Ai

An old city in central Israel. After Joshua and his army conquered Jericho, Ai was the next city to be attacked. But the army of Israel was beaten by the men of Ai because some Israelites had sinned in the battle of Jericho by keeping some of the treasures of the city. After the sin was found, the Israelites used a clever ambush to defeat Ai. The city was destroyed and burned. It was rebuilt in later years because some men of Ai were among those who returned from captivity in Babylon.