JOS 8

Joshua 8:27

WEB

Israel took for themselves only the livestock and the goods of that city, according to Yahweh’s word which he commanded Joshua.

BSB

Israel took for themselves only the cattle and plunder of that city, as the LORD had commanded Joshua.

KJV

Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for a prey unto themselves, according unto the word of the LORD which he commanded Joshua.

Matthew Henry

Verses 23–29

Joshua 8:23–29

We have here an account of the improvement which the Israelites made of their victory over Ai. 1. They put all to the sword, not only in the field, but in the city, man, woman, and child, none of them remained, Jos 8:24. God, the righteous Judge, had passed this sentence upon them for their wickedness, so that the Israelites were only the ministers of his justice and the executioners of his doom. Once in this story, and but once, mention is made of the men of Beth-el, as confederates with the men of Ai, Jos 8:17. Though they had a king of their own, and were not subjects to the king of Ai (for the king of Beth-el is reckoned among the thirty-one kings that Joshua destroyed, Jos 12:16), yet Ai being a stronger place they threw themselves into that, for their own safety, and the strengthening of their neighbours' hands, and so (we may presume) were all cut off with them; thus that by which they hoped to prevent their own ruin hastened it. The whole number of the slain, it seems, was but 12,000, and inconsiderable body to make head against all the thousands of Israel; but those whom God will destroy he infatuates. Here it is said (Jos 8:26) that Joshua drew not his hand back wherewith he stretched out the spear (Jos 8:18) till the slaughter was completed. Some think the spear he stretched out was not to slay the enemies, but to animate and encourage his own soldiers, some flag or ensign being hung out at the end of this spear; and they observe it as an instance of his self-denial that though the fire of courage wherewith his breast was filled would have pushed him forward, sword in hand, into the hottest of the action, yet, in obedience to God, he kept the inferior post of a standard-bearer, and did not quit it till the work was done. By the spear stretched out, he directed the people to expect their help from God, and to him to give the praise. 2. They plundered the city and took all the spoil to themselves, Jos 8:27. Thus the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just; the spoil they brought out of Egypt, by borrowing of their neighbours, was much of it expended upon the tabernacle they had reared in the wilderness, for which they are now reimbursed with interest. The spoil here taken, it is probable, was all brought together, and distributed by Joshua in due proportions, as that of the Midianites was, Num 31:26, etc. It was not seized with irregularity or violence, for God is the God or order and equity, and not of confusion. 3. They laid the city in ashes, and left it to remain so, Jos 8:28. Israel must yet dwell in tents, and therefore this city, as well as Jericho, must be burnt. And, though there was no curse entailed upon him that should rebuild it, yet, it seems, it was not rebuilt unless it be the same with Aijah, which we read of, long after, Neh 11:31. Some think it was not rebuilt because Israel had received a defeat before it, the remembrance of which should be buried in the ruins of the city. 4. The king of Ai was taken prisoner and cut off, not by the sword of war as a soldier, but by the sword of justice as a malefactor. Joshua ordered him to be hanged, and his dead body thrown at the gate of his own city, under a heap of stone, Jos 8:23, Jos 8:29. Some particular reason, no doubt, there was for this severity against the king of Ai; it is likely he had been notoriously wicked and vile, and a blasphemer of the God of Israel, perhaps upon occasion of the repulse he had given to the forces of Israel in their first onset. Some observe that his dead body was thrown at the gate where he had been wont to sit in judgment that so much the greater contempt might thereby be poured upon the dignity he had been proud of, and he might be punished for the unrighteous decrees he had made in the very place where he had made them. Thus the Lord is known by the judgments which he executes.

Cross-references: Josh 8:24 · Josh 8:17 · Josh 12:16 · Josh 8:26 · Josh 8:18 · Josh 8:27 · Num 31:26 · Josh 8:28 · Neh 11:31 · Josh 8:23 · Josh 8:29

Hebrew interlinear

לָהֶ֖םlahemprep + suffix · pronominal · 3rd · masc · plur

H7535

רַקraq/rak/

adv — leanness, limitation, merely, although

Derivation: the same as 7534 as a noun;

properly, leanness, i.e. (figuratively) limitation; only adverbial, merely, or conjunctional, although

KJV: but, even, except, howbeit howsoever, at the least, nevertheless, nothing but, notwithstanding, only, save, so (that), surely, yet (so), in any wise.

רַק

adj — emaciated

רַק

1. adj. thin

2. adv. with restrictive force, only, altogether, surely

H929

בְּהֵמָהbᵉhêmâh/be-hay-maw'/

n-f — dumb, animal

Derivation: from an unused root (probably meaning to be mute);

properly, a dumb beast; especially any large quadruped or animal (often collective)

KJV: beast, cattle.

בְּהֵמָה

n.f — beast

בְּהֵמָה 187 n.f. beast, animal, cattle

1. of living creatures other than man

2. opp. also to wild beasts

3. rarely of wild beasts, esp. carnivora

H7998

שָׁלָלshâlâl/shaw-lawl'/

n-m — booty

Derivation: from 7997;

booty

KJV: prey, spoil.

שָׁלָל

n.m — prey

שָׁלָל 75 n.m. prey, spoil, plunder, booty

H5892

עִירʻîyr/eer/

n-m — city, waking, encampment, post

Derivation: or (in the plural) עָר; or עָיַר; (Judges 10:4), from 5782

a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post)

KJV: Ai (from margin), city, court (from margin), town.

עִיר

n.f — city

עִיר 1092 n.f. city, town

1. city, town, abode of men

2. of fortress in a city

3. appar. fortified place, of any size

עִיר

n.[m.] — excitement

עִיר n.[m.] excitement;—of terror; of rage

H1931

הוּאhûwʼ/hoo/

p — he, she, it, self, same, this, that, as, are

Derivation: of which the feminine (beyond the Pentateuch) is הִיא; he a primitive word, the third person pronoun singular;

he (she or it); only expressed when emphatic or without a verb; also (intensively) self, or (especially with the article) the same; sometimes (as demonstrative) this or that; occasionally (instead of copula) as or are

KJV: he, as for her, him(-self), it, the same, she (herself), such, that (...it), these, they, this, those, which (is), who.

הוּא

m — he

הוּא m. הִיא f., pron. of the 3rd ps. sing. he, she, used also (in both genders) for the neuter it

1. an emph. he (she, it, they), sometimes equivalent to himself (herself, itself, themselves), or (esp. with the art.) that (those)

2. It resumes the subj. with emph.

3. Where, however, the pron. follows the pred., its position gives it the minimum of emphasis, and it expresses (or resumes) the subject as unobtrusively as possible

4. It anticipates (as it seems) the subject

5. As an emph. predicate, of God

6. In a neuter sense, that, it (of an action, occurrence, matte, etc.)

7. With the art.: so regularly when joined to a subst. defined itself by the art.

H962

בָּזַזbâzaz/baw-zaz'/

v — plunder

Derivation: a primitive root;

to plunder

KJV: catch, gather, (take) for a prey, rob(-ber), spoil, take (away, spoil), × utterly.

בָּזַז

vb — spoil

בָּזַז vb. spoil, plunder

Qal spoil

Niph. be spoiled, plundered

Pu. be taken as spoil

H3478

יִשְׂרָאֵלYisrâʼêl/yis-raw-ale'/

n-pr-m — he will rule as God, Jisraël

Derivation: from 8280 and 410;

he will rule as God; Jisraël, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity

KJV: Israel.

יִשְׂרָאֵל

n.pr.m — Israel

יִשְׂרָאֵל 2507 n.pr.m. et gent. Israel (Ēl persisteth, persevereth)

1. n.pr.m. second name of Jacob

2. n.pr.gent. name of Hebrew nation

H1697

דָּבָרdâbâr/daw-baw'/

n-m — word, matter, spoken, thing, cause

Derivation: from 1696;

a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause

KJV: act, advice, affair, answer, × any such (thing), because of, book, business, care, case, cause, certain rate, chronicles, commandment, × commune(-ication), concern(-ing), confer, counsel, dearth, decree, deed, × disease, due, duty, effect, eloquent, errand, (evil favoured-) ness, glory, harm, hurt, iniquity, judgment, language, lying, manner, matter, message, (no) thing, oracle, × ought, × parts, pertaining, please, portion, power, promise, provision, purpose, question, rate, reason, report, request, × (as hast) said, sake, saying, sentence, sign, so, some (uncleanness), somewhat to say, song, speech, × spoken, talk, task, that, × there done, thing (concerning), thought, thus, tidings, what(-soever), wherewith, which, word, work.

