Joshua 7:5

And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
men	אַנְשֵׁ֣י 'an.Shei	H582	a man in general (singly or collectively) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Ai	הָעַ֗י ha.'Ai	H5857	Ai · definite article + proper noun, a place name
smote	וַיַּכּ֨וּ vai.ya.Ku	H5221	to strike (lightly or severely · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
thirty	כִּשְׁלֹשִׁ֤ים kish.lo.Shim	H7970	thirty · preposition + cardinal number, masculine plural absolute
six	וְשִׁשָּׁה֙ ve.shi.Shah	H8337	six (as an overplus beyond five or the fingers of the h… · conjunction + cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
men	אִ֔ישׁ 'Ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
chased	וַֽיִּרְדְּפ֞וּם vai.yir.de.Fum	H7291	to run after (usually with hostile intent · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
before	לִפְנֵ֤י lif.Nei	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
gate	הַשַּׁ֙עַר֙ ha.Sha.'ar	H8179	an opening · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Shebarim	הַשְּׁבָרִ֔ים ha.she.va.Rim	H7671	Shebarim · definite article + proper noun, a place name
smote	וַיַּכּ֖וּם vai.ya.Kum	H5221	to strike (lightly or severely · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
down	בַּמּוֹרָ֑ד ba.mo.Rad	H4174	a descent · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
hearts	לְבַב le.vav-	H3824	the heart (as the most interior organ) · noun, common masculine singular construct
people	הָעָ֖ם ha.'Am	H5971	a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
melted	וַיִּמַּ֥ס vai.yi.Mas	H4549	to liquefy · conjunction + verb, niphal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
water	לְמָֽיִם le.Ma.yim	H4325	water · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Joshua 2:9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitant…
Joshua 2:11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the…
Leviticus 26:36 And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken…
Deuteronomy 1:44 And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Horma…
Joshua 5:1 And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, whi…
Psalms 22:14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
Isaiah 13:7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt:
Ezekiel 21:7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every hear…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Joshua 7:1-5

The story of this chapter begins with a but. The Lord was with Joshua, and his fame was noised through all that country, so the foregoing chapter ends, and it left no room to doubt but that he would go on as he had begun conquering and to conquer. He did right, and observed his orders in every thing. But the children of Israel committed a trespass, and so set God against them; and then even Joshua's name and fame, his wisdom and courage, could do them no service. If we lose our God, we lose our friends, who cannot help us unless God be for us. Now here is, I. Achan sinning, Jos 7:1. Here is only a general mention made of the sin; we shall afterwards have a more particular account of it from…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 7:5

chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim--that is, unto the "breakings" or "fissures" at the opening of the passes. and smote them in the going down--that is, the declivity or slope of the deep, rugged, adjoining wady. wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water--It is evident that the troops engaged were a tumultuary, undisciplined band, no better skilled in military affairs than the Bedouin Arabs, who become disheartened and flee on the loss of ten or fifteen men. But the consternation of the Israelites arose from another cause--the evident displeasure of God, who withheld that aid on which they had confidently reckoned.

Adam Clarke on Joshua 7:5

They chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim - They seem to have presumed that the men of Ai would have immediately opened their gates to them, and therefore they marched up with confidence; but the enemy appearing, they were put to flight, their ranks utterly broken, and thirty-six of them killed. שברים Shebarim signifies breaches or broken places, and may here apply to the ranks of the Israelites, which were broken by the men of Ai; for the people were totally routed, though there were but few slain. They were panic-struck, and fled in the utmost confusion. The hearts of the people melted - They were utterly discouraged; and by this gave an ample proof that without the supernat…

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Dictionary and topics

Ai — Ruins. (1.) One of the royal cities of the Canaanites (Josh. 10:1; Gen. 12:8; 13:3). It was the scene of Joshua’s defeat, and afterwards of his victory. It was the second Canaanite city taken by…
Shebarim — Breaks; ruins, a place near Ai (Josh. 7:5; R.V. marg., “the quarries”).
Cowardice · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Shebarim · A place near the town of Ai — A place near the town of Ai
Water · Illustrative: (Its weakness,) of faintness and cowardice — Illustrative: (Its weakness,) of faintness and cowardice

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Joshua 7:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Joshua 7:1-5

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 7:5

Adam Clarke on Joshua 7:5

Dictionary and topics

Joshua 7:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Joshua 7:1-5

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 7:5

Adam Clarke on Joshua 7:5

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Joshua 7:5

John Calvin on Joshua 7:1-9

Keil & Delitzsch on Joshua 7:2-5

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Joshua 7:5

Rashi on Joshua 7:5