Battle of Ai

Joshua 7–8 tells that after Jericho, Joshua sent about 3,000 men against the small town of Ai, east of Bethel, expecting an easy victory, but they fled and 36 were killed. The cause, according to the account, was Achan of the tribe of Judah, who had taken a fine cloak from Shinar, 200 shekels of silver and a bar of gold from the banned spoil of Jericho; he was found by lot and stoned in the Valley of Achor. For the second attack Joshua hid an ambush west of the city, between Bethel and Ai, and drew the defenders out with a feigned retreat; when he raised his javelin the ambush entered and set the town on fire. Twelve thousand people of Ai fell, and its king was hanged.

The story teaches that the whole people is answerable for one man's sin, and the Talmud uses Achan's confession as the model for confession before execution (Sanhedrin 43b–44b). The site is usually identified with et-Tell, which was not settled in the Late Bronze Age; some archaeologists propose nearby Khirbet el-Maqatir instead, and the question remains open.