15 And Joshua [Yehoshua] and all Israel [kol Yisroel ] made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.

At exactly the right moment, Joshua's plan went smoothly into action. At first the men of Israel looked rather shaken, then they cowered in the face of the advancing Canaanites. Then, as instructed, they broke and began to flee. Everything was happening as the men of Ai had planned. Earlier they had felt sure of themselves; now they thought themselves invincible.

Shouting in triumph, they drove themselves forward in a frenzy, chasing wildly after the fleeing Israelites.