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Ai

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

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AI . 1 . A place between which and Bethel Abraham was stationed before ( Genesis 12:8 ) and after ( Genesis 13:3 ) his sojourn in Egypt. The repulse of the Israelite attempt on the city ( Joshua 7:2-5 ) led to the exposure of the crime of Achan; when that was expiated, the city was captured and destroyed ( Joshua 8:1-28 ) by a ruse. It never reappears in history, though it continued to be inhabited: it is the Aiath in Isaiah’s description of the march of the Assyrian ( Joshua 10:28 ), and the Aija of Nehemiah 11:31 . In 1 Chronicles 7:28 ‘Azzah , enumerated among the cities of Ephraim, is in many MSS ‘Ayyah , which is another form of the name. This, however, cannot in any case be the same place, which was within the tribe of Benjamin ( Joshua 18:23 , where Avvim is possibly a corruption for the name of this city). After the Exile, Ai and Bethel between them supplied a contingent of 223 to the number that returned ( Ezra 2:28 ), and the city was once more settled by Benjamites ( Nehemiah 11:31 ). That the city was insignificant is definitely stated in Joshua 7:3 , and indicated by the fact that in the list of captured cities it is almost the only one of which the situation is specified ( Joshua 12:9 ). Its capture, however, made a deep impression on the Canaanites ( Joshua 9:3; Joshua 10:1 ). As to its identification, the only indication to guide us is its proximity to Bethel (agreed by all to be Beitin ), on the east of that place (as follows from Genesis 12:8 ). Various sites have been proposed Turmus ‘Aya (which contains an element resembling the name, but the situation is impossible); Khurbet Hayan (which also has a similar name, but the antiquities of the place are not known to be old enough); Deir Diwan (which is in the right place, but also possibly not an old enough site); and et-Tell (a mound whose name has the same meaning as the word Ai [‘heap’]. Possibly this last is the most likely site.

2 . A wholly distinct place, mentioned in a prophecy against the Ammonites, Jeremiah 49:3 (perh. a clerical error for Ar ).

R. A. S. Macalister.