What Does Joshua 8:6 Mean?
For they will come out after us until we have pulled them away from the city; for they will say, They flee before us as at the first, and so we will flee before them.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
(For they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them.THE KEY
The retreat is bait: pursuit pulls the enemy away from the protection of the city.
THE MEANING
The verse shows a retreat built to be read as defeat: the pursuers follow until they are drawn away from the city. Their interpretation, “They flee before us”, is part of what makes the deception work. What looks like lost ground is the chosen route for pulling them from their protection.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The false belief is that whoever appears to flee has already lost; here, retreat is deliberately used to make the pursuer leave protected ground.
THE ROOT
הַתִּיקֵנוּ
hattîqēnû
GROWS FROM
נתק
To pull away, tear loose, or detach.
“pulled them away from the city” in this verse is hattîqēnû. The verb carries the force of detaching: the pursuers are pulled loose from the city that protects them. The staged flight does more than lead them elsewhere; it separates them from their shelter.
ALSO GROWS
nāṯaq: To pull away or tear off.
נָתַק
This is the root’s basic action: something is loosened from where it was held.
waynatteqēm: “And he snapped them apart” (Judges 16:9).
וַיְנַתְּקֵם
The same root describes cords torn loose, giving a physical edge to the separation from the city in this verse.
נָסִים
nāsîm
GROWS FROM
נוס
To flee, retreat, or escape.
This root family includes both fleeing and refuge: מָנוֹס (mānôs) means “refuge” or “escape.” Here, “they flee” is an appearance the pursuers trust, and that trust helps draw them away from safety.
ALSO GROWS
nûs: To flee or escape.
נוּס
The visible flight is the signal the pursuers mistake for a rout.
mānôs: Refuge or escape.
מָנוֹס
The same root connects fleeing with seeking safety, sharpening the contrast between apparent flight and the pursuers’ loss of protection.
THE PATTERN
A deliberate withdrawal can redirect pursuit and change where danger and safety lie.
And the children of Benjamin said, They are struck down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city onto the raised roads.And David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee. For we will not otherwise slip away from Absalom. Hurry out, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring harm upon us, and strike the city with the mouth of the sword.When they pursue you in this city, flee into another, for truly I say to you, you will not finish the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.THE THREAD
Now there were men lying in wait, settled with her in the inner room. And she said to him, The Philistines are upon you, Samson. And he snapped the cords, as a thread of scorched flax snaps when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known.The verb translated “drawn” comes from נתק, the same root used when Samson snaps the cords apart. That scene gives the word a tangible edge: here, the pursuers are pulled loose from the city that shelters them.
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