The people of Jerusalem Good News Translation translates the Masoretic text, which has the plural “they were afraid”; Revised Standard Version New English Bible have the singular “he was afraid”; Hebrew Old Testament Text Project prefers the Masoretic text plural, saying it is used in an impersonal sense, “there was a (great) fear”; so New American Bible Bible de Jérusalem Jerusalem Bible Traduction œcuménique de la Bible. are alarmed at the alliance which the Gibeonites had made with the invaders, especially since Gibeon was a large city and its men had the reputation of being good fighters It should be noticed that Gibeon is not included among cities that had a king (see 9.11, where they refer to “Our leaders”).

The beginning of this verse will depend upon the way in which the last part of verse 1 is translated. On the assumption that a new sentence begins with this verse, one may want to translate:

• When the people of Jerusalem heard that the people of Gibeon had made peace with the Israelites, they became greatly alarmed. Gibeon was larger than Ai, and it was as large as any of the cities that were ruled by a king. Moreover, its men were good fighters.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .