Yehoshua 8: Military Man

The conquest of Jericho was almost entirely divine. God help set up the miracle brought about by the Kohanim, the Ark, and the people. With the city’s defenses in shambles, it was easy for the Israelite army to overrun the city. Ai is different. After the poorly conceived attack that lead to defeat in the last chapter, Yehoshua gets a second chance to show his military acumen. God provides the pep talk in verses one and two, and hints at the properly military strategy- set a trap.“And the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you and march on Ai… See, I give into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king—except that you may keep the spoil and the cattle as booty for yourselves. Set an ambush for the city, behind it.’” (verses 1–2).וַיֹּאמֶר ה׳ אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אַל־תִּירָא וְאַל־תֵּחָת קַח עִמְּךָ אֶת־כָּל־עַם הַמִּלְחָמָה וְקוּם עֲלֵה עַי רְאֵה נָתַתִּי בְיָדְךָ אֶת־מֶלֶךְ הָעַי וְאֶת־עַמּוֹ וְאֶת־עִירוֹ וְאֶת־אַרְצוֹ׃וְעָשִׂיתָ לָעַי וּלְמַלְכָּהּ כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ לִירִיחוֹ וּלְמַלְכָּהּ רַק שְׁלָלָהּ וּבְהֶמְתָּהּ תָּבֹזּוּ לָכֶם שִׂים לְךָ אֹרֵב לָעִיר מֵאַחֲרֶיהָ(Joshua 8:1–2)Yehoshua sets it all into motion. The military strategy in this chapter is unique until this point. Avraham’s war with the five and four kings in Genesis is low on detail. Levi and Shimon’s massacre at Shchem did not have much strategy beyond- wait until everyone was uncomfortable. The battle with Amalek- Yehoshua’s first battle was mostly focused on Moshe’s hands in the air. The Israelite conquests at the end of Deuteronomy are also devoid of strategy and detail.Once again, the Israelites are faced with a walled city-state. Yehoshua positions a military unit behind the city hidden from view. The rest of the army moves with Yehoshua for a full-fledged attack with a quick retreat. The army from Ai pursues, and the Israelite army retreats. Once the Ai army vacates the city chasing the Israelite army, the ambush troops enter the city without any issues.The genius of this strategy is that is it plays off of the Israelite defeat in the last chapter. Yehoshua knows that the inhabitants of Ai would expect a much larger force to attack this time- so Yehoshua sends a massive 30,000-person force. In the previous chapter, Ai only killed a handful of the Israelites. This time, faced with what looks like a similar outcome, the overconfident Ai army pursues. The small 5,000 ambush unit that eventually overtakes the city also parallels the small 3,000 troop unit that was defeated in the previous attack.As an added bonus, God has Yehoshua pay homage the battle of Amalek by instructing Yehoshua to lift a spear into the air like Moshe’s arms.“Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Hold out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.’ And Joshua held out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city.” (verse 18).וַיֹּאמֶר ה׳ אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ נְטֵה בַכִּידוֹן אֲשֶׁר בְּיָדְךָ אֶל־הָעַי כִּי בְיָדְךָ אֶתְּנֶנָּהּ וַיֵּט יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בַּכִּידוֹן אֲשֶׁר בְּיָדוֹ אֶל־הָעִיר(Joshua 8:18)Yehoshua keeps the spear in the air without any assistance while the Israelite army is victorious.