Only the cattle and the spoil - In the case of Jericho these were all consigned to destruction, and therefore it was criminal to take any thing pertaining to the city, as we have already seen; but in the case before us the cattle and spoils were expressly given to the conquerors by the order of God. See Joshua 8:2.

the cattle

Joshua 8:2 And you shall do to Ai and her king as you did to Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof...

Joshua 11:4 And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is on the sea shore in multitude...

Numbers 31:22,26 Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead...

Psalm 50:10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.

Matthew 20:15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own? Is your eye evil, because I am good?

he commanded

Joshua 8:2 And you shall do to Ai and her king as you did to Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof...

Formation and History of the Hebrew Canon.
1. The Greek word canon (originally a straight rod or pole, measuring-rod, then rule) denotes that collection of books which the churches receive as given by inspiration of God, and therefore as constituting for them a divine rule of faith and practice. To the books included in it the term canonical is applied. The Canon of the Old Testament, considered in reference to its constituent parts, was formed gradually; formed under divine superintendence by a process of growth extending through …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible