As he did before the battle for Jericho, Joshua sent some of his men to assess the situation at Ai. This town was about 16 kilometers (10 miles) west of Jericho. It lay at the entrance to a plateau north of Jerusalem called the Plateau of Benjamin. If Israel captured Ai, it would gain control of the hill country.
Beth-aven, which means “house of iniquity” (place of wrongdoing), was probably an intentional wordplay on the name Bethel, which means “house of God.” Later in Israel’s history, a pagan shrine stood at this site(1 Kings 12:28–33).