Joshua 8:9

Jos 8:9 Joshua therefore sent them forth: and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people.

Ver. 9. Joshua therefore sent them forth, &c.] Thus he fulfilled all parts and points of a good general: being, as Velleius saith of Mithridates, king of Pontus, Virtute eximius, plerunque fortuna, semper animo maximus, consiliis dux, miles manu, &c., and as Catullus of Achilles,

“ Hostibus haud tergo, sed forti pectore notus. ”

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.

With the rest of the army.

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

between Beth-el and Ai--Beth-el, though lying quite near in the direction of west by north, cannot be seen from Tell-el-hajar; two rocky heights rise between both places, in the wady El-Murogede, just as the laying of an ambush to the west of Ai would require [VAN DE VELDE; ROBINSON].

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

(9) They went to lie in ambush.—Or, they went to the lurking-place; and remained between Bethel and Ai. The ambush itself (Jos_8:2; Jos_8:7; Jos_8:19; Jos_8:21) is described by a slightly different word.

Among the people—i.e., at Gilgal.

10) Joshua . . . numbered.—Or, rather, mustered the people.

He then went up with the elders of Israel at the head of the main body, and made an imposing demonstration with a large force in front of the town.

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

Joshua therefore sent them forth,.... The thirty thousand chosen men:

and they went to lie in ambush; as they were ordered, Jos 8:2,

and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; for as Ai was on the east of Bethel, Jos 7:2. Bethel must be on the west of Ai, as Jarchi notes:

but Joshua lodged that night among the people; the main body of the army, to direct them in the affair of war, how they should behave the next day, when they came to fight; and to inspire them with courage and confidence, that they might not be afraid, because of their having been smitten before by this people, so Ben Gersom; or rather that he and they might be ready in the morning to march towards Ai, as Jarchi and Kimchi.

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

Sent them forth; the same party designed by the pronoun them, Jos 8:3, of which see the notes there.

Among the people, Heb. that people, to wit, the people of war, as they are called, Jos 8:11, to wit, the main body of that host, consisting of thirty thousand.

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

9. Between Bethel and Ai — This region is greatly cut up with gorges and ravines, “and,” says Dr. Thomson, “as I passed from Bethel towards Michmash, (southeasterly,) I could easily understand how Joshua’s ambush of five thousand men could be hid between Ai and Bethel.”

[On the west side of Ai — A short distance west of Et-Tel, says Captain Wilson, “and entirely concealed from it by rising ground, is a small ravine well suited for an ambush, one of the branches of the main valley, which runs close to Et-Tel, and protects its northern face — the same into which the army of the Israelites descended the night before the capture of the city. On the hills to the north, beyond the valley, Joshua encamped before making his final arrangements for the attack, (Jos_8:11,) and it seems probable that he took his stand at some point on the hillside while the battle was raging, for there is a most commanding view over the whole scene, not only up the lateral valley, in which the ambush was placed, but also down by the way of the wilderness. Jos_8:15. He would thus be able at the same time to control the feigned flight of the Israelites, and signal the ambush (Jos_8:18-19) to rise up quickly and seize the city.”]

Joshua lodged that night among the people — That is, among the twenty-five thousand who encamped for the night on the north side of Ai in the valley. Jos_8:11; Jos_8:13. The night here mentioned is to be understood as identical with that mentioned in Jos_8:3; Jos_8:13.

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

Between Bethel and Ai. (see above, Jos_7:2)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Sent them - The same party. Among the people - Hebrew. that people, the people of war as they are called, ver. 11, that is, the main body of the host consisting of thirty thousand.

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

To the west of Ai. Ai was east of Beis-eil and Beis-eil was west of Ai.

And Yehoshua rested—in the midst of the people. To be ready early in the morning.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.