“ And I, and all the people who are with me, will approach the city, and it shall be that when they come out against us, as they did the first time, we will flee before them, and they will come out after us, until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They flee before us, as they did the first time.' So will we flee before them.'
Joshua and the forces of Israel would then attack from the front, and when themselves attacked, pretend to flee. Again the repetition of ‘we will flee' is distinctive of ancient literature. There is, however, the subtle point that the first fleeing is to draw them on, the second to draw them further on once they have begun the chase. The aim was to get them a good way from Ai.