The Meaning of Joshua 7:4 Explained

Joshua 7:4

KJV: So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.

YLT: And there go up of the people thither about three thousand men, and they flee before the men of Ai,

Darby: And there went up thither of the people about three thousand men, but they fled before the men of Ai.

ASV: So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

So there went up  thither of the people  about three  thousand  men:  and they fled  before  the men  of Ai. 

What does Joshua 7:4 Mean?

Context Summary

Joshua 7:1-15 - The First Defeat And Its Cause
Israel was taught that victory is possible only where there are exact obedience and sincere consecration. We cannot cope with our foes, unless we live in unclouded fellowship with God. See 2 Chronicles 15:2. Our spiritual allies in the heavenly places cannot co-operate while evil is harbored. Canaan was a gift to faith, and a strong spiritual life was peremptory. The gold and silver of Jericho were consecrated to God, so that Achan committed sacrilege as well as theft.
Ai (see Genesis 12:8; Genesis 13:3) lay two miles north of Jericho, and was a comparatively small place; but without God the smallest opposition is too great for us. Joshua seemed more concerned for the disgrace brought on the divine name than for the disaster to his men. Let us always look at our failures from God's side! We must not lie too long in the dust of despair, but arise to detect and put away the hidden cause of our defeat, Hosea 5:15; Hosea 6:1-2. [source]

Chapter Summary: Joshua 7

1  The Israelites are smitten at Ai
6  Joshua's complaint
10  God instructs him what to do
16  Achan is taken by the lot
19  His confession
24  He and all he had are destroyed in the valley of Achor

What do the individual words in Joshua 7:4 mean?

So went up from the people there about three thousand men but they fled before the men of Ai
וַיַּעֲל֤וּ מִן־ הָעָם֙ שָׁ֔מָּה כִּשְׁלֹ֥שֶׁת אֲלָפִ֖ים אִ֑ישׁ וַיָּנֻ֕סוּ לִפְנֵ֖י אַנְשֵׁ֥י הָעָֽי

וַיַּעֲל֤וּ  So  went  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
הָעָם֙  the  people 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
כִּשְׁלֹ֥שֶׁת  about  three 
Parse: Preposition-k, Number, masculine singular construct
Root: מִשְׁלֹשׁ 
Sense: three, triad.
אֲלָפִ֖ים  thousand 
Parse: Number, masculine plural
Root: אֶלֶף 
Sense: a thousand.
אִ֑ישׁ  men 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
וַיָּנֻ֕סוּ  but  they  fled 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נוּס  
Sense: to flee, escape.
לִפְנֵ֖י  before 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
אַנְשֵׁ֥י  the  men 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
הָעָֽי  of  Ai 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: עַי 
Sense: a city lying east of Bethel and beside Bethaven near Jericho and the 2nd city taken on the invasion of Canaan.