Translation commentary on Joshua 3:9

Come here may be included outside the direct discourse; for example, “Then Joshua called the people to himself and said, ‘Listen to….’ ”

And listen to what the LORD your God has to say may be rendered “and I will tell you what the LORD your God has said he will do.” The problem is that Joshua is not directly quoting the Lord, but rather is informing the Israelites of what the Lord has said he will do for them.

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 .

Translation commentary on Joshua 6:1

The city is described as being completely closed to all outgoing or incoming traffic. Were kept shut and guarded translates two verbal participles, one active and the other passive; a literal rendering would be “had shut and was shut.” This suggests that a siege has been going on for some time as the narrative begins. It may be necessary to indicate who shut and guarded the gates of Jericho. For example, “The men of Jericho kept the city gates shut and guarded so that the Israelites could not get in.”

Similarly the second sentence may be rendered, “The men would not let anyone enter or leave the city.” A literal rendering of the text such as Revised Standard Version (“none went out, and none came in”), if interpreted according to strict rules of English grammar, would mean “none of the people of Israel went out or came in.” But the reference is to the people of the city, as New English Bible also makes explicit: “No one went out, no one came in.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Joshua 7:9

The Canaanites and everyone else in the country is literally “the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land” (Revised Standard Version). But in such a context Hebrew will often use “all” in the sense of “all the others” or “everyone else,” not excluding the group joined to “all” by the conjunction “and.” In many languages, such as English, a literal rendering of the Hebrew will convey a wrong sense.

Kill every one of us translates the Hebrew “cut off our name from the earth” (Revised Standard Version). It may be that the intent of the verb is to focus more upon the removal of the Israelites from the land than upon the slaughter of them. Accordingly one may render “drive us from the land”; the verb surround may then be translated either “come and attack us” or merely “come.”

This use of “name” leads to the final question in Joshua’s lament, “What will you do for your great name?” (see Revised Standard Version). Here the Lord’s name stands for his reputation, his honor; the defeat of his people would bring shame on him, for pagan Canaanites and all the others in the land would conclude that the God of the Hebrews was weak and had less power than their own gods. A god’s good reputation depended on the success of his people.

To protect your honor may need to be stated in a less abstract manner: “to keep people from saying evil things about you” or “to keep people from saying that you are not a great God.” The meaning may even be expressed “to keep people from saying that you could not protect your people.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Joshua 8:18 - 8:19

The spear that Joshua points at the city is more precisely a “javelin” (An American Translation, Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), which is a smaller weapon; Gray defines it as a weapon that is thrown, not thrust; Soggin says that in the Qumran literature it means “sword” (so Bible de Jérusalem). He keeps his weapon pointed toward Ai until the destruction and slaughter are complete (verse 26). So this is not just a signal for the troops lying in ambush but a gesture whereby the Lord enables his people to win (see Moses at the battle of Rephidim, Exo 17.11-13).

In the statement I am giving it to you the pronoun “it” refers back to Ai of the previous clause. It is possible, however, that the reader might take this to mean the spear. It may therefore be helpful to translate “I am giving the city to you.” Or it may be expressed, “I am placing the city in your power,” by which “in your power” substitutes for “in your hand” of the Hebrew (see Revised Standard Version).

Joshua did as he was told may be translated with even more brevity (“Joshua did it”) or more explicitness (“Joshua pointed his spear at the city”). One may also translate “Joshua did what the LORD told him to do.”

Verse 19 either assumes or narrates six separate events. Although these events are described in an orderly manner, it may be to the readers’ advantage if a new sentence is used to begin the verse. Moreover, depending upon the expectations of the receptor language, the verse allows itself to be broken into sentence units at various places. For example, “The men who had been hiding saw Joshua lift up his spear. So they immediately got up and ran into the city. They captured the city and quickly set it on fire.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Joshua 10:2

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 .

Translation commentary on Joshua 11:8

In order to show the immediate causal relations between verses 7 and 8, it may be advisable to make the first clause of verse 8 a continuation of the last sentence in verse 7: “at Merom Brook, 8 and the LORD … over them.”

Gave the Israelites victory over them may need to be less abstract: “caused the Israelite army to defeat their enemies” (see comment at 10.8).

The remainder of this verse may be restructured as two sentences: “Part of the Israelite army attacked and pursued the enemy as far north as the cities of Misrephoth Maim and Sidon. The rest of the Israelite army pursued the enemy as far east as the valley of Mizpah.”

Misrephoth Maim is near the Mediterranean coast, and Sidon (in Hebrew “Great Sidon”) is the important Phoenician city much farther north, on the Mediterranean Sea. To the east the Israelites chase the fleeing enemy as far as the valley of Mizpah (see verse 3); Revised Standard Version follows the spelling “Mizpeh,” which represents the Masoretic text.

The fight continued … left alive may be translated in the active: “Joshua’s men fought the enemy until they had killed them all” or “… until they had killed everyone of them.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Joshua 13:21

For the defeat of Sihon see Numbers 21.21-26. Midian was the territory east of the Gulf of Aqaba, south of Edom. The rulers of Midian were subject to King Sihon (Revised Standard Version “the princes of Sihon”; compare New English Bible “the vassals of Sihon”).

It is not easy to put the contents of this verse into a very readable arrangement. If the proposed restructuring of verse 17-21a is adopted, then the form of Good News Translation may be followed from 21b onward: “It also included the whole kingdom….” Or a slightly different pattern may be used:

• It also included all of the territory ruled over from the city of Heshbon by King Sihon, the Amorite king. Five tribal leaders by the names of Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba had ruled part of this land for King Sihon. But Moses defeated King Sihon and all of these other leaders, and he took their territory.

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 .

Translation commentary on Joshua 15:14

Caleb drove … out of Hebron Anak’s descendants, that is, the clans of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. It is clear that these three proper names do not refer to individuals, as Revised Standard Version makes it appear, but to clans who are named after their ancestors (see Num 13.22; Judges 1.10, 20).

Although Good News Translation avoided the use of the word clan at 15.1, it is now used as a translation of the Hebrew word “son,” which here has the extended meaning of clan. Translators are not always consistent! The verse may be restructured, “The clans of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai lived in the city of Hebron. They were descendants of Anak, and Caleb drove them all out of the city.” It may be important to indicate not only that he drove them out of the city, but also that he took it over for himself: “The clans of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived in the city of Hebron at that time. Caleb drove them all out of the city, and took it over for himself.”

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 .