Joshua therefore sent them forth,.... The thirty thousand chosen men: and they went to lie in ambush; as they were ordered, Jos 8:2, and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; for as Ai was on the east of Bethel, Jos 7:2. Bethel must be on the west of Ai, as Jarchi notes: but Joshua lodged that night among the people; the main body of the army, to direct them in the affair of war, how they should behave the next day, when they came to fight; and to inspire them with courage and confidence, that they might not be afraid, because of their having been smitten before by this people, so Ben Gersom; or rather that he and they might be ready in the morning to march towards Ai, as Jarchi and Kimchi.