Military Blunder and the Death of a King: Joshua’s Debacle at Ai – Part II
The battle of Ai is probably one of history’s most overlooked battles in which military trainees or cadets can learn valuable lessons.
Joshua—new leader of the tribes of Israel, great military leader, and controversial figure in the Bible— may have been triumphant after besieging and conquering the city of Jericho. But his next move was as audacious as it was ill-advised.
Joshua advanced on the city of Ai; but its ruinous façade was misleading. (Public Domain)
Sending Men to Die
Joshua took the advice of his spies and sent roughly three contingents, or 600 men, to Ai – a Canaanite royal city, but one in ruins (now believed to be Et-Tell, an archaeological site in the West Bank). But once Joshua’s forces enter, “they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.”
While the Bible provides nothing as to what happened, the scripture suggests that once the 600 or so men arrived outside the city, a unit went in to search the area while the reminder of the force stood guard. But once the unit, perhaps of 50 men, passed through the gate, what they literally stumbled into was an environment of ‘rock hell’, which broke the unit’s cohesion, thus giving the Bethlites the element of surprise and allowing them to ambush and kill among the shadows in individual combat, with speed and precision. The psychological terror at Ai caused the remaining Israelite force to flee out of sheer panic, due to the uncertainty lurking among the shadows. And once the Israelites turned their back, the Bethlites took advantage and chased them for a time killing 36 Israelites before breaking off.
Ai (or Et-Tell) shown in the West Bank. The site of et-Tell (Arabic for "the ruin-heap") is about three km east of the modern village of Beitin (Bethel), atop a watershed plateau overlooking the Jordan Valley and the city of Jericho 14 km east. (CC BY-SA 3.0)
The Battle of Ai, which resulted in the deaths of 36 men, was a great concern for Joshua, who “rent his clothes” out of anger and concern.
