Joshua 8:29

THE KING HANGED. (Jos 8:29)

The king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide--that is, gibbeted. In ancient, and particularly Oriental wars, the chiefs, when taken prisoners, were usually executed. The Israelites were obliged, by the divine law, to put them to death. The execution of the king of Ai would tend to facilitate the conquest of the land, by striking terror into the other chiefs, and making it appear a judicial process, in which they were inflicting the vengeance of God upon His enemies.

take his carcass down . . . and raise thereon a great heap of stones--It was taken down at sunset, according to the divine command (Deu 21:23), and cast into a pit dug "at the entering of the gate," because that was the most public place. An immense cairn was raised over his grave--an ancient usage, still existing in the East, whereby is marked the sepulchre of persons whose memory is infamous.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Jos 8:29 And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, [that remaineth] unto this day.

Ver. 29. And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree,] i.e., Either on a gallows, or cross. The Septuagint has it, upon a double tree, {a} intimating the cross, propter dua ligna quae se invicem intersecant, because of the two pieces standing across, as the threads in the woof and warp; whence the Jews at this day, in derision of Christ crucified, call him the woof and warp, {b} because these two make the figure of the cross.

That they should take his carcass down from the tree.] Ab arbore infelici, as the Latins call it. This was according to the law; {Deu 21:23} but it was otherwise in the case of Saul and his sons. {2Sa 21:9-10} God may dispense with his own law as he pleaseth.

{a} επι ξυλου διδυμον.

{b} נעלב שׁηι Stamen et subtegmen.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jos 8:29. The king of Ai he hanged on a tree — He dealt more severely with the kings of Canaan than with the people, because the abominable wickedness of that people was not restrained and punished, (as it ought to have been,) but countenanced and encouraged by their evil examples; and because they were the principal authors of the destruction of their own people, by engaging them in an obstinate opposition against the Israelites. Down from the tree — According to God’s command in that case, Deu 21:22. The gate of the city — Which place he chose either as most commodious, now especially, when all the city within the gate was already turned into a heap of stones and rubbish; or because this was the usual place of judgment, and therefore proper to bear the monument of God’s just sentence against him, not without reflection upon that injustice which he had been guilty of in that place.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8:29 The public executions of the kings (see also 10:26; 11:10, 12) emphasized that Israel was God’s agent in the judgment of the leaders and people of Canaan for their wickedness. • At sunset: See Deut 21:22-23. • that can still be seen today: See Joshua Book Introduction, “Author and Date.”

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

According as it was commanded, Deut. 21:23.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 29. The king of Ai he hanged on a tree] He had gone out at the head of his men, and had been taken prisoner, Jos 8:23; and the battle being over, he was ordered to be hanged, probably after having been strangled, or in some way deprived of life, as in the case mentioned Jos 10:26, for in those times it was not customary to hang people alive.

As soon as the sun was down] It was not lawful to let the bodies remain all night upon the tree. See the note on De 21:23. The Septuagint say the king of Ai was hanged επι ξυλον διδυμον, upon a double tree, which probably means a forked tree, or something in the form of a cross. The tree on which criminals were hanged among the Romans was called arbor infelix, and lignum infelix, the unfortunate, ill-fated, or accursed tree.

Raise thereon a great heap of stones] This was a common custom through all antiquity in every country, as we have already seen in the case of Achan, Jos 7:20.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

29. And the king of Ai he hanged, etc Though he seems to have treated the king with great severity in order to satisfy the hatred of the people, I cannot doubt that he studied faithfully to execute the divine judgment. Conquerors, indeed, are wont to spare captive kings, because their rank seems to carry something venerable along with it, but the condition of kings was different among those nations in which God wished particularly to show how greatly he detested the wickedness which he had so long tolerated. For while all were doomed to destruction, the divine vengeance justly displayed itself with greater sternness and severity on the leaders, with whom the cause of destruction originated.

We may add, that the ignominious punishment inflicted on the king rendered it still less necessary to deal leniently with the common people, and thus prevented the Israelites from indulging an unseasonable mercy, which might have made them more sluggish or careless in executing the work of universal extermination.

God purposely delivered the king alive into the hand of Joshua, that his punishment might be more marked and thus better adapted for an example. Had he fallen in the conflict promiscuously with others, he would have been exempted from this special mark of infamy; but now even after his death, the divine vengeance pursues his corpse. Nay, after being hung, he is thrown forth at the gate of the city where he had sat on his throne in judgment, and a monument is erected for the purpose of perpetuating his ignominy to posterity. His burial, however, is mentioned to let us know that nothing was done through tumultuous impetuosity, as Joshua carefully observed what Moses had prescribed in the Law, (Deuteronomy 21:23) namely, that those hung on gibbets should be taken down before sunset, as a spectacle of the kind was held in abomination. And, certainly, while it is humane to bury the dead under ground, it is inhumanly cruel to cast them forth to be torn by wild beasts or birds. Therefore, that the people might not be accustomed to barbarity, God allowed criminals to be hung, provided they did not hang unburied for more than one day. And that the people might be more attentive to this duty, which otherwise might readily have been neglected, Moses declares that every one who hangs on a tree is accursed; as if he had said, that the earth is contaminated by that kind of death, if the offensive object be not immediately taken away.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(29) And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree.—(See Note on Deu_21:22-23.) Heb., on the tree. Why “the tree”? It would appear from Jos_8:2; Jos_10:1, that the king of Jericho was also hanged; possibly both were hanged on the same tree, and were exhibited, each in turn, as “the curse of God.” But when we read of this treatment of the enemies of Joshua, we cannot but be reminded of the greater Joshua, who fulfilled the curse of God in His own person, and made a show of the “principalities and powers” by triumphing over them in His cross. (Comp. also Est_9:10; Est_9:13.)

Jericho and Ai are the only cities of Canaan of which the capture by Joshua is recorded in detail. Their capture stands in the narrative, as it was in fact, a specimen of the whole conquest of the Canaanite cities. Two campaigns in like manner are recorded as specimens of Joshua’s battles with the enemy in the open field. In the capture of Jericho and in the southern campaign, the hand of God is more especially manifested. In the capture of Ai and in the northern campaign, the labour of Israel in the conflict is more prominent. The whole work is thus presented to us in a twofold aspect, as the work of Israel and the work of God.

A great heap of stones.—Not only the death, but the burial of the king of Ai is recorded, as also the burial of the five kings in Jos_10:27. The same thing was done to Achan (Jos_7:26), and to Absalom (2Sa_18:17). This kind of burial is another form of the curse, and is a fitting sequel to the hanging of the body upon the tree.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

29. he hanged on a tree] “He hongid in a gybet,” Wyclif. Hanging is mentioned as a distinct punishment, Num_25:4. In Deu_21:22 we read that in certain cases the criminal was put to death, and after that, his dead body was hung on a tree till eventide; the king of Ai was probably slain and then hanged on a cross or gallows.

as soon as the sun was down] This was in accordance with the Mosaic Law, which directed, Deu_21:23, that a man’s body should “not remain all night upon the tree.” Comp. also Jos_10:27.

and raise thereon a great heap of stones] Comp. Jos_7:26. Two words are used for “heap” in Jos_8:28-29. The first (Tel) indicates the ruins of the city itself, the second (Gal) the cairn over the king’s grave.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide,.... By way of terror to other kings in the land of Canaan, that should refuse to submit unto him:

and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcass down from the tree; according to the law in Deu 21:23; and that the land might not be defiled:

and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city; this was done, according to Ben Gersom and Abarbinel, that it might be publicly known to the rest of the kings of the nations, that they might be afraid to fight with Israel:

and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day; as a sepulchral monument, showing that there was a person lay interred there; whether there was any inscription on the stone, showing who he was, does not appear; it looks as if it was only a rude heap of stones; and such kind of sepulchral monuments were common in former times in other countries.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Compare Deu 21:22-23 notes.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Gibbet. Septuagint, "a cross." Some say that the king was first killed; but that assertion is destitute of proof. The corpse was taken down before night, Deuteronomy xxi. 22.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

He dealt more severely with the kings of Canaan than with the people, partly because the abominable wickedness of that people was not restrained and punished, (as it should have been,) but countenanced and encouraged by their evil examples and administrations; and partly because they were the principal authors of the destruction of their own people, by engaging them in an obstinate opposition against the Israelites.

That they should take his carcass down from the tree, according to God’s command in that case, Deu 21:22,23. He chose

the entering of the gate of the city, either as most commodious, now especially when all the city within the gate was already turned into a heap of stones and rubbish; or because this was the usual place of judgment, and therefore proper to bear the monument of God’s just sentence against him, not without reflection upon that injustice which he had been guilty of in that place.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

29. The king of Ai he hanged — For the reason, see note on Jos_8:23.

On a tree — The Septuagint says, on a double tree, which the Vulgate renders, a fork-shaped gibbet.

Until eventide — This was in accordance with the law, (Deu_21:23,) “that the land be not defiled.” Among the ancient Israelites hanging alive seems not to have been practiced, but, as Deu_21:22, implies, the victim was first slain and then hanged. Comp. Jos_10:26; 2Sa_4:12.

At the entering of the gate — Probably the dead body was cast into a pit. Thus the Septuagint translates this passage.

A great heap of stones — See note on Jos_7:26.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hanged on a tree - He dealt more severely with the kings of Canaan than with the people, because the abominable wickedness of that people was not restrained and punished (as it should have been) but countenanced and encouraged by their evil examples; and because they were the principal authors of the destruction of their own people, by engaging them in an obstinate opposition against the Israelites. Down from the tree - According to God's command in that case, Deut. xxi, 22. The gate of the city - Which place he chose either as most commodious, now especially when all the city within the gate was already turned in to an heap of stones and rubbish; or because this was the usual place of judgment; and therefore proper to bear the monument of God's just sentence against him, not without reflection upon that injustice which he had been guilty of in that place.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

to this day

"today" or "even now"

translationWords

hang

king

Ai

Joshua

command

gate

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.