And I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them,
I and all the people with me will approach the city. When they come out to fight us like they did before, we will run away from them.
Joshua is explaining his battle strategy to pretend to retreat from Ai, just like what happened in their first failed attack.
📚 Historical Context
In the book of Joshua, the Israelites were in the process of conquering the land of Canaan as promised by God, following their exodus from Egypt. After an initial defeat at Ai due to the sin of Achan, which led to God's judgment, He provided a new plan for victory involving deception and ambush. Joshua is outlining this strategy to his troops, instructing them to feign retreat to draw the enemy out of the city for a surprise attack.
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