Then is a literal rendering of the Hebrew text; one may translate “after the tribes of Israel had conquered the land west of the Jordan River.”

Joshua calls together the men of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh and recalls how Moses had commanded them to help their fellow Israelites conquer Canaan (Num 32.28-32; Deut 3.18-20). Although the Hebrew text does not specify, it is better to assume that Joshua called together only the men of the tribes, rather than all the people (Good News Translation), and one may want to make this specific in translation.

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 .