SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 20:8

20:8a

And: The Hebrew conjunction And makes this sentence a continuous sentence with the previous verse. In some languages it may be more natural to begin a new sentence here.

beyond the Jordan: The phrase beyond the Jordan indicates that the next towns were on the east side of the Jordan River.

east of Jericho: The phrase east of Jericho indicates that the next towns in the list were east of the town of Jericho.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

On the east side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho town
-or-
Across the Jordan River, to the east of the town of Jericho

20:8b

they designated Bezer: The town of Bezer was in the south part of Israel and east of the Jordan River.

on the wilderness plateau: The phrase the wilderness plateau indicates that Bezer was in a flat, uncultivated area. The term plateau refers to a flat plain.

from the tribe of Reuben: The phrase from the tribe of Reuben indicates that the town of Bezer was in the area that belonged to the clan of Reuben. The land that Moses assigned to the clan of Reuben is described in 13:15-23.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

the people of Israel chose the town of Bezer. It was in the wilderness on the plain that belonged to the clan of Reuben.
-or-
They also designated Bezer town, on the wilderness plateau that belonged to the Reuben clan.

20:8c

Ramoth in Gilead: The town of Ramoth was north of the modern town of Amman in Jordan. It was in the middle region of Israel’s land on the east side of the Jordan River. Gilead was a mountainous area north of the Dead Sea and east of the Jordan River. This area is now in the country of Jordan.

from the tribe of Gad: The phrase the tribe of Gad indicates that Moses had assigned the town of Ramoth in the region of Gilead to the clans of Gad.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

They also chose Ramoth town in the region of Gilead, which belonged to the people of Gad.
-or-
They also designated the town of Ramoth in Gilead region, where the Gad clans lived.

20:8d

and Golan in Bashan: The town of Golan was in the region of Bashan, which is a high plateau in the northeast part of the land of Israel.

from the tribe of Manasseh: The phrase the tribe of Manasseh indicates that the town of Golan was in land that belonged to the clans of Manasseh.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

and Golan town in the Bashan region, which belonged to the people of Manasseh
-or-
They also designated the town of Golan in the Bashan region, where the Manasseh people lived.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

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