SEV Biblia, Chapter 8:29
Mas al rey de Hai lo colgó de un madero hasta la tarde; y cuando el sol se puso, mandó Josué que quitasen del madero su cuerpo, y lo echasen a la puerta de la ciudad; y levantaron sobre él un gran montón de piedras, hasta hoy.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Joshua 8:29
Verse 29. The king of Ai he hanged on a tree] He had gone out at the head of his men, and had been taken prisoner, ver. 23; and the battle being over, he was ordered to be hanged, probably after having been strangled, or in some way deprived of life, as in the case mentioned chap. x. 26, for in those times it was not customary to hang people alive. As soon as the sun was down] It was not lawful to let the bodies remain all night upon the tree. See the note on Deut. xxi. 23. The Septuagint say the king of Ai was hanged epi xulon didumon, upon a double tree, which probably means a forked tree, or something in the form of a cross.
The tree on which criminals were hanged among the Romans was called arbor infelix, and lignum infelix, the unfortunate, ill-fated, or accursed tree.
Raise thereon a great heap of stones] This was a common custom through all antiquity in every country, as we have already seen in the case of Achan, chap. vii. 20.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 29. And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide , etc.] 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.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 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 n 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.
Original Hebrew
ואת 853 מלך 4428 העי 5857 תלה 8518 על 5921 העץ 6086 עד 5704 עת 6256 הערב 6153 וכבוא 935 השׁמשׁ 8121 צוה 6680 יהושׁע 3091 וירידו 3381 את 853 נבלתו 5038 מן 4480 העץ 6086 וישׁליכו 7993 אותה 853 אל 413 פתח 6607 שׁער 8179 העיר 5892 ויקימו 6965 עליו 5921 גל 1530 אבנים 68 גדול 1419 עד 5704 היום 3117 הזה׃ 2088
