Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 7:5
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.
5. unto Shebarim ] So called, perhaps, from the mines, or stone quarries, which lay in the neighbourhood. The LXX. translates “ till they had crushed or annihilated them.”
in the going down ] Or, as in the margin, in Morad. If we retain the translation in the text, “the going down” would point to a spot, about a mile distant, “where the wdies, descending from Ai, take their final plunge eastwards.”
the hearts of the people melted ] Comp. Deu 1:28; Jos 2:11. “And the herte of the puple myche dredde, and at the lickenesse of water is molten,” Wyclif.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Shebarim – Rather, perhaps, the stone quarries. The smallness of the slaughter among the Israelites indicates that they fled early, probably without real conflict in battle.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 5. They chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim] They seem to have presumed that the men of Ai would have immediately opened their gates to them, and therefore they marched up with confidence; but the enemy appearing, they were put to flight, their ranks utterly broken, and thirty-six of them killed. Shebarim signifies breaches or broken places, and may here apply to the ranks of the Israelites, which were broken by the men of Ai; for the people were totally routed, though there were but few slain. They were panic-struck, and fled in the utmost confusion.
The hearts of the people melted] They were utterly discouraged; and by this gave an ample proof that without the supernatural assistance of God they could never have conquered the land.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
About thirty and six men; a dear victory to them, whereby Israel was awakened, and reformed, and reconciled to their God and Shield, and they hardened to their own ruin.
In the going down; by which it seems it was a downhill way to Jericho, which was nearer Jordan.
As water, soft and weak, and full of fluctuation and trembling.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. chased them from before the gateeven unto Shebarimthat is, unto the “breakings” or”fissures” at the opening of the passes.
and smote them in the goingdownthat is, the declivity or slope of the deep, rugged,adjoining wady.
wherefore the hearts of thepeople melted, and became as waterIt is evident that thetroops engaged were a tumultuary, undisciplined band, no betterskilled in military affairs than the Bedouin Arabs, who becomedisheartened and flee on the loss of ten or fifteen men. But theconsternation of the Israelites arose from another causetheevident displeasure of God, who withheld that aid on which they hadconfidently reckoned.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men,…. In the pursuit of them, which were but few, but a sufficient rebuke of Providence; their loss was but small, but their shame and disgrace great:
for they chased them [from] before the gate; the gate of the city of Ai:
[even] unto Shebarim; not that there was a place of this name before, but it was so called from hence, because there they were broken, as Kimchi observes; and the Targum and Jarchi render it,
“until they were broken,”
their lines broken, not being able to retreat in order, but were scattered, and fled to their camp as they could: Gussetius q thinks it was the; name of a place, but not so called for the above reason, but because there lay broken pieces of the rock scattered about:
and smote them in the going down; the hill from Ai; “Morad”, rendered “going down”, may taken for the proper name of a place, and which, Kimchi says, was a place before Ai, in which there was a declivity and descent, and in that place they smote them when they fled:
wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water; that is, the whole body of the people, when this little army returned defeated, their spirits failed them, their courage was lost, their nerves were loosed, and they became languid, faint, and feeble; not that their loss was so great, but that they perceived God had forsaken them, and what the issue of this would be they dreaded.
q Comment. Ebr. p. 825.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(5) Shebarimi.e., the crevices, or ravines. A short distance below Ai the road passes the head of steep glens, which open into the plain of Jordan.
In the going downi.e., until they escaped into these ravines.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. About thirty and six men The disaster, though shameful, was much lighter than might have been expected to attend such a rout.
Even unto Shebarim That is, the stone quarries or ruins, the situation of which cannot be determined. Captain Wilson suggests that it may be identical with some extensive ruins northeast of Bethel, called Deir Sheba.
In the going down Or, the declivity. Hebrews, Morad. Perhaps the descent into the wady, (note, Jos 7:2,) which is hemmed in on both sides with precipitous cliffs, is meant. Both the ruins ( shebarim) and the declivity ( morad) were evidently well known places in the time of the writer of this book but not of sufficient importance to survive in the memory of many generations.
The hearts of the people melted This dismay was not on account of the magnitude of the disaster to the arms of Israel, but because it betokened the withdrawal of their Great Ally, Jehovah. Well may a nation tremble when it sees itself forsaken of God!
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty six men, for they chased them from in front of the gate even to the quarries (or Shebarim), and smote them on the descent, for which reason the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.’
The men of Israel reached the gates of the city no doubt full of confidence, and probably, after Jericho, expecting some remarkable event in their favour. But they were to receive a dreadful shock. For the armed men of Ai, realising that they would be somewhat exhausted after the hot climb, sallied out in force and smote them, driving them from in front of the entrance to their ‘city’ and down the descending way, during which they killed thirty six of them, for they chased them some considerable way. Shebarim means ‘that which is broken’, thus possibly quarries. There is probably also a hint here that the men of Israel were ‘broken’.
On hearing of the defeat the hearts of the people of Israel were filled with fear and they lost all courage. So quickly can men’s confidence be dented when something goes wrong. They had anticipated an easy victory and had instead lost thirty six men. After the victory of Jericho they could not understand it. Nor could Joshua.
At this point we may stop and ask what the people of Ai would now do. They now knew that it was the intention of Israel to enter the hill country. They also knew that the force that they had defeated was only a small part of Israel’s striking force. News would certainly have reached them of the much larger force encamped at Gilgal. They must thus have known that Israel would soon be back in much larger numbers. Contact would certainly be made with Bethel and it would seem from subsequent descriptions that Bethel supplied a large contingent of armed men to assist them. It would be in both their interests. This is the only real explanation of why the king of Ai was willing to leave the city to attack the large force that later arrived in the valley. He would hardly have done it with a ‘few’ men unless he was confident of a backup force that he could instantly call on. Without it he would have remained within the walls of Ai.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jos 7:5 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.
Ver. 5. And the men of Ai smote of them. ] Not in fight, but in flight; for they stood not out the first shock.
“ A cane non magno saepe tenetur aper. ”
Even unto Shebarim,
Wherefore the hearts of the people melted.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
melted = became as water. Figure of speech Hyperbole. App-6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
for they: Deu 1:44
the going down: or, Morad
wherefore: Jos 2:9, Jos 2:11, Jos 5:1, Lev 26:36, Psa 22:14, Isa 13:7
Reciprocal: Num 14:45 – the Amalekites Num 21:1 – then Jos 8:5 – as at Jos 22:20 – General Jdg 20:31 – thirty 1Sa 4:2 – Israel 2Sa 17:9 – some 1Ch 21:7 – he smote Psa 58:7 – General Psa 89:43 – not made Ecc 9:18 – sinner
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jos 7:5. The men of Ai smote thirty-six men A dear-bought victory to them, whereby Israel was awakened and reformed, and they hardened to their own ruin. They smote them in the going down That is, till they came to the plains of Jericho, Ai standing upon a hill. The hearts of the people melted, and became as water Soft and weak, and full of fluctuation and trembling. They were undoubtedly struck with this panic from God; for otherwise there was no sufficient reason for it.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
7:5 And the {c} 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.
(c) God would by this overthrow make them more earnest to search out and punish the sin committed.