Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the land.” The men went up and spied out Ai.
Parallel translations
- KJV And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.
- BSB Meanwhile, 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 land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.
- NKJV Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the country.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.
- NASB Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.
- NLT Joshua sent some of his men from Jericho to spy out the town of Ai, east of Bethel, near Beth-aven.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joshua sent men to spy out Ai, a smaller town near Bethel. Confident after Jericho, Israel prepared to advance, unaware of hidden sin in the camp.
Overview
The reconnaissance of Ai seems like prudent strategy following the great victory. Yet the reader knows from verse 1 that Achan's sin has already broken fellowship with God. The contrast between Israel's confidence and its hidden guilt foreshadows the defeat to come, teaching that outward planning cannot substitute for being right with God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Josh 18:12Their border on the north quarter was from the Jordan. The border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill country westward. It ended at the wilderness of Beth Aven.
- 1 Sam 14:23So Yahweh saved Israel that day; and the battle passed over by Beth Aven.
- 1 Sam 13:5The Philistines assembled themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, eastward of Beth Aven.
- Hos 4:15“Though you, Israel, play the prostitute, yet don’t let Judah offend; and don’t come to Gilgal, neither go up to Beth Aven, nor swear, ‘As Yahweh lives.’
- Gen 12:8He left from there to go to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to Yahweh and called on Yahweh’s name.
- Matt 10:16“Behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
- Prov 20:18Plans are established by advice; by wise guidance you wage war!
- Prov 24:6for by wise guidance you wage your war; and victory is in many advisors.
- Josh 12:9the king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one;
- Josh 2:1Joshua the son of Nun secretly sent two men out of Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, including Jericho.” They went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and slept there.
- Eph 5:15Therefore watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise;
- Neh 11:31The children of Benjamin also lived from Geba onward, at Michmash and Aija, and at Bethel and its towns,
- Gen 28:19He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.
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Christ at the center
Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.
How Joshua 7:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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