On the evening of 14 Nisan (or Abib; see 4.19) the Israelites celebrated the Passover for the first time in Canaan. This festival commemorated their deliverance from slavery in Egypt (see Exo 12.1-14).

The Jewish day began at sunset, and so the time notice, on the evening, is important. In some cultures there is a distinction between “on the evening of the fourteenth day” (meaning “the evening before the fourteenth day”) and “the fourteenth day evening” (meaning “the evening of the fourteenth day,” as we would understand it in English). If such a distinction does exist in the receptor language, it should be taken into consideration in the translation. The Festival of Unleavened Bread lasted a week (15-22 Nisan; see Exo 12.14-20); here the text does not explicitly say that the Israelites also celebrated this festival, but the mention of unleavened bread implies it (verse 11).

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 .