(Aʹi) [Heap of Ruins].

In the King James Version also called “Hai,” with the definite article prefixed, as it is in the Hebrew. The name also occurs in the feminine forms Aiath and Aija.​—Isa 10:28; Ne 11:31.

1. A royal city of the Canaanites, the second city taken during the Israelite invasion. Ai was situated “close by Beth-aven, to the east of Bethel,” with a valley plain to the N. (Jos 7:2; 8:11, 12) Michmash apparently lay to the S.​—Isa 10:28.

Shortly after arrival in Canaan, Abraham had pitched his tent “with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east.” He built an altar there and revisited the place after his sojourn in Egypt.​—Ge 12:8; 13:3.

In 1473 B.C.E., following the victory over Jericho, Ai was attacked by a small force of about 3,000 Israelite soldiers, since the spies said of the inhabitants of Ai, “They are few.” (Jos 7:2, 3) However, because of Achan’s sin Israel suffered defeat. (Jos 7:4-15) After correction of this matter, Joshua employed a stratagem against Ai, setting an ambush at the rear of the city on its W side. The main force was deployed before the city to the N, where a valley or low desert plain lay, and from here Joshua prepared for a frontal attack on Ai. Having lured the king of Ai and a body of men out of Ai, Joshua’s force feigned retreat until their pursuers were far from their fortress. Then the ambush was signaled into action, and the city was captured and set on fire. (Jos 8:1-27) Ai’s king was executed, and the city was reduced to “an indefinitely lasting mound [Heb., tel], as a desolation down to this day.”​—Jos 8:28.

By Isaiah’s time, in the eighth century B.C.E., the city, or perhaps an adjoining site, was inhabited and it was prophesied that it would be the first to be taken by the king of Assyria in his march on Jerusalem. (Isa 10:28) Following the Babylonian exile, Benjamites from Ai returned  with Zerubbabel’s caravan.​—Ezr 2:28; Ne 7:32; 11:31.

Ai has been generally identified with the site Khirbet et-Tell (Horvat et-Tel), which preserves the meaning of the ancient name (et-Tell means “The Mound; The Heap of Ruins”). It is 2.3 km (1.4 mi) ESE of Bethel (modern Beitin). However, excavations made there in 1933-1935 and in 1964-1972 indicate that it was a large city, devastated about 2000 B.C.E. and thereafter uninhabited until about 1050 B.C.E. (according to archaeological methods of dating). Because of this, various attempts have been made by archaeologists to alter the sense of the Scriptural references to Ai. However, archaeologist J. Simons finds the identification with Khirbet et-Tell unacceptable on the basis of the city’s size (Jos 7:3), the fact that there is no broad valley to the N of Khirbet et-Tell (Jos 8:11), and on other grounds. (American Journal of Archaeology, July-September 1947, p. 311) If the archaeological dating is correct, then the site must be located elsewhere. The name itself would not necessarily identify the place, since as Sir Frederic Kenyon states: “The transference of a name from a ruined or abandoned site to another near by is a common phenomenon in Palestine.”​—The Bible and Archaeology, 1940, p. 190.

2. A city mentioned along with Heshbon in Jeremiah’s prophecy against the Ammonites. (Jer 49:3) The location is unknown.