The Israelites conquered Jericho, Ai, and many other towns in the southern part of the land of Canaan. God helped them, and through these events they learned to depend on him.
Section 5:13–6:27 Israel conquered Jericho by God’s power
The Israelites followed God’s instructions and marched around the wall of Jericho town. On the seventh day the wall of the town collapsed and they conquered the town. They killed everybody in it except for Rahab and her family.
Here are some other possible section headings:
The wall of Jericho fell
-or-
The conquering of Jericho
Paragraph 5:13–15
5:13a
Now when: This sentence introduces a new section of the story. In many languages it is natural to start a new section with a time word.
Here is another way to translate this word:
One day…
Joshua was near Jericho: The Hebrew preposition that the Berean Standard Bible translates as near means that Joshua was near the town of Jericho. Perhaps he had come close to the town to spy on it and plan his strategy.
5:13b
he looked up: The Hebrew clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as he looked up is used to show that something unexpected is going to happen. It may not be natural in some languages to translate he looked up literally. Use an expression or grammatical device that shows that something surprising is going to happen. It is also possible to leave this phrase untranslated. For example:
While Joshua was near Jericho, he suddenly saw a man (Good News Translation)
-or-
One day, Joshua was near Jericho when he saw a man (Contemporary English Version)
and saw: The Hebrew expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and saw is another way that the Hebrew language focuses attention on what is going to happen next. You may have a similar expression in your language. It is also possible to leave this phrase untranslated.
5:13c
a man standing in front of him: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as man refers to a male person. Some commentators believe that this man was an angel. Others believe that this was Yahweh.
Here is another way to translate this clause:
a man stood in front of him
with a drawn sword in His hand: The phrase with a drawn sword means that he had taken the sword out of its sheath. It was in his hand and was ready to use.
5:13d
and: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and shows that this is the next event in the storyline.
Joshua approached Him and asked: The clause Joshua approached Him and asked can also be translated as:
Joshua approached the man and said
5:13e
Are You for us or for our enemies?: Joshua asked this question to find out if the man would fight with the Israelites or against them. The word enemies means “adversaries.”
for us: With the phrase for us Joshua asked the man if he was a friend of the Israelites.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
one of our friends
-or-
somebody one our side
for our enemies: With the phrase our enemies Joshua asked the man if he was an enemy of the Israelites.
one of our enemies
-or-
somebody who is against us
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