“So Y’hoshua burned down ‘Ai and turned it into a tel forever, so that it remains a ruin to this day. The king of ‘Ai he hanged on a tree until evening; at sundown Y’hoshua gave an order, so they took his carcass down from the tree, threw it at the entrance of the city gate and piled on it a big heap of stones, which is there to this day.”-Joshua 8:28-29
Onward with the aftermath of the destruction of the city of Ai.
We’re told the only things that escaped being burned up in the fire were the animals and other possessions of great worth formerly owned by the now dead residents of Ai.
These items were NOT under HEREM or “the ban” and thus true to God’s promise, the soldiers were allowed to keep these spoils of war for themselves.
Let’s turn our attention to verse 29.
The Complete Jewish Bible says…“The king of ‘Ai he hanged on a tree until evening”.
The King James version also asserts…“And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide”.
However, the NIV says…
…”He impaled the body of the king of Ai
on a pole and left it there until evening”.
So which one is the best translation?
Well folks, this is one of those instances where the NIV out does the CJB and the King James version.
The King of Ai was indeed impaled on a pole.
In fact, the expression “hung on a pole” was an ancient idiom that actually meant “to impale”.
Pretty gruesome, eh?
Holy war isn’t pretty.
Impaling the leaders of conquered kingdoms on a sharp pole in a public place for all to see as a warning was the custom of the day.
This was literally a ruler’s worst nightmare, to have his life ended in such a humiliating way.
After sunset, we’re told he wasn’t even granted the honor of a proper burial.
His body was discarded like a dead cockroach at the gates of his now destroyed city, and then stones were piled up on top of his dead body.
Goodbye Mister King of Ai.
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