Rashi on the Former Prophets

Take for yourselves as booty. You shall no longer consecrate the spoils.

Until we have drawn them. הַתִּיקֵנוּ is an expression of תִּיק, a pocket, i.e., until we have drawn them from the pocket of the city. Defaurer in old french. We may also explain it as an expression of נְתִּיקָה, drawing out similar to ‘Draw them out like sheep to the slaughter.’

And drive out.

To the west of Ai. Ai was east of Beis-eil and Beis-eil was west of Ai.
And Yehoshua rested—in the midst of the people. To be ready early in the morning.

And he went up. He fulfilled that which God had said to him, “If he goes at their head, they will cross, and if not, they will not cross.”

He took about five thousand men. One ambush contingent following the other each approaching nearer to the city than its fellow.

The people positioned. This positioning expresses readiness to wage war near the [city] wall. This is similar to what is said regarding Ben-Hadad, in I Melachim 20:12, (who said to his servants:) “Position yourselves against the city and they positioned themselves.”
And their ambush party their ambushers this word עַקֵבוֹ is similar to וַיעֲקְבֵנִי.
That night, Yehoshua walked through the valley Our Sages have said that he lodged in the depth of the law.

At the appointed time. At the time of day they had astrologically predicted previously, saying “at that time we will go out,” for they were sorcerers and diviners.

Pretended to be stricken. This is an expression of נֶגַע, plague, or beating. They gave the appearance of being beaten before them.

Stretch out the spear. This was the signal to the ambush party. They were to leave the ambush when they saw the spear stretched out toward the city. כִּידוֹן is espida, a sword.

יָדַיִם hands, here refers to strength.
The people who fled to the desert. The Bnei Yisroel who had fled to the desert, as stated above (v.15) turned back to battle the pursuers.

And the others came out of the city. The “others” refers to the ambush party that had set fire to the city.

Then [Yehoshua] built. This parasha is not in chronoligical order, [for Yehoshua built the altar] on the day they crossed the Jordan river.

And there he wrote on the stones. There are the same stones mentioned above.(4:20) After the altar was built, they scraped off the whitewashit was written. According to Rabbi Yehudah it written directly on the stones, and later whitewashed as the verse states, “you are to write on them—and coat them with whitewash.” (Devorim 27:3,4.) Rabbi Shimon said that if they were whitewashed on top of the writing no one would be able to read it, which would defeat the purpose of the commandment. According to him the whitewash was put on first, to make the stones easier to write on and easier to read. (See Maseches Sotah 35). and brought them to Gilgal.

To bless the people of Yisroel first. To pronounce the blessings before the curses, began to recite the blessings and the curses. Although the Torah mentions only the curses, each curse was actually preceded by a corresponding blessing. (See Rashi to Devorim 27:12). “Blessed is the man who will not make a statue or a molten image.”