King James Bible

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Joshua

7

:

3

And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.

Lexicon

Verse part Definition: Part of speech: Strong's: Hebrew: Transliteration:
And they returned break Verb H7725 וַיָּשֻׁ֣בוּ vai·ya·shu·vu
to Joshua Jehoshua Noun H3091 יְהֹושֻׁ֗עַ ye·ho·v·shu·a'
and said answer Verb H559 וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ vai·yo·me·ru
all all manner Noun H3605 כָּל־ kol-
unto him Let not all the people folk Noun H5971 הָעָם֒ ha·'am
go up arise Verb H5927 יַ֣עַל ya·'al
or and Conjunction H176 אֹ֚ו ov
but let about two or three fork Noun H7969 כִּשְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת kish·lo·shet
Analysis:

Two: Two divergent opinions

The classic example for the number "two" is found in Matthew chapter 26. There, Yeshua says to His disciples,

"You know that after two days comes the Passover, and the Son of Man will be given over for crucifixion."  Matthew 26:2

The phrase "after two days" is somewhat meaningless because after two days can mean three or more days. The period is unspecified. The reason for such ambiguous language is because the purpose of the number two in this passage is not solely numerical. This means that the text is not intending to provide the reader with some definite information concerning a time period. Rather, the purpose of the number two in this context is one of the numerological meanings of the number two.  Often the number two relates to two divergent opinions. In the aforementioned verse, the author wants to inform the reader that there are two very different understandings for this coming Passover. Yeshua wants to emphasize that He is going up to Jerusalem in order to die as the true Passover sacrifice. Even though Yeshua states this emphatically, the disciples did not receive this. In fact, the disciples did not perceive at all what was going to take place during Passover in regard to Yeshua. In other words, Yeshua and the disciples have two divergent opinions concerning the Passover.

This same principle is also found in the Hebrew Bible (Old Covenant). In the book of Amos one reads,

"Can two walk together without them having agreed" Amos 3:3

The word which was translated into English with the phrase "them having agreed" is נועדו. The root of this word is יעד, which relates to a specific destination. The word which precedes this word is בלתי and in this context the word implies a change to the condition. In other words, had there not been a change in the condition, then the two could not walk together, i.e. they could not have arrived at the common destination.

The concept of divergent or different is also seen in the book of Genesis. In speaking about the sun and moon one reads, "And God made two great lights…" (Genesis 1:16). Obviously the sun and moon are very different, as one is a source of light, while the latter just reflects light. Also in the book of Genesis, one encounters the account of the flood. Here Noah is commanded to bring onto the ark two sorts of each type of animal. In this passage, the two relates to two different (or divergent) kinds of the same sort, i.e. male and female. 

Likewise, two angels came to Sodom, demonstrating that the people of Sodom had a very different way of living from that of the Law of God. Once again, the reader should not assume that every occurrence of the number two in the Bible demands this interpretation. However, one will find in a great majority of Biblical passages, the reader will be assisted in arriving at the proper interpretation, when he considers this divergent quality for the number two. 

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thousand thousand Noun H505 כְּאַלְפַּ֣יִם ke·'al·pa·yim
men great Noun H376 אִ֗ישׁ ish
go up arise Verb H5927 יַעֲל֖וּ ya·'a·lu
Ai Ai Noun H5857 הָעָ֑י ha·'ai;
Analysis:
Read more about: Ai
all all manner Noun H3605 כָּל־ kol-
[and] make not all the people folk Noun H5971 הָעָ֔ם ha·'am,
to labour faint Verb H3021 תְּיַגַּע־ te·yag·ga-
there in it Adverb H8033 שָׁ֙מָּה֙ sham·mah
thither for they [are but] few almost some sub H4592 מְעַ֖ט me·'at

Locations

Ai

AIa'-i (`ay, written always with the definite article, ha-`ay, probably meaning "the ruin," kindred root, `awah):(1) A town of central Palestine, in the tribe of Benjamin, near and just east of Bethel (Genesis 12:8). It is identified with the modern Haiyan, just south of the village Der Diwan (Conder in HDB; Delitzsch in Commentary on Genesis 12:8) or with a... View Details

Parallel Verses

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King James Bible And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.
Hebrew Greek English And they They returned to Joshua, Joshua and said unto to him, Let "Do not let all the people go up; but let only about two or three thousand men need go up and smite to Ai; and do not make not all the people to labour thither; toil up there, for they are but few."
New American Standard Bible 1995 And they They returned to Joshua, Joshua and said unto to him, Let "Do not let all the people go up; but let only about two or three thousand men need go up and smite to Ai; and do not make not all the people to labour thither; toil up there, for they are but few."