Commentary on Joshua - Keil & Delitzsch - David Cox

Keil and Delitzsch <strong>Commentary</strong> on the Old Testament
Nothing further is known upon this point; nor can anything be inferred from the fact
that the king of Bethel is included in the list of the kings slain by Joshua (Josh 12:16).
Consequently, we cannot decide whether the Bethelites came to the help of the Aites
for the first time on the day of the battle itself, or, what is more probable, had already
sent men to Ai, to help to repulse the expected attack of the Israelites upon that town.
Verse 18-19. At the command of God Joshua now stretched out the javelin in his
hand towards the town. At this sign the ambuscade rose hastily from its concealment,
rushed into the town, and set it on fire. bakiydown (OT:3591) naaTaah (OT:5186)
signifies to stretch out the hand with the spear. The object yaad (OT:3027), which is
missing (cf. vv. 19, 26), may easily be supplied from the apposition bªyaadªkaa
(OT:3027) 'asher (OT:834). The raising of the javelin would probably be visible at a
considerable distance, even if it was not provided with a small flag, as both earlier
and later commentators assume, since Joshua would hardly be in the mist of the
flying Israelites, but would take his station as commander upon some eminence on
one side. And the men in ambush would have scouts posted to watch for the signal,
which had certainly been arranged beforehand, and convey the information to the
others.
Verse 20-22. The men of Ai then turned round behind them, being evidently led to do
so by the Israelites, who may have continued looking round to the town of Ai when
the signal had been given by Joshua, to see whether the men in ambush had taken it
and set it on fire, and as soon as they saw that this had been done began to offer still
further resistance to their pursuers, and to defend themselves vigorously against them.
On looking back to their town the Aites saw the smoke of the town ascending
towards heaven: "and there were not hands in them to flee hither and thither," i.e.,
they were utterly unable to flee. "Hand," as the organs of enterprise and labour, in the
sense of "strength," not "room," for which we should expect to find laahem
(OT:3807a) instead of baahem
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