SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 14:3

14:3a

For: The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible has translated as For can also mean “because.” It states the reason for something. Many English versions do not translate this conjunction. For example:

Moses had already given a grant of land to the two and a half tribes on the east side of the Jordan River. (New Living Translation (2004))

Moses had given the inheritance: This verse explains the reason why the land on the west side of the Jordan River was divided between nine and a half tribes, rather than all twelve tribes.

14:3b

east of the Jordan to the other two and a half tribes: Theother two and a half tribes refers to the tribes of Gad, Reuben and one half of the tribe of Manasseh.

east of the Jordan: The phrase east of the Jordan indicates the east side of the Jordan River. It may be helpful to make this clear. For example

Moses had given the two-and-a-half tribes their inheritance east of the Jordan River. (God’s Word)
-or-
Moses had given the other two and a half tribes their own land on the east side of the Jordan River.

14:3c

But he granted no inheritance among them to the Levites: Although the Berean Standard Bible puts the phrase to the Levites at the end of the clause, it comes first in the Hebrew clause to emphasize that the Levites were different from the other tribes. Many languages will have another way to show this emphasis.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

He did not give any land as an inheritance to Levi’s tribe. (God’s Word)

The tribe of Levi did not receive any land like the other tribes. (English Easy-to-Read Version)

he granted no inheritance among them: This indicates that the Levites did not receive any land. If you have translated the word inheritance as “land” in previous verses then you should translate it the same way here.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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