Joshua - Ferrar Fenton Bible Translation page 230
The History of the People of Israel
they went to the ambuscade, and halted there between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai, but joshua re- mained that night in the midst of the forces. joshua, however, arose at day-
break and brigaded the army, and he and the officers of Israel advanced against Ai, and the whole body of the army that was with him advanced, and approached, and came near to the city, to assail Ai from the north. Now there was a valley between them and Ai. He had previously taken about
five thousand men, and placed them in ambush between Bethel and Ai on the west of the town. Thus the main body of the army rested on the north of the town, with its ambuscade at the west of the city, whilst joshua marched by night through the valley. But when the king of Ai perceived it, he hastened and arose, and the man came out of Ai to oppose Israel in battle with all his forces in the open plain. But he knew not of the am- bush behind the city. joshua and his Israelite army, however, retreated before them, and retired towards the desert. Then all the people whe were in the town shouted to run after them ;——-so they ran after joshua, and separated themselves from the city, and there was not a man left in Ai and Bethel, who did not go out after Israel; thus they left the city un- guarded to chase after Israel. Then the Evan-Lrvmc said to
Extend the javelin that is in your hand towards Ai, for I will So joshua extended the javelin which was in his hand to the city, and the ambush arose immediately from its place, and ran with outstretched hand to the town, and captured it, and in- stantly fired the city. Then the men smoke go up from the city to the of Ai turned and looked, and saw the sky, and that there was no direction in which they could fly, one way or the other; so our forces, retreating to the desert, turned from their re- treat,-——when joshua and the lsraelite 21 army saw that the ambuscaders had captured the city, because the smoke went up from the town, they turned and charged on to the men of Ai, and the others came out from the city to attack them. Thus they were with Israel on both sides, front and rear, and they fought until only a remnant tied and escaped. But the king of Ai wa.s taken alive and brought to joshua, and when Israel had finished slaying all the people of Ai in the field of the desert to which they had fled, and all had fallen to death by the edge of the sword———·the army of Israel turned back to Ai, and struck it with the edge of the sword; and the number who fell on that day, of men and women, were twelve thousand,··—·—al1 people of Ai,——for joshua did not withdraw his hand with the extended javelin until they had destroyed all the population of Ai. However the cattle and the furniture of the town Israel plundered for themselves, as the Evan-Livine. had said, when He instructed joshua. joshua also burnt Ai, and made it a ruin for ever, (as it is to this day,)1 and he hung the king of Ai on a tree until the dusk. But when the sun went down joshua commanded and they lowered the corpse from the tree, and laid it at the open gate of the city, and piled upon it a great heap of stones. (They remain to this day.) I §¤zb1m huilim mz Qlisr upon Muitut (Ebel. Afterwards joshua built an altar to
the EvER·1.1vmc; Gon of Israel on 22 24 26 28
Mount Eba.1, as Moses the servant of 31 the EVER-LIVING commanded the chiidrem of Israel, and such as Moses described in the Book of the Law for the children of Israel, of Whole Stones, to which no chisel had been applied, and he offered upon it e, Burnt Ofiering to the EvEn·r.1v1Nc;, and sacrificed a Thankoffering. He 32 also carved upon the stones there a
The words in brackets are an edltofs notes.——F, F. 230
