Joshua 8:29

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.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(29) And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree.—(See Note on Deuteronomy 21:22-23.) Heb., on the tree. Why “the tree”? It would appear from Joshua 8:2; Joshua 10:1, that the king of Jericho was also hanged; possibly both were hanged on the same tree, and were exhibited, each in turn, as “the curse of God.” But when we read of this treatment of the enemies of Joshua, we cannot but be reminded of the greater Joshua, who fulfilled the curse of God in His own person, and made a show of the “principalities and powers” by triumphing over them in His cross. (Comp. also Esther 9:10; Esther 9:13.)

Jericho and Ai are the only cities of Canaan of which the capture by Joshua is recorded in detail. Their capture stands in the narrative, as it was in fact, a specimen of the whole conquest of the Canaanite cities. Two campaigns in like manner are recorded as specimens of Joshua’s battles with the enemy in the open field. In the capture of Jericho and in the southern campaign, the hand of God is more especially manifested. In the capture of Ai and in the northern campaign, the labour of Israel in the conflict is more prominent. The whole work is thus presented to us in a twofold aspect, as the work of Israel and the work of God.

A great heap of stones.—Not only the death, but the burial of the king of Ai is recorded, as also the burial of the five kings in Joshua 10:27. The same thing was done to Achan (Joshua 7:26), and to Absalom (2Samuel 18:17). This kind of burial is another form of the curse, and is a fitting sequel to the hanging of the body upon the tree.

Benson Commentary

Joshua 8:29. The king of Ai he hanged on a tree — He dealt more severely with the kings of Canaan than with the people, because the abominable wickedness of that people was not restrained and punished, (as it ought to have been,) but countenanced and encouraged by their evil examples; and because they were the principal authors of the destruction of their own people, by engaging them in an obstinate opposition against the Israelites. Down from the tree — According to God’s command in that case, Deuteronomy 21:22. The gate of the city — Which place he chose either as most commodious, now especially, when all the city within the gate was already turned into a heap of stones and rubbish; or because this was the usual place of judgment, and therefore proper to bear the monument of God’s just sentence against him, not without reflection upon that injustice which he had been guilty of in that place.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

8:23-29 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.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Compare Deuteronomy 21:22-23 notes.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Jos 8:29. The King Hanged.

29. 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 God upon His enemies.

take his carcass down … and raise thereon a great heap of stones—It was taken down at sunset, according to the divine command (De 21:23), and cast into a pit dug "at the entering of the gate," because that was the most public place. An immense cairn was raised over his grave—an ancient usage, still existing in the East, whereby is marked the sepulchre of persons whose memory is infamous.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

He dealt more severely with the kings of Canaan than with the people, partly because the abominable wickedness of that people was not restrained and punished, (as it should have been,) but countenanced and encouraged by their evil examples and administrations; and partly because they were the principal authors of the destruction of their own people, by engaging them in an obstinate opposition against the Israelites.

That they should take his carcass down from the tree, according to God’s command in that case, Deu 21:22,23. He chose

the entering of the gate of the city, either as most commodious, now especially when all the city within the gate was already turned into a heap of stones and rubbish; or because this was the usual place of judgment, and therefore proper to bear the monument of God’s just sentence against him, not without reflection upon that injustice which he had been guilty of in that place.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide,.... By way of terror to other kings in the land of Canaan, that should refuse to submit unto him:

and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcass down from the tree; according to the law in Deuteronomy 21:23; and that the land might not be defiled:

and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city; this was done, according to Ben Gersom and Abarbinel, that it might be publicly known to the rest of the kings of the nations, that they might be afraid to fight with Israel:

and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day; as a sepulchral monument, showing that there was a person lay interred there; whether there was any inscription on the stone, showing who he was, does not appear; it looks as if it was only a rude heap of stones; and such kind of sepulchral monuments were common in former times in other countries.

Geneva Study Bible

And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded {m} 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.

(m) According as it was commanded, De 21:23.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

29. he hanged on a tree] “He hongid in a gybet,” Wyclif. Hanging is mentioned as a distinct punishment, Numbers 25:4. In Deuteronomy 21:22 we read that in certain cases the criminal was put to death, and after that, his dead body was hung on a tree till eventide; the king of Ai was probably slain and then hanged on a cross or gallows.

as soon as the sun was down] This was in accordance with the Mosaic Law, which directed, Deuteronomy 21:23, that a man’s body should “not remain all night upon the tree.” Comp. also Joshua 10:27.

and raise thereon a great heap of stones] Comp. Joshua 7:26. Two words are used for “heap” in Joshua 8:28-29. The first (Tel) indicates the ruins of the city itself, the second (Gal) the cairn over the king’s grave.

Joshua 8:29

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

He had the king of Ai hanged upon a tree, i.e., put to death, and then suspended upon a stake (see Numbers 25:4) until the evening; but at sunset he had him taken down (in accordance with Deuteronomy 21:22-23), and thrown at the entrance of the town-gate, and a heap of stones piled upon him (as in the case of Achan, Joshua 7:26).