Commentary on Joshua - Keil & Delitzsch - David Cox

Keil and Delitzsch <strong>Commentary</strong> on the Old Testament
ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west of the town. As the place where this
ambuscade was posted is described in precisely the same terms as that which was
occupied, according to v. 9, by the 30,000 men who were sent out to form an
ambuscade in the night before the advance of the main army against Ai (for the
substitution of "the city" for Ai cannot possibly indicate a difference in the locality),
the view held by the majority of commentators, that v. 12 refers to a second
ambuscade, which Joshua sent out in addition to the 30,000, and posted by the side of
them, is even more than questionable, and is by no means raised into a probability by
the expression 'et-`aqeebow ( Eng. "their liers in wait") in v. 13.
The description of the place, "on the west of the city," leaves no doubt whatever that
"their liers in wait" are simply the ambuscade ( 'oreeb (OT:693)) mentioned in v. 12,
which was sent out from the whole army, i.e., the ambuscade that was posted on the
west of the town. `aaqeeb (OT:6119) signifies literally the lier in wait (Ps 49:5), from
`aaqab (OT:6117), insidiari , and is synonymous with 'oreeb (OT:693). The meaning
which Gesenius and others attach to the word, viz., the rear or hinder part of the
army, cannot be sustained from Gen 49:19. If we add to this the fact that v. 13a is
obviously nothing more than a repetition of the description already given in v. 11 of
the place where the main army was posted, and therefore bears the character of a
closing remark introduced to wind up the previous account, we cannot regard v. 12 as
anything more than a repetition of the statements in vv. 3, 9, and can only explain the
discrepancy with regard to the number of men who were placed in ambush, by
supposing that, through a copyist's error, the number which was expressed at first in
simple letters has in one instance been given wrongly. The mistake, however, is not
to be found in the 5000 (v. 12), but in the 30,000 in v. 3, where h has been
confounded with l . For a detachment of 5000 men would be quite sufficient for an
ambuscade that had only to enter the town after the soldiers had left it in pursuit of
the Israelites, and to set it on fire, whereas it hardly seems possible that 30,000 men
should have been posted in ambush so near to the town.
(Note: We need have no hesitation in coming to the conclusion that there is a mistake in the number given
in
v. 3, as the occurrence of such mistakes in the historical books is fully established by a comparison of the
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