The word ‘ambush' occurs many times in the Bible, mainly in Joshua (the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible). Joshua became the leader of the Israelite tribes after the death of Moses. He was one of the 12 spies sent by Moses to explore the land of Canaan. The following is an attempt at reviewing such occurrence: • So the Israelites set an ambush all around Gibeah. – Judges 20:29 • When the main group of Israelite warriors reached Baal-tamar, they turned and prepared to attack. Then the Israelites hiding in ambush west of Gibeah jumped up from where they were – Judges 20:33 • Then the men of Benjamin saw that they were beaten. The Israelites had retreated from Benjamin's warriors in order to give those hiding in ambush more room to maneuver. – Judges 20:36 • "But suppose someone hates a neighbour and deliberately ambushes and murders that neighbour and then escapes to one of the cities of refuge. – Deuteronomy 19:11 • You will destroy them as you destroyed Jericho and its king. But this time you may keep the captured goods and the cattle for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city." – Joshua 8:2 • with these orders: "Hide in ambush close behind the city and be ready for action. – Joshua 8:4 • Then you will jump up from your ambush and take possession of the city, for the LORD your God will give it to you. – Joshua 8:7 • So they left that night and lay in ambush between Bethel and the west side of Ai. But Joshua remained among the people in the camp that night. – Joshua 8:9 • That night Joshua sent five thousand men to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city. – Joshua 8:12 • So they stationed the main army north of the city and the ambush west of the city. Joshua himself spent that night in the valley. – Joshua 8:13 • When the king of Ai saw the Israelites across the valley, he and all his army hurriedly went out early the next morning and attacked the Israelites at a place overlooking the Jordan Valley.* But he didn't realise there was an ambush behind the city.1 – Joshua 8:14 • As soon as Joshua gave the signal, the men in ambush jumped up and poured into the city. They quickly captured it and set it on fire. – Joshua 8:19 • When Joshua and the other Israelites saw that the ambush had succeeded and that smoke was rising from the city, they turned and attacked the men of Ai. – Joshua 8:21 • The people of Shechem set an ambush for Abimelech on the hilltops and robbed everyone who passed that way. But someone warned Abimelech about their plot. – Judges 9:25 • He divided his men into three groups and set an ambush in the fields. When Abimelech saw the people coming out of the city, he and his men jumped up from their hiding places and attacked them. – Judges 9:43.
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