וַיִּנָּֽגְע֛וּ יְהוֹשֻׁ֥עַ וְכָל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לִפְנֵיהֶ֑ם וַיָּנֻ֖סוּ דֶּ֥רֶךְ הַמִּדְבָּֽר׃
And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
Read midrashic interpretation of Joshua 8:15: and classical rabbinic exegesis.