Lord said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thine hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city.
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This verse in Joshua 8
Commentary
6 notes on this verseStretch out the spear - It is very probable that Joshua had a flag or ensign at the end of his spear, which might be easily seen at a considerable distance; and that the unfurling or waving of this was the sign agreed on between him and the ambush. (see Jos 8:13, and the preceding observations on Jos 8:1 (note), observation 6); and on seeing this flag or ensign unfurled, the men who lay in ambush arose and entered the city, making the fire previously agreed on. See Jos 8:8.
This site's exposition
Hold out your battle lance toward Ai
on Joshua 8:18-19
Clarke takes the lance as a standard with a flag, readable to men lying a mile off behind the town. Behind it stands Exodus 17:11, where Israel prevailed while Moses held up his hand, and the man fighting in the valley that day was Joshua.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Stretch out the spear - This was, either, 1. for a sign to his host present with him, to stop their flight, and make head against the pursuers: or, 2. for a signal to the liers in wait, or, 3. as a token of God's presence and assistance with them, and of their victory.
And the Lord said unto Joshua, stretch out the spear that is in thy hand towards Ai,....
His hands in fighting, like Moses's in interceding, were steady till the going down of the sun. Those that have stretched out their hands against their spiritual enemies must never draw them back. Lastly, What Joshua did in the stratagem is applicable to our Lord Jesus, of whom he was a type.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
No doubt Joshua had ascended the heights, most likely those to the north of the valley, so as to separate himself from the flying Israelites on the lower ground, and to be visible to the men in ambush behind the city. He now, at the command of God, gives the appointed signal to the ambush.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֗עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| נְ֠טֵה | neteh | stretch out | H5186 → | 214 times |
| בַּכִּיד֤וֹן | bakidon | with the javelin | H3591 → | 9 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּיָֽדְךָ֙ | beyadekha | [is] in hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָעַ֔י | haai | <the> Ai | H5857 → | 40 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בְיָדְךָ֖ | veyadekha | in hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אֶתְּנֶ֑נָּה | ʾettenenah | I will give it | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| וַיֵּ֧ט | vaiyet | and he stretched out | H5186 → | 214 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֛עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| בַּכִּיד֥וֹן | bakidon | with the javelin | H3591 → | 9 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּיָד֖וֹ | beyado | [was] in hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָעִֽיר׃ | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֗עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
נְ֠טֵהstretch out
netehH5186 →214 times
בַּכִּיד֤וֹןwith the javelin
bakidonH3591 →9 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
בְּיָֽדְךָ֙[is] in hand your
beyadekhaH3027 →1618 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָעַ֔י<the> Ai
haaiH5857 →40 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
בְיָדְךָ֖in hand your
veyadekhaH3027 →1618 times
אֶתְּנֶ֑נָּהI will give it
ʾettenenahH5414 →2011 times
וַיֵּ֧טand he stretched out
vaiyetH5186 →214 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֛עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
בַּכִּיד֥וֹןwith the javelin
bakidonH3591 →9 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
בְּיָד֖וֹ[was] in hand his
beyadoH3027 →1618 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָעִֽיר׃the city
hairH5892 →1090 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Joshua 8:26Joshua did not draw back the hand that held his battle lance until he had devoted to destruction all who lived in Ai.
it leads to
- Exodus 17:11–12
As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed; but when he lowered them, Amalek prevailed.
- Exodus 17:11–12
Through
Exodus 8:5And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers and canals and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.’”
it leads to
- Exodus 7:19
And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers and canals and ponds and reservoirs—that they may become blood.’ There…
- Exodus 7:19
Through
Job 15:25For he has stretched out his hand against God and has vaunted himself against the Almighty,
it leads to
- Job 9:4
God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered?
- Psalms 73:9
They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongues strut across the earth.
- Psalms 52:7
“Look at the man who did not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his wealth and strengthened himself by destruction.”
- Daniel 5:23
Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised…
- Job 9:4
Through
Joshua 8:7you are to rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand.
it leads to
- Proverbs 21:30–31
There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.
- Joshua 8:1
Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. See, I have delivered into your hand the king of…
- Proverbs 21:30–31
Where this verse is studied
About Joshua
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.