If verse 26 is rendered as a complete statement, then it will probably be necessary to repeat the subject and verb at the beginning of this verse: “We built it as a sign….”

Sign (Revised Standard Version “witness”) states the purpose of the altar built by the eastern tribes: it was to be evidence, proof, of the loyalty of the eastern tribes to the Lord and their determination to offer sacrifices only at the central place of worship (which, in the context of the story, is Shiloh). The noun sign may be more effectively rendered as a verb: “we built this altar to show to our people and your people….”

All the offerings would be made before his sacred Tent (Revised Standard Version “in his presence”).

In order to divide verse 27 into smaller units, it may be advisable to begin a new sentence after before his sacred Tent. The sentence may read: “We bring our offering to be burned, our sacrifices, and our fellowship offerings there before his sacred Tent.” Or, in order to combine and shorten: “We bring all our offerings there before his sacred Tent.”

This was to keep … to do with the LORD may be translated, “Your descendants must never tell our descendants that they do not belong to the LORD.” Direct discourse may also be employed: “Your descendants must never tell our descendants, ‘You do not belong to the LORD’s 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 .

The first sentence of this verse may be inverted: “You did not plant any crops on that land, and you did not build any of its cities. But I gave it all to you.” Or, in order to maintain a strong focus upon the Lord as the one who provided these things for the people of Israel: “I was the one who gave you their land and their cities, You did not have to plant any crops or build any cities.”

It is possible to divide the second sentence of this verse into two sentences: “You are now living in this land I gave you. You are eating grapes from vines that you did not plant, and olives from trees that did not plant.” That you did not plant may also be translated “that other people planted” or “that were planted by the people who lived there before you.”

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 .

A house built into the city wall: archaeological excavations reveal that at one time Jericho had two city walls, an inner one and an outer one, separated by a space of some 3.5 to 4.5 meters. Houses were built on heavy timbers laid from one wall to the other: the window through which Rahab let the men down looked out from the outer wall (see Bright). The phrase a house built into the city wall could possibly be unclear; it may be more satisfactory to translate “a section of the city wall formed the outside wall of Rahab’s house.” Moreover, it may even be necessary to include a footnote, indicating more precisely the relation between the house and the city wall. Finally, to restructure so she let … by a rope as an explanation rather than as the next event in a sequence may help to resolve the flashback problem of verses 17-21. That is, one may translate either “that is why Rahab was able to let the men down…” or “so Rahab was able to let the men down….” Such restructuring does not do harm to the text, and it will benefit the reader.

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 .

In the presence of the LORD probably refers to the Covenant Box, which symbolized the Lord’s earthly throne. Since the more likely interpretation is that this phrase is a reference to the Covenant Box, one may translate “About forty thousand men ready for war crossed over to the plain near Jericho, and the LORD was with them because his Covenant Box was there among them.” If, on the other hand, in the presence of the LORD is not specifically related to the Covenant Box, one may translate “and the LORD was with them” or “under the leadership of the LORD.”

The number about forty thousand refers to the warriors of the two and one-half eastern tribes. In translation one should avoid the possibility that the reader may understand about forty thousand men to include the total number of Israelites who crossed over. Therefore one may render “about forty thousand men from these two and one-half tribes crossed over to the plain near Jericho, and they were all ready for war.”

In verse 13 ready for war (Revised Standard Version “ready armed for war”) translates a Hebrew verb which means “stripped,” a reference to discarding for work or battle those garments which were ordinarily worn.

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 .

The order to destroy everything and everyone in the city is reinforced with the warning that unless the Israelites do so the Israelite camp itself will have to be destroyed.The Masoretic text of verse 18 has the verb charam “to dedicate to destruction” (Revised Standard Version “lest when you have devoted them”); Septuagint translates the Hebrew verb chamad “to desire, covet,” which is preferred by Bright and Gray and is followed by An American Translation New English Bible New American Bible Jerusalem Bible, and also by Hebrew Old Testament Text Project on the basis of what it calls Factor 12, “other scribal errors.” This is certainly an easier text; but as Soggin says, “the correction is useful but not essential.” Revised Standard Version Good News Translation Traduction œcuménique de la Bible translate the Masoretic text. But you translates a strongly emphatic form in Hebrew.

