New King James Version
Joshua 8:29
29And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening. And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his corpse down from the tree, cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day.
Joshua 8:29 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day.
- New International Version (NIV)He impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening. And at sunset Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree and threw it at the entrance of the gate of the city and raised over it a great heap of stones, which stands there to this day.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Joshua impaled the king of Ai on a sharpened pole and left him there until evening. At sunset the Israelites took down the body, as Joshua commanded, and threw it in front of the town gate. They piled a great heap of stones over him that can still be seen today.
Context of Joshua 8:29
27Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as booty for themselves, according to the word of the Lord which He had commanded Joshua. 28So Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever, a desolation to this day. And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening. And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his corpse down from the tree, cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day. 30Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal, 31as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings.
Read all of Joshua 8Joshua 8:29 word by word
וְאֶת־מֶ֧לֶךְ הָעַ֛י תָּלָ֥ה עַל־הָעֵ֖ץ עַד־עֵ֣ת הָעָ֑רֶב וּכְב֣וֹא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ֩ צִוָּ֨ה יְהוֹשֻׁ֜עַ וַיֹּרִ֧ידוּ אֶת־נִבְלָת֣וֹ מִן־הָעֵ֗ץ וַיַּשְׁלִ֤יכוּ אוֹתָהּ֙ אֶל־פֶּ֙תַח֙ שַׁ֣עַר הָעִ֔יר וַיָּקִ֤ימוּ עָלָיו֙ גַּל־אֲבָנִ֣ים גָּד֔וֹל עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Aiעַי‛ay ‛ayâ' ‛ayâth · AiH5857
- he hangedתָּלָהtâlâh · to hangH8518
- on a treeעֵץ‛êts · treeH6086
- until eventideעֶ֫רֶב‛ereb · eveningH6153
- until eventideעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
- and as soon as the sunשֶׁ֫מֶשׁshemesh · sunH8121
- was downבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): besiegeH935
- Joshuaיְהוֹשׁוּעַyehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ · JoshuaH3091
- commandedצָוָהtsâvâh · to commandH6680
- that they should takeיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
- his carcaseנְבֵלָהnebêlâh · carcassH5038
- and castשָׁלַךְshâlak · to throwH7993
- it at the enteringפֶּ֫תַחpethach · entranceH6607
- of the gateשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
- of the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- and raiseקוּםqûm · to arise: raiseH6965
- thereon a greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
- heapגַּלgal · heapH1530
- of stonesאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
- unto this dayיוֹםyôm · day: todayH3117
Cross-references for Joshua 8:29
- Joshua 10:26And afterward Joshua struck them and killed them, and hanged them on five trees; and they were hanging on the trees until evening.
- Deuteronomy 21:22“If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
- Esther 7:10So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath subsided.
- Psalms 107:40He pours contempt on princes, And causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way;
- Psalms 110:5The Lord is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath.
- Acts 12:23Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.
- Revelation 19:17Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God,
- Joshua 10:27So it was at the time of the going down of the sun that Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees, cast them into the cave where they had been hidden, and laid large stones against the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.
- Joshua 7:26Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to this day.
- 2 Samuel 18:17And they took Absalom and cast him into a large pit in the woods, and laid a very large heap of stones over him. Then all Israel fled, everyone to his tent.
Commentaries on Joshua 8:29
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 29The king of Ai he hanged on a tree - He had gone out at the head of his men, and had been taken prisoner, Joshua 8:23; and the battle being over, he was ordered to be hanged, probably after having been strangled, or in some way deprived of life, as in the case mentioned Joshua 10:26, for in those times it was not customary to hang people alive. As soon as the sun was down - It was not lawful to let the bodies remain all night upon the tree. See the note…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 29Compare Deuteronomy 21:22-23 notes.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 23-29Verses 23-29 God, the righteous Judge, had sentenced the Canaanites for their wickedness; the Israelites only executed his doom. None of their conduct can be drawn into an example for others. Especial reason no doubt there was for this severity to the king of Ai; it is likely he had been notoriously wicked and vile, and a blasphemer of the God of Israel.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 29The public executions of the kings showed that Israel acted as God's agent to judge the leaders and people of Canaan for their evil acts (see also 10:26; 11:10, 12). until evening: See Deuteronomy 21:22–23. which remains to this day: See Joshua Book Introduction, “Author and Date.”Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2929. The king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide--that is, gibbeted. In ancient, and particularly Oriental wars, the chiefs, when taken prisoners, were usually executed. The Israelites were obliged, by the divine law, to put them to death. The execution of the king of Ai would tend to facilitate the conquest of the land, by striking terror into the other chiefs, and making it appear a judicial process, in which they were inflicting the vengeance of…Read the comment
Topics related to Joshua 8:29
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Joshua 8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries