Commentary on the Old Testament Volume 2-4, Biblical commentary 1 · Joshua · Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII.
THe Host being purged by the destruction of Achan, Joshua is now incouraged V. 1, 2.to fight against Ai, being promised, that hee should take it, and bideen to doe to it, as to Jericho, but onelyonly the spoile here is permitted to the people. They had burnt Jericho, and so they must doe to Ai in way of revenge Calvin.for the losse and shame sustained by the men of Ai, that by burning the City the memory of that defeat might bee blotted out, and the spoile is granted to the Souldiers for their greater incouragement, so Calvin.
Lay thee an ambush for the City behind it. The Lord condescending to their weaknesse, they being so much disheartned by their late overthrow, and because hee would not alwayes work by miracle, directeth Joshua here to use warlike policy, the more easily to overcome the men of Ai. And whereas a question is made, whether Treason against enemies bee lawfull, seeing it is Qu. not without dissimulation? Lyra answereth well, that lying is not lawfull, Lyra.no not to an Enemy, for the Faith given to them must bee kept, but wee may for an advantage conceale our purposes from them, and by shewes deceive them, if wee can, it being a like lawfull in a just warre to overcome by open warre, or by secret stratagems of Warre, as Augustine hath it, for this is no August. si quis bellum justum susceperit, utrum aperta pugna vincat, an ex insidiis, non refert ad justitiā. Ferus.vicious dissimulation, but military policy and commended in this place as taught by God. Ferus saith, that God taught them thus to proceed, that they might no more trust in their own strength, as they had done, and that the Enemies seeing them not onelyonly to have strength, but policy also in making warre, might bee the more terrifyed. And just war, hee saith, is that which is made at Gods command, or to recover things unjustly taken away, and detained, or for great injuries offered. Other warres made out of covetousnesse to get more ample dominion or riches, or for vain-glory, are rather to bee called robberies. Bonfrerius moveth and answereth another question upon the Bonfrerius.first words, Take all the people and goe up against Ai, why all the people must goe up against so small a City, hereof the most probable reason was, partly that all their mindes before languishing, might bee erected with comfort through this victory, and partly that all having abstained from the spoiles of Jericho might have part in this prey. According to the Lords direction, Joshua V. 3, 4. V. 9.proceedeth with all the men of warre, and out of them chooseth 30000 to goe by night, and to night, and to lye in ambush on the West side, behinde the City, v. 9. telling them that hee with all the Army would come before the City, and by faining a flight, draw the people of Ai out of the City, and then they should arise and come into the City and set it on fire. And v. 12. hee is said to lay V. 12.5000 in ambush on the west side, &c. hereupon a question is made, whether Qu. two ambushes were laid, as it seemeth by the words, one of 30000, and another of 5000? R. Solomon saith, there were two. Calvin and Masius, that there R. Solomon. Calvin, Masius.was but one, of 5000 onelyonly, that Company of 30000 being the Army appointed to assault the City. Comestor, and Lyra, and others, that 30000 were sent at the first to lye in ambush, but because so many could not bee hidden, 25000 Scholast. Hist. Lyra.returned, and 5000 onelyonly remained; and this saith Lyra, is the common tenet of our Expositors. And it is not improbable, because they are expressely said to have been set in the same place; and the number of 5000 was sufficient. Yet if it bee held that there were two Companies set, the History agreeth, and it may bee conceived that the last ambush was set to meet with such as should flee, when the first entred the City, that none might escape. The second is directly against the Text, which saith, Joshua with all the men of Warre went up against the City, therefore not 30000 onelyonly. In that such a multitude could passe and not be perceived by the noise of their motion, although in the night, was a point of Gods singular providence, making the men of Ai so secure, as not to set any scouts to espy them.
All things being thus ordered, the King of Ai with all his men commeth out V. 14, 15, 16. &c.against Israel, who fled, and by flying, draw all the men out of the City to pursue them; the ambush then entreth at a signe given by Joshua by stretching out his Speare, and burneth the City, then they that fled, returned and gat the Victory; the King being taken alive, and hanged till evening, and all both men, women, and children being destroyed, &c. In that God biddeth Joshua V. 18.to stretch out his speare, saying, that hee would now give the City into his hands. Calvin gathereth, that it was a matter of great difficulty to winne this Calvin.City, either because the Israelites were yet fearfull, or the City so strongly fenced, and therefore God appointeth the stretching out of Joshua his speare for a signe of his help, that they might not doubt, but fight confidently, and the speare held up towards Ai, was as a sign of triumph, as if the victory were already gotten, so certainly did the Lord by this signe or symbole assure him V. 26.thereof, for which cause he continued strenching it out, till all were subdned. But that the stretching out of this speare was a signe to the men lying in ambush to arise and take the City, he denyeth, because it could not bee seene so farre off, especially Joshua being in a valley; whereas they are noted then to arise, this was, because by the clamour and noise made, they now perceived that the former propounded stratagem had taken effect; thus Calvin: who is also seconded by some others, who say, that the sounding of the Trumpets, was a signe to the ambush to arise, and not Joshua his speare which could not be seen by them so farre off, and God also, who spake to Joshua to hold out his speare, could at the same time bring them of the ambush by a Divine instinct out of their lurking place into the City. And that the holding out of this speare appointed by God was the cause, when the Israelites fought, of their getting the victory over the men of Ai, God secretly working therewith by his almighty power, as by the hands of Moses lifted up against Amalek. And therefore it Exod 17.is noted that these words, Into thy hand I have given it; may otherwise be rendred, by thy hand I have given it, that is, not fighting, but holding up thy speare. Moreover, no such signe being formerly given to the men laid in ambush, how could they know it? and if it had been held out for a sigue to them when they had taken the City, he would not certainly have held it out still as hee did, v. 26. yet Iosephus, Lyranus, Theodoret, and Tostatus will have Joseph. Theod. Lyra.the holding out of this speare to be for a sign to the ambush; and as Lyra hath it, some Banner to bee put upon the top of it, that might be seen. But I rest in the former as most probable, although the Rabbins are for this also. The word foreign rendred a speare, is sometime used for a shield, and sometime for a speare or javelin, and for a speare it is most commonly taken in this place, as by the Chaldee and Septuagint, but by the Vulgar Latine for a shield, yet even Jerome rendreth the same word, a speare, Job 41. 20. and here both Arias, Montanus, Pagninus, and Tigurini interpretes, and a speare was fittest to be lifted up in the view of all about it, and not a shield; unlesse as Lyra hath it, a shield were put upon the top of a speare or pole, that it might be seen. But the words used to Joshua, intimate no such thing, but onelyonly a stretching out of that in his hand towards Ai to destroy it. The people drawne out upon the feigned flight of the Israelites to pursue after them, are said to be not onelyonly all the men of Ai, but of Bethel also; but it may bee doubted how this could bee, V. 17.the ambush lying between Bethel and Ai? Answ. It is most probable, that the men of Bethel were before this come into Ai to helpe to defend it, as being under the King of Ai, and so it is not meant that they came now out of Bethel to pursue, but out of Ai, being before set there in a readinesse when the Enemy should come. And whereas all are said to have come out, and that a man was not left in Bethel or Ai, it is to bee understood of such as were able to beare armes: for all the weaker sort were slaine afterwards in the City, v. 24.
They entred into the City and tooke it, and hasted, and set it on fire. This is not to be understood of all the City, but the north part onelyonly, which the enemies V. 19.seeing, might quaile in their courage, and the Israelites seeing, might be incouraged. For Ai was all burnt, v. 28. and the spoiles were first taken, v. 27. after the destruction of all the people, which could not have been if much of the City had been burnt before. They set on fire then some house onelyonly that stood most fit to shew by the flame, or smoke thereof, their taking of the City, and so went out on the back of their enemies to fight against them, some happily being lest to carry out and preserve the stuffe and goods therein from burning.
The men of Ai seeing the smoke, had no power to flee any way, which happened V. 20.through their sudden great amazement.
All the men and women of Ai now smitten were 12000, which was the whole company in all that City, whereby the smalnesse of it appeareth. Masius V. 25.will have the men of Bethel also to be numbred amongst them; but Tostatus Masius. Tostatus.that the people of Ai onelyonly fell, and they escaped; but this last is improbable, seeing that in the warre they were mixed together, and so fell together, or else more would have been spoken of Bethel afterwards, which is not; so that it is most likely that they all perished together, and are all called the people of Ai, when they are summed up, because under the same King.
And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever, &c. This seemeth not to V. 28.have been so, for Ezra 2. 28. wee read of the men of Bethel, and Ai, and Nehem. 7. 32. Wherefore it is to be understood that it remained desolate a long time; and his meaning was, that it should so continue alwayes, as Jericho, but as that City was built againe many yeares after; so it seemeth that Ai was rebuilt also.
And the King of Ai hee hanged on a tree till eventide, &c. Because the King V. 29.was the chiefe in fighting against the people of God; hee hath a more shamefull death then any of his subjects, being first hanged and then taken downe, and stones cast upon him unto a great heape at the entring of the gate, as Achan in the valley of Achor. Hee and his subjects had put the children of Israel to ignominy by their overthrow, to the imboldening of the Canaanites against them, therfore now he is thus ignominiously dealt withall, that it being spoken of amongst the Canaanites, they might bee terrified, as indeed they were, Josh. 9. 3. and Ch. 10. 1. But his body is not suffered to hang any longer then till even, according to the law, Deut. 21. 23.
Mystically, saith Ferus, by Joshua his sighting against Ai, we may understand Jesus his fighting against the Devill, for hee assaulteth him by open Warre, The Mysterie. Ferus.when as he casts Devills out of the possessed, and closely hee laid an ambush against him and his kingdome, when hee fled from the Jewes persecuting him, and fled into Egypt, and suffered himselfe to bee taken and crucified, but his Deity that lay hid, returned upon him, and destroyed all his power, and his whole City of the wicked world shall bee by him adjudged to bee burnt with fire. The world indeed is secure, and goeth on in fighting against his Saints, even till the judgement commeth, but then they shall see the smoke of their torment ascending, but none of them shall escape, or have any …ower to flee away, because as this City, so the world their City, shall be suddenly set on fire, when they promise to themselves most prosperity and peace.
Then Joshua built an Altar, &c in Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the V. 30.Lord commanded, &c. Mount Ebal was over against Gilgal, Deut. 11. 30. wherefore Joshua now went back againe from Ai 4 miles to build an Altar there, so H. Bunting, Patriarchs travailes. Of the charge hereabout given by Moses, see Deut. 11. 29. and Deut. 27. at large, where all things concerning this passage have b…en already explained. OnelyOnly whereas Joshua may seeme not to have done altogether according to the direction of Moses, because hee appointed the Levites to pronounce the curses, and generally the Priests were to blesse the Deut. 27. 14. Numb. …. 23. V. 33, 34.people, but Joshua is said here to have blessed them, and to have read the curses: Lyra and others answer well, that Joshua did it by the Ministery of the Levites. This building of an Altar and sacrificing at this time, was for thanksgiving for the former victories, and to consecrate the Land now entred upon, unto the Lord.