That is to be destroyed may be translated “that I have told you to destroy.” This dreadful warning of destruction is followed in Hebrew by another verbal phrase which Revised Standard Version translates “and bring trouble upon it.” This seems rather anticlimactic; the Jerusalem Bible rendering is more effective, “bring disaster on it.” For the sake of making the passage more climactic, Good News Translation inverts the order of the Hebrew nouns “trouble” and “destruction.” It is possible to take the noun phrase trouble and destruction as meaning “great trouble” or “terrible destruction.” With this in mind, and representing the two nouns as verbs, one may translate “If you do take anything that belongs to the LORD, he will totally destroy everyone in our camp. And it will be your own fault.” It should be observed that in this restructuring the Israelite camp of Good News Translation is rendered “our camp,” since Joshua himself is included in the group. This is also in keeping with the use of our spies of verse 17. The Hebrew verb translated bring trouble … on is used also in 7.25, in connection with Achan’s disregard of this very order requiring the destruction of all the enemy loot.

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 .

Achan’s sin has made him and his family and everything he owns devoted to destruction; so he, his family, and his animals are all stoned to death, while his belongings are all burned. Thus the Lord’s order is finally obeyed, and he was no longer furious.

The execution takes place in Trouble Valley (Revised Standard Version “Valley of Achor”). The Hebrew noun akor means “trouble.” Joshua’s words in verse 25 contain a play on words: Achan has brought … trouble (Hebrew verb akar) on Israel, and now the Lord will … bring trouble on him.

As in the case of Circumcision Hill (5.3), the name Trouble Valley here was given to the valley as a result of the execution of Achan. At the time of the writing of this account, the place still had that name and the pile of stones was still there.

In the phrase over him Achan is in focus; however, the meaning is surely “over them,” including everything that was burned, especially Achan and his relatives.

Then the LORD was no longer furious may need to be translated, “After the death of Achan, the LORD was no longer furious with the people of Israel.” Or “After the people of Israel had put Achan to death, the LORD was no longer angry with 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 .

It would appear that the explanation of the trick used by the Gibeonites to secure a treaty with the Israelites is to be found in the regulation recorded in Deuteronomy 20.10-18. This regulation allowed the Israelites to spare the lives of their enemies who lived a great distance away, but required that they put to death all enemies nearby, in order to eliminate any possibility of apostasy on the part of the Israelites. The trick makes sense only on the assumption that the Gibeonites knew this Israelite rule.

But the story also serves to explain the reason why these people, at the time the account was written, provided certain menial services in the Temple (verse 27).

Gibeon, some 11 kilometers southwest of Ai, was about 30 kilometers west of the Israelite camp Gilgal. Good News Translation inserts who were Hivites, which in Hebrew comes only at verse 7 (see Revised Standard Version). There is no certainty about the particular designation Hivites; commentaries and dictionaries offer a variety of definitions.The Septuagint “Horites” (ton Chorraion) may perhaps represent the Hebrew for “Hurrians,” an important non-Semitic people about whom quite a bit is known.

This verse may be made into a separate sentence: “But the people from the town of Gibeon, who belonged to the tribe of the Hivites, heard what Joshua had done to the cities of Jericho and Ai.” Verse 4 would then begin: “So they decided to deceive him.” Or one may render “So they decided to deceive Joshua and the people of Israel.”

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 .

Verse 20 is quite wordy (see Revised Standard Version), emphasizing the great victory won by the Israelites.

As a reading of Revised Standard Version will indicate, the structure of this verse is similar in some respects to that of verse 10, especially the Hebrew expression translated slaughtered. The reader may benefit if slaughtered them, although some is translated “slaughtered most of them, although some,” since only some of the enemy managed to reach their walled cities and escape the slaughter.

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 .