Made as if they were beaten before them, i.e. fled from them, as it were for fear of a second blow; and peradventure some of them might be wounded, though none were killed, and might make that the pretence of their fleeing away. The wilderness lay between Ai and Jericho, whither they now seemed to flee.
Related Commentaries of Joshua 8:15
Joshua 8:15
15 And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.