Paragraph 21:43–45
21:43a
Thus: The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Thus introduces the conclusion to the account of how the land was assigned to all the clans of Israel. Use a connecting word that is natural in your language in this context. In some languages it may be more natural to leave this conjunction untranslated.
Here are some other ways to translate this conjunction:
In this way
-or-
So
the LORD gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers: At the beginning of the book of Joshua, in 1:1, Yahweh repeated his promise to give the land of Canaan to the Israelites. He promised the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants in Genesis 13:1.
had sworn: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as had sworn was also used in chapter 1:6. You should translate it in the same way as in that verse.
their fathers: The phrase their fathers refers to the ancestors of the Israelites.
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
So Yahweh gave to the Israel people all the land which he had promised to give to their ancestors.
-or-
In this way Yahweh gave the people of Israel all the land. He had promised their ancestors that he would do that.
21:43b
and they took possession of it: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as took possession of was used in 1:11. You should translate this verb in the same way as in that verse.
Here are some other ways to translate the verb “took possession:”
captured
-or-
conquered
-or-
took
and settled in it: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as settled can also be translated as “lived.”
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
They conquered that land and they lived in it.
-or-
They took that land and made it their home.
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