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Read the Bible

Literal Standard Version

Joshua 8:12

And he takes about five thousand men, and sets them [for] an ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west of the city;

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Ambush;   Armies;   Strategy;   Thompson Chain Reference - Ambush;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Sieges;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Ai;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Ambush;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Vale;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ai;   Bethel;   Joshua, the Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ai;   Israel;   Joshua;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Ai, Hai ;   Ambush, Ambushment;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Ai;   Journeyings of israel from egypt to canaan;   War;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Conquest of Canaan;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Egypt;   Targum;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Ai;   Battle system of;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Rime;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Now Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city.
Hebrew Names Version
He took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Beit-El and `Ai, on the west side of the city.
King James Version
And he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
Lexham English Bible
And he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city.
English Standard Version
He took about 5,000 men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city.
New Century Version
Then Joshua chose about five thousand men and set them in ambush in the area west of the city between Bethel and Ai.
New English Translation
He took five thousand men and set an ambush west of the city between Bethel and Ai.
Amplified Bible
And Joshua took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
New American Standard Bible
Then he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And hee tooke about fiue thousande men, and set them to lye in waite betweene Beth-el and Ai, on the Westside of the citie.
Legacy Standard Bible
And he took about 5,000 men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
Contemporary English Version
Joshua had already sent five thousand soldiers to the west side of the town to hide and wait to attack.
Complete Jewish Bible
Then he took about 5,000 men and set them in ambush between Beit-El and ‘Ai, to the west of ‘Ai.
Darby Translation
Now he had taken about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west of the city.
Easy-to-Read Version
Then Joshua chose about 5000 men. He sent these men to hide in the area west of the city, between Bethel and Ai.
George Lamsa Translation
And Joshua took five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of the city;
Good News Translation
He took about five thousand men and put them in hiding west of the city, between Ai and Bethel.
Literal Translation
And he took about five thousand men and set them as an ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west of the city.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
He had taken aboute a fyue thousande men, and set them in the hynder watch betwene Bethel and Hai, on the west syde of the cite,
American Standard Version
And he took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of the city.
Bible in Basic English
And taking about five thousand men, he put them in position for a surprise attack on the west side of Ai, between Beth-el and Ai.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he toke vpon a fiue thousande men, and set them to lye in wayte betweene Bethel and Ai, on the westsyde of the citie.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of Ai.
King James Version (1611)
And he tooke about fiue thousand men, and set them to lye in ambush betweene Bethel and Ai, on the West side of the citie.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the ambuscade was on the west side of the city.
English Revised Version
And he took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of the city.
Berean Standard Bible
Now Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
`Sotheli he hadde chose fyue thousynde men, and hadde sette in buyschementis bitwixe Bethauen and Hay, in the west part of the same citee.
Young's Literal Translation
And he taketh about five thousand men, and setteth them an ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west of the city;
Update Bible Version
And he took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of the city.
Webster's Bible Translation
And he took about five thousand men; and set them to lie in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of the city.
World English Bible
He took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
New King James Version
So he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
New Living Translation
That night Joshua sent about 5,000 men to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the town.
New Life Bible
Then he took about 5,000 men and hid them between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
New Revised Standard
Taking about five thousand men, he set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he took about five thousand men, - and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west of the city.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And he had chosen five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Hai, on the west side of the same city:
Revised Standard Version
And he took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
And he took about 5,000 men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.

Contextual Overview

9And Joshua sends them away, and they go to the ambush, and abide between Bethel and Ai, on the west of Ai; and Joshua lodges on that night in the midst of the people. 10And Joshua rises early in the morning, and inspects the people, and goes up, he and [the] elderly of Israel, before the people to Ai; 11and all the people of war who [are] with him have gone up, and draw near and come in before the city, and encamp on the north of Ai; and the valley [is] between him and Ai. 12And he takes about five thousand men, and sets them [for] an ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west of the city;13and they set the people, all the camp which [is] on the north of the city, and its rear on the west of the city, and that night Joshua goes on into the midst of the valley. 14And it comes to pass, when the king of Ai sees [it], that he hurries, and rises early, and the men of the city go out to meet Israel for battle, he and all his people, at the appointed time, at the front of the plain, and he has not known that an ambush [is] against him, on the rear of the city. 15And Joshua and all Israel [seem] struck before them, and flee the way of the wilderness, 16and all the people who [are] in the city are called to pursue after them, and they pursue after Joshua, and are drawn away out of the city, 17and there has not been a man left in Ai and Bethel who has not gone out after Israel, and they leave the city open, and pursue after Israel.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

five thousand: Joshua 8:2, Joshua 8:3

of the city: or, of Ai

Reciprocal: Joshua 8:1 - take all Joshua 8:9 - between Joshua 8:13 - on the west Judges 9:25 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 8:2
and the fountains of the deep and the network of the heavens are closed, and the shower is restrained from the heavens.
Genesis 8:3
And the waters return from off the earth, going on and returning; and the waters are lacking at the end of one hundred and fifty days.
Genesis 8:5
and the waters have been going and decreasing until the tenth month; in the tenth [month], on the first of the month, the heads of the mountains appeared.
Genesis 8:6
And it comes to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opens the window of the ark which he made,
Genesis 8:7
and he sends forth the raven, and it goes out, going out and turning back until the drying of the waters from off the earth.
Genesis 8:8
And he sends forth the dove from him to see whether the waters have been lightened from off the face of the ground,
Genesis 8:10
And he stays yet seven more days, and adds to send forth the dove from the ark;
Psalms 27:14
Look to YHWH—be strong, || And He strengthens your heart, || Indeed, look to YHWH!
Isaiah 8:17
And I have waited for YHWH, || Who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob, || And I have looked for Him.
Isaiah 25:9
And [one] has said in that day, "Behold, this [is] our God, || We waited for Him, and He saves us, || This [is] YHWH, we have waited for Him, || We are glad and rejoice in His salvation!"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush,.... This was another ambush, as both Jarchi and Kimchi observe; and the latter adds, perhaps he set them nearer the city than the former; though some are of opinion that these are the same ambush spoken of, whose number is here given, being set on the same side of the city; and they suppose that Joshua had with him but thirty thousand men in all, five thousand of which he sent to lie in ambush, and the other twenty five thousand remained with him; but it seems clear that all the men of war were to be taken, and were taken by them, and that out of them thirty thousand were sent by him to lie in wait at first, and now five thousand more:

between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city; and though they were on the same side of the city with the first and larger ambush, yet, as Abarbinel observes, they might be set nearer the city and to the army; and he supposes the first ambush was to take the city, and the second little ambush, as he calls it, was placed, that when the men of the city came out, they might make a noise and a stir, and skirmish with them, that so they might not come upon the camp suddenly.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

He took - Rather “had taken;” the words refer to the ambuscade which Joshua had detached during the previous night.


 
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