Ai
הָעַי
Where was biblical Ai? At et-Tell, 2 km east of Beitin, by Deir Dibwan, about 16 km north of Jerusalem. I mark it probable.
Israel's first attack on Ai failed, and the defenders chased the men back down the slope. Then Joshua hid an ambush west of the city, drew the defenders out with a pretend retreat, and burned it.
By Aaron Shaffier, licensed Israel tour guide and mapmaker · About the mapmaker
- Site today
- et-Tell, 2 km east of Beitin, by Deir Dibwan
- How sure
- Probable The best case we have, with real alternatives.
- Other names
- Hai, Aiath, Aija
- Location
- 31.9166° N, 35.2614° E (Google Maps)
How we know where it was
The text puts Ai just east of Beit El. Abraham pitched his tent between the two, Beit El on the west and Ai on the east. In the battle, Joshua's ambush hid between Beit El and Ai, west of the city. With Beit El at Beitin, et-Tell is the only large ancient ruin in the right spot.
The names agree with each other. Ha-Ai in Hebrew means "the ruin heap." Et-Tell in Arabic means "the mound." And Joshua made Ai "a tel forever," a permanent heap of ruins. The hill still carries that word.
The problem is the archaeology. Excavators found a great walled city here, destroyed around 2400 BCE. After that the hill lay empty until a small village appeared much later. So excavators found no town on this hill from any of the usual dates given for Joshua. Either the dating of the layers is off, or Joshua's Ai stood at a smaller site nearby. So et-Tell fits the geography of Joshua's battle, but its layers do not match his day.
The leading alternative is Khirbet el-Maqatir, a small fortified site about 1 km west of et-Tell. It has Late Bronze Age remains, and some archaeologists think it fits Joshua's Ai better. It lies in the same pocket of land between Beit El and et-Tell, under the same label on the map.
Ai was not forgotten. Men of Beit El and Ai were among those who came home from Babylon.
Visiting today
Et-Tell is an open hilltop with exposed Early Bronze Age walls and a temple area. Visits are usually by organized tour.
Read it in the Bible
Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible. In a handful of chapters English Bibles count one verse off.
See Ai on the interactive map →
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Get the print + free ebookNearby places
- Bethel (Beit El) 3 km northwest
- Michmash 5 km south
- Mizpah 6 km southwest
- Ophrah 6 km northeast
- Baal Hazor 7 km north
- Ramah (Ramathaim Zophim) 8 km south