8:28a

So Joshua burned Ai: This indicates that Joshua gave orders to his soldiers to burn the town of Ai. He did not burn the town himself.

8:28b

and made it a permanent heap of ruins: The Israelites burned the buildings and everything in Ai so that it was a pile of rubble. The name “Ai” in Hebrew means ruins. It is recommended that you add a footnote to explain that this is a word play. For example:

FOOTNOTE: The name Ai means “ruins”

a desolation to this day: The phrase this day refers to the time that the author wrote the book of Joshua. At that time it was still a heap of ruins

General Comment on 8:28

Verse 8:28 is a summary statement about the battle of Ai. The burning of Ai is mentioned three times in this chapter. The first mention, in 8:8, is part of God’s command to Israel. The next mention, in 8:19, reports that the soldiers burned the town. The final mention in this verse is the summary of what Israel did to Ai. The Israelites burned Ai only once. Make sure that is clear in your translation.

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