Commentary on Joshua - Keil & Delitzsch - David Cox

Keil and Delitzsch <strong>Commentary</strong> on the Old Testament
every commentator. In my earlier commentary on Joshua, I attempted to solve the difficulty by the
twofold assumption: first , that v. 12 contains a supplementary statement, in which the number of the men
posted in ambush is given for the firs time; and secondly , that the historian forgot to notice that out of the
30,000 men whom Joshua chose to make war upon Ai, 5000 were set apart to lie in ambush. But, on
further examination of the text, I have come to the conclusion that the second assumption is irreconcilable
with the distinct words of v. 3, and feel obliged to give it up. On the other hand, I still adhere to the
conviction that there is not sufficient ground either for the assumption that vv. 12, 13, contain an old
marginal gloss that has crept into the text, or for the hypothesis of Ewald and Knobel , that these verses
were introduced by the last editor of the book out of some other document. The last hypothesis amounts
to a charge of thoughtlessness against the latest editor, which is hardly reconcilable with the endeavour,
for which he is praised in other places, to reconcile the discrepancies in the different documents.) - In v.
13a, haa`aam (OT:5971) (the people) is to be taken as the subject of the sentence: "The people had set
all the host, that was on the north of the city, and its ambuscade on the west of the city." In the night,
namely the night before the army arrived at the north of the town, Joshua went through the midst of the
valley, which separated the Israelites from the town, so that in the morning he stood with all the army
close before the town.
Verse 14-23. When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, he hurried out in the morning
against them to battle at the (previously) appointed place ( lamow`eed (OT:4150), in
locum condictum , as in 1 Sam 20:35) before the steppe ( Arabah , not the valley of
the Jordan, but the steppe or desert of Bethaven; see at Josh 7:2), as he knew nothing
of the ambuscade behind the town.
Verse 15. But the Israelites let them beat them, and fled along the desert (of
Bethaven).
Verse 16-17. And all the people in the town were called together to pursue the
Israelites, and were drawn away from the town, so that not a man, i.e., not a single
soldier who could take part in the pursuit, remained either in Ai or the neighbouring
town of Bethel, and the town stood open behind them. It is evident from v. 17 that the
inhabitants of Bethel, which was about three hours' journey from Ai, took part in the
battle, probably in consequence of a treaty which the king of Ai had made with them
in the expectation of a renewed and still stronger attack on the part of the Israelites.
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