Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 8:8

And it shall be, when ye have taken the city, [that] ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the LORD shall ye do. See, I have commanded you.

8. See, I have commanded you ] Comp. the words of Jehovah to Joshua, Jos 1:9, “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong, and of a good courage;” and of Absalom to his servants, 2Sa 13:28, “Have not I commanded you? Be courageous and be valiant.”

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Verse 8. Ye shall set the city on fire] Probably this means no more than that they should kindle a fire in the city, the smoke of which should be an indication that they had taken it. For as the spoils of the city were to be divided among the people, had they at this time set fire to the city itself, all the property must have been consumed, for the five thousand men did not wait to save any thing, as they immediately issued out to attack the men of Ai in the rear.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Ye shall set the city on fire, to wit, part of it, as a sign to their brethren of their success; for the whole city was not burnt now, but afterwards, as is said Jos 8:28.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And it shall be, when ye have taken the city,…. Entered it and become masters of it:

[that] ye shall set the city on fire; not the whole city, only some outlying houses of it, to make a smoke which might be seen both by Israel and the men of Ai, for different purposes; for the spoil of the city was first to be taken before it was utterly burnt with fire:

according to the commandment of the Lord shall ye do; plunder the city, destroy the inhabitants of it, and then burn it:

see I have commanded you; delivered the command of the Lord unto them, and therefore were left without excuse, and could not plead ignorance; besides, he was their general, and he expected his orders to be obeyed, as they ought to have been.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

8. Ye shall set the city on fire We are not to understand that the entire city is to be immediately destroyed by fire, for in that case there would be a loss of the promised spoil. A part of the city was set on fire as a signal, and the smoke was to signify to Joshua that it was time to stop the reigned retreat and return to the city. Afterwards the entire city was pillaged and destroyed.

According to the commandment of the Lord This is found in the second verse, “as unto Jericho.”

See, I have commanded you Be impressed with the fact that this is a momentous military order, and on your perfect obedience victory hinges.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

“ And it shall be, when you have seized the city, you will set the city on fire. You will do according to the word of YHWH. See I have commanded you.”

Once the city was taken it was to be set on fire. This would both act as a signal and would begin the fulfilment of YHWH’s instruction to ‘devote’ the city and its citizens, but not the cattle (Jos 8:2).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Jos 8:8 And it shall be, when ye have taken the city, [that] ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the LORD shall ye do. See, I have commanded you.

Ver. 8. Ye shall set the city on fire. ] Of this fire we may say, as Herodotus doth of Troy, set on fire by the Greeks, that the cinders and ashes thereof were set before the eyes of men, as an example of that sure rule. Great sins have great punishments from God; a like whereunto is that of Job, “Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity?” Job 31:3

a T Y . – Herod.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)