With the death of Joshua, there is a shift of focus to the people of Joshua’s generation and the generation to follow. This verse, which tells of the death of all the members of Joshua’s generation, is linked back to what precedes by the word also. Good News Translation puts this verse together with 2.6-9, while others, including Contemporary English Version, link it to the following paragraph. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh divides the verse in two, linking the first clause with 2.6-9, and beginning a new paragraph at and there arose. Translators will need to decide what is most logical in their language.

And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers: The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And may indicate an indefinite time lapse, so we might say “Then.” But if this clause is seen as a summary statement, we might say “And” or omit the conjunction.

All that generation refers to all those who lived at the same time as Joshua. The Hebrew word for generation (dor) is common in the Old Testament, as in the famous passage in Eccl 1.4: “A generation goes, and a generation comes.” The word occurs only rarely in this book, twice in this verse and once in verse 3.2. Many languages have a word to refer to a group of people belonging to the same age-group. If such a word does not exist, it is possible to render all that generation as “all the people who lived at the same time as Joshua” or “all the people who belonged to Joshua’s age-group.” This is the fourth and last time the word all occurs in this section. See verse 2.7 for the other occurrences.

Were gathered to their fathers is a euphemistic way of saying someone died, used especially in the context of important historical figures. The Hebrew verb rendered gathered is used for people coming together. Their fathers refers to the ancestors, that is, all those who have “gone on before.” All languages have euphemisms to speak of death, but translators should try to find one that fits not only the solemn tone, but also the social status of this respected group of people. One African language says “went to light the fire of their fathers.” This is a respectful way of saying these people died. If no figures of speech exist, we might have to simply say “died and were buried.”

And there arose another generation after them: Here the Hebrew waw conjunction rendered and has a sequential meaning, which can be expressed by “Then.” This clause marks an important step in the history of Israel. The generation that had experienced firsthand all the things Yahweh did for the people has now passed on, and a new generation arises. The repetitive use of the word generation seems to link this section to Eccl 1.4, quoted above. However, the most outstanding feature of this verse is the use of the Hebrew verb rendered arose (qum), which will be used repeatedly each time a hero or deliverer of Israel is presented in this book. In these instances (verse 2.16; verse 3.9; verse 5.7; verse 10.1, 3), it is often rendered “raised up” with the LORD as agent: “Yahweh raised a deliverer.” But in this context arose means that these people were born or “grew up” (New Revised Standard Version, New International Version). Some languages may say “emerged” or “came [on the scene].” Contemporary English Version omits the verb arose, but given its importance throughout the book, it is better to find a way to express it here and elsewhere. After its use to introduce Israel’s heroes, later in the book, it will be used in an ironic way to mock those who should have been but are certainly not heroes. For another generation, Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version use the common expression “the next generation.” Other languages may speak of “the following generation” or “the generation to come.” We might also say “the children of those who died grew up” or “another generation was born and grew up.”

Who did not know the LORD or the work which he had done for Israel describes this new generation. Here there are two things the people are said to not know: Yahweh and the things he had done for Israel.

Who did not know the LORD is an extremely important statement, giving the backdrop of most of the events in the book of Judges. The initial shortcomings of Israel (verse 1.16-36), their on-and-off failures (chapters verse 3–16), and the final disasters in this book (chapters verse 17–21) can all be traced back to the fact that this generation did not know the LORD. The verb rendered know (yadaʿ) has many meanings in Hebrew. It can refer to knowing a fact (verse 6.37), but can also mean experiencing something, such as war (verse 3.1). It is also used to refer to knowing a person, in either an informal or intimate way, including sexual relations (Gen 4.1; verse 29.5). Here the word speaks of the deep relationship between God and his people and of the lifestyle that such knowledge produces (compare Hosea 6.6). Though they had heard of him, the new generation did not know the LORD. They had not experienced what it means to be in a covenant relationship with him. Given the importance of this expression, translators should try to find an adequate expression that will be used throughout Scripture. Some languages can render this expression rather literally, as many versions do (see Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version). This is perhaps the best solution if the meaning is clear. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “had not experienced [the deliverance of] the LORD.” Bible en français courant has “had no personal knowledge of the Lord.” Good News Translation says “forgot the LORD,” which seems to imply a one-time event and does not express the depth of the statement here.

Or the work which he had done for Israel: Or renders two Hebrew words meaning “and also,” the same two words that begin this verse. Any appropriate conjunction can be used, which in English might be “nor” or “neither.” The elided verb know can be made explicit here by saying “and they did not know [either] the things he did for Israel.” However, translators may need two separate words for knowing a person and knowing about events. If a different verb must be used, we might say “did not see/experience/witness” here (see verse 2.7). Unlike the old generation, this new one had not experienced what Yahweh had done when he led the people from Egypt into the Promised Land.

For work which he had done for Israel, see verse 2.7. It is inconceivable that the next generation could grow up without at least having heard about the Israelites’ deliverance from slavery and their wandering in the desert, but this younger generation did not live through these events, and so could not appreciate fully what God had done for his people.

Some translation examples for this verse are:

• Then, all those who lived in Joshua’s time died and a new generation of people arose. But they did not really know Yahweh. Neither had they experienced what he had done for Israel.

• After all the people in Joshua’s generation died, another generation came on the scene. But they did not know the LORD and they had not witnessed the wonderful things he had done for the Israelites.

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .