Joshua 7, Ai

The Israelites have been victorious at Jericho.  They move on to Ai. Unknown to them, not everyone has been obedient to God's commands.

Joshua 7:1-3, Treachery

But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the LORD's anger burned against Israel.

Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, "Go up and spy out the region." So the men went up and spied out Ai. 

    

When they returned to Joshua, they said, "Not all the people will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary all the people, for only a few men are there."

The impurity of the actions of Achan at Jericho will lead to disaster at Ai.  Joshua is overconfident and sends a small army to take Ai. (Madvig says, " 'Ai' means 'a ruins' and might not have really been the name of a city.")

The name Bethel means "house of God"; the name Beth Aven means "house of evil." This second town may have received its name after this episode!

(NIV footnotes: Some ancient manuscripts give "Zimri" in verses 1, 17 and 18; other manuscripts give "Zabdi".)

Joshua 7: 4-5, Disaster

So about three thousand men went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted and became like water.

The Israelites are routed and thirty-six are killed.

Commentator Robert L. Hubbard argues that the Hebrew word, eleph, translated here as "thousand" might be better translated "clan" or "military unit." Joshua, he argues, sends three squads of soldiers, maybe several hundred men, to attack Ai.  This translation makes the death of 36 in a "rout" much more reasonable.

(NIV footnotes: Verse 5 "as far as the stone quarries" could be "as far as Shebarim".) 

Joshua 7: 6-9, Joshua seeks an answer

Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the LORD, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads.

    

And Joshua said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?"

Joshua is stunned by this defeat and falls down before the ark, asking, "Why?"  The leaders fall down with him. In his expression of dismay, he points out that this rout is bad for the reputation of Israel and Israel's God! (This is a complaint Joshua may have learned from Moses!)

Joshua 7: 10-13, God's answer

The LORD said to Joshua, "Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions.

    

That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.
    

"Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, `Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it.

The cause of the defeat is the lack of full devotion by all the people.  The defeat at Ai is a physical reminder of the seriousness of the earlier instructions. The failure to fully follow instructions has led to this defeat and the death of 36 men. The problem needs to be resolved.

Joshua 7: 14-15, Finding the culprit

"`In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the LORD takes shall come forward clan by clan; the clan that the LORD takes shall come forward family by family; and the family that the LORD takes shall come forward man by man. He who is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the LORD and has done a disgraceful thing in Israel!'"

The reader knows who committed the crime but must wait while Joshua and the nation learn. The culprit will be revealed by this winnowing through the tribes and families.

Joshua 7: 16-19, An answer by lots

Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was taken. The clans of Judah came forward, and he took the Zerahites. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was taken. Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
    

Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me."
    

What a strange way to find the culprits! Hubbard suggests that the priests may have had a divine way (Urim and Thummim?) that would have indicated "Yes" or "No". The priests got "Yes" when the tribe of Judah was represented, then when the subtribe of Zorah appeared, and so on.

Joshua 7: 20-21, Confession

Achan replied, "It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath."

Achan admits to his crime. He has both coveted items that were not his and then stolen these treasures from YHWH, violating both the Eighth and Tenth Commandments.

(NIV footnotes: In verse 20, "Babylonia" is the Hebrew "Shinar". In verse 21, fifty shekels is about about 1 1/4 pounds so 100 shekels is about five pounds.)

 

Joshua 7: 22-24, Busted!

So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the LORD.

    

Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor.

The booty is found in Achan's tent, just as he had said. It was hidden there; obviously Achan knew this was a crime and presumably his family were aware of his actions.

(NIV footnotes: "Achor" means "trouble".)

Joshua 7: 25-26, Punishment

Joshua said, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today." Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.

Achan and his family are executed and their bodies burned. Afterwards, the bodies are covered by a mound of rocks, possibly a humiliating form of burial.  (The king of Ai will be buried this way in the next chapter.) To modern ears, this punishment is brutal.  But the Israelites, in Joshua 1, had promised full obedience to God, through Joshua, and had sworn that the punishment for betrayal was death. Achan and his family, in their deceit, are responsible for 36 deaths.

Robert L. Hubbard points out that the promises to the country of Israel are really to the covenant of YHWH.  Outsiders, like Rahab, who commit to YHWH, become part of Israel; insiders like Achan, who have Israelite lineage but turn away from YHWH,  receive the same punishment as those outside the nation.  Rahab (and her descendants -- see the book of Ruth) are members of the tribe; Achan and his descendants are not.