דָּבָר

n.m — speech

דָּבָר 1439 n.m. speech, word

I. sg. speech, discourse, saying, word, as the sum of that which is spoken

II. sg. saying, utterance, sentence, as a section of a discourse

III. sg. a word, words

IV. sg. matter, affair, thing about which one speaks

H3068

יְהֹוָהYᵉhôvâh/yeh-ho-vaw'/

n-pr — Existent, Jeho-vah

Derivation: from 1961;

(the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God

KJV: Jehovah, the Lord. Compare 3050, 3069.

יהוה

n.pr.dei — God

יהוה c. 6823 i.e. יַהְוֶה n.pr.dei Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel—(1. MT יְהֹוָה 6518 (Qr אֲדֹנָי), or יֱהֹוִה 305 (Qr אֱלֹהִים) 2. Many recent scholars explain יַהְוֶה as Hiph. of הוה (= היה) the one bringing into being, life-giver)

I. יהוה is not used by E in Gn, but is given Ex 3:12-15 as the name of the God who revealed Himself to Moses at Horeb

II.

1. יהוה is used with אלהים and suffixes, especially in D

2. the phrase † אֲנִי יהוה is noteworthy

3. יהוה is also used with several predicates, to form sacred names of holy places of Yahweh

H834

אֲשֶׁרʼăsher/ash-er'/

r — who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

Derivation: a primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number);

who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.

KJV: × after, × alike, as (soon as), because, × every, for, + forasmuch, + from whence, + how(-soever), × if, (so) that ((thing) which, wherein), × though, + until, + whatsoever, when, where (+ -as, -in, -of, -on, -soever, -with), which, whilst, + whither(-soever), who(-m, -soever, -se). As it is indeclinable, it is often accompanied by the personal pronoun expletively, used to show the connection.

אֲשֶׁר

part. of relation — who

אֲשֶׁר part. of relation A sign of relation, bringing the clause introduced by it into relation with an antecedent clause.

בַאֲשֶׁר

adv — in which

בַאֲשֶׁר

a. in (that) which

b. adv. in (the place) where

c. conj. in that, inasmuch as

d. on account of whom?

כַּאֲשֶׁר

conj — according as

כַּאֲשֶׁר conj. according as, as, when

1. according to that which, according as, as

2. with a causal force, in so far as, since

3. with a temporal force, when

מֵאֲשֶׁר

adv — who

מֵאֲשֶׁר

a. from (or than) that which

b. adv. from (the place) where

c. conj. from (the fact) that …, since

H6680

צָוָהtsâvâh/tsaw-vaw'/

v — constitute, enjoin

Derivation: a primitive root;

(intensively) to constitute, enjoin

KJV: appoint, (for-) bid, (give a) charge, (give a, give in, send with) command(-er, -ment), send a messenger, put, (set) in order.

צָוָה

vb — lay charge

[צָוָה] 485 vb. Pi. lay charge (upon), give charge (to), charge, command, order

H853

אֵתʼêth/ayth/

prt — self, even, namely

Derivation: apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity;

properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)

KJV: [as such unrepresented in English].

אֵת

mark of the accusative

אֵת the mark of the accusative, prefixed as a rule only to nouns that are definite

H3091

יְהוֹשׁוּעַYᵉhôwshûwaʻ/yeh-ho-shoo'-ah/

n-pr-m — Jehoshua

Derivation: or יְהוֹשֻׁעַ; from 3068 and 3467; Jehovah-saved;

Jehoshua (i.e. Joshua), the Jewish leader

KJV: Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Joshua. Compare 1954, 3442.

יְהוֹשׁוּעַ

n.pr.m — Jehoshua

יְהוֹשׁוּעַ, יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, and (later) יֵשׁוּעַ, n.pr.m. (& loc., v. 9 infr.) (י׳ is salvation or י׳ is opulence)

1. Moses’ successor, son of Nun

2. a Bethshemite

3. h.p. after the restoration, son of Jehozadak

4. governor of Jerusalem under Josiah

5. head of one of the classes of priests

6. a Levitical family-name of frequent occurrence

7. father of a builder at the wall

8. a Judaite family-name

9. n.pr.loc. in south of Judah

Bible49 app

Get translation compare, commentary, and interlinear study — offline, on iPhone and Mac.

See Bible49