SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 5:5

5:5a

Though all who had come out were circumcised: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Though is a connector to link verse 5a to 5b.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

although
-or-
even though
-or-

even though the men who left Egypt had been circumcised, the males born in the wilderness had not been circumcised

You should use the connector between these two clauses that is natural in your language.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

The men who left Egypt had been circumcised. However, the men born later…were not circumcised (God’s Word)
-or-
Those who left Egypt had been circumcised. But none of those born after the Exodus…had been circumcised (New Living Translation (2004))

all: The word all refers to all the male people who had left Egypt. It does not refer to women.

5:5b

The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible leaves untranslated but the many English versions translate as “but” contrasts the men and boys who left Egypt with those who were born in the wilderness. Use a word that is natural in your language to show this contrast.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

yet
-or-
however

none of those: The phrase none of those refers to all the boys who were born in the wilderness. It does not refer to the women. The word none refers to the males born after the Israelite people left Egypt. If the reference is not clear, you may wish to make it explicit. For example:

The men who had come out of Egypt had been circumcised, but none of those who were born in the desert on the trip from Egypt had been circumcised. (New Century Version)

in the wilderness: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wilderness refers to a place where no people live. Some English versions translate this word as “desert.”

on the journey: The phrase on the journey refers to the time that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness. These boys were born during that time.

5:5c

from Egypt had been circumcised: This phrase has been mentioned several times in previous verses, so it may be more natural to leave it implicit.

© 2001, 2011, 2020, 2022, 2023 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
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.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments