Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the ambushers was that they should make a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city.
- BSB The men of Israel had arranged a signal with the men in ambush: When they sent up a great cloud of smoke from the city,
- NKJV Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise up from the city,
- NASB Now the agreed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city.
- NLT They had arranged to send up a large cloud of smoke from the town as a signal.
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
A column of smoke from the city was the prearranged signal between Israel's main force and the ambush.
Overview
The signal of rising smoke coordinated the two Israelite forces, much as at Ai (Joshua 8:20-21). This detail explains how the main army would know the ambush had succeeded and turn to attack. The careful planning illustrates that trusting God's promise does not exclude diligent, ordered effort.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Gen 17:21But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
- 2 Kgs 4:16And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.
- Josh 8:20And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 20:38 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.