Joshua 8:15 - Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.

Generated Verse: Joshua 8:15

What does "Joshua 8:15" mean?


Joshua 8:15 describes a planned military tactic employed by Joshua and the Israelites against the city of Ai. The verse means:

"Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them..." - This means that Joshua and his army pretended to lose the initial battle against the soldiers of Ai. They deliberately acted as if they were being defeated.
"...and fled by the way of the wilderness." - They then retreated, running away in the direction of the wilderness (a sparsely populated or uninhabited area). This was part of their plan to lure the army of Ai away from their city.

In essence, this verse describes a feigned retreat. It was a deception tactic. The Israelites intentionally appeared to be losing and ran away to draw the army of Ai out of their fortified city, making Ai vulnerable to a surprise attack from another Israelite force that was hiding nearby.