The Hebrew particle translated Now then may serve either as a temporal marker or else a transitional to a new thought, as in Good News Translation. In either case the implication is that Joshua must now divide the land, at least in principle, among the other nine tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh.

For them to possess as their own translates the Hebrew “for an inheritance” (Revised Standard Version; see 1.6).The Septuagint has a considerably longer text in verse 7: “And now divide this land as an inheritance for the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh; you shall give it from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea on the west. The Mediterranean Sea will be its frontier.” And then verse 8 follows: “And to the two tribes of Reuben and Gad and to half the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given (land) on the east side of the Jordan River.” Soggin follows this text in verse 7 (also Bible de Jérusalem Jerusalem Bible); Hebrew Old Testament Text Project follows the Septuagint in verse 7 and 8 (see its notes on 13.7; 13.8, and the translation it proposes for the two verses). It must be said that the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project conjectural restoration of the Hebrew text is not exactly what the Septuagint text is (at least the Septuagint in Rahlfs’ edition). The Masoretic text may certainly be corrupt, as Hebrew Old Testament Text Project says, and a translation may prefer to follow the Septuagint in verse 7.

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 translator should notice the places where Good News Translation differs from the literal Hebrew (as represented by Revised Standard Version): “North of Beth-Arabah” (Revised Standard Version) is in Good News Translation north of the ridge overlooking the Jordan Valley, which is interpreted as the same location given as the southern border of the tribe of Benjamin in 18.18 (see the text there); “the Arabah” in this context is the Jordan Valley.

The last part of verse 5 and the beginning of verse 6 may be translated:

• From here the border extended in a northerly direction 6 to Beth Hoglah, and it proceeded north of the ridge overlooking the Jordan Valley. From there it went up to the Stone of Bohan, which was named after Bohan, a son of Reuben.

Nothing precisely is known about the Stone of Bohan; here Bohan is merely identified as a son of Reuben. It should be remembered that the territory of the tribe of Reuben was on the east side of the Jordan River.

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 .

And the Jordan on the east represents the Septuagint, which is preferred by Good News Translation, New American Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, Jerusalem Bible. The Masoretic text has “and Judah of the Jordan on the east,” followed by An American Translation, Revised Standard Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends the Masoretic text, but with the spelling “Jehudah,” on the grounds that the noun here refers to neither the tribe nor the territory of Judah, but rather is a corrupted form which cannot be reconstructed. It may be better to follow the Masoretic text here.

As in verse 33, it will be helpful here also to indicate which borders are referred to. Moreover, Zebulun and Asher should be marked specifically as tribal regions so as to distinguish them from the other places listed. As a model of what may be done:

• The southern border of Naphtali began at the Jordan River and went west to the city of Aznoth near Mount Tabor. There its border turned north and followed the eastern border of the tribe of Zebulun to the city of Hukkok. Its border then ran west along the entire northern border of Zebulun. The territory of the tribe of Asher was its western border, and the Jordan River was its eastern border.

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 .

On hearing the news, the western tribes assembled at Shiloh (compare 18.1) and prepared to go to war against the eastern tribes. In some languages it may be unnecessary to repeat When the people of Israel heard this. Also, the whole community would in fact be limited to the fighting men of the western tribes. One may then translate “So all the men of the western tribes came together at Shiloh to go to war against the eastern tribes.”

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 occurrence of two “if” clauses (If you do not … if you serve …) in a single sentence tends to make comprehension difficult. Moreover, the verbs serve and worship are synonyms, and the phrase in his anger means “he will become angry.” This verse may then be translated:

• The LORD our God made a covenant with you, and he expects you to be faithful to it. If you turn from him, and worship other gods, he will become angry with you and punish you. Soon none of you will be left in this good land that he has given you.

The end of verse 16 is identical with the end of verse 13; here the adverb “quickly” (Good News Translation soon) is added. In this verse the covenant is specifically mentioned; it is the sum and substance of the commandments in verses 6-11 (Bright).

Although the last parts of verse 15 and 16 are essentially the same as the end of verse 13, one may feel uneasy about leaving out the last part of verse 15. On the other hand, the omission of this information from verse 15 may make its appearances in verses 13 and 16 more effective. One solution would be to number verses 15-16 as a unit, placing in the text only the ending of verse 16.

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 phrase sent two spies, the word spies may convey to some readers a highly specialized and technical meaning. To avoid this complication, one may render “secretly sent two men.” This may be an excellent solution if it is certain that the readers will understand secretly to apply only to the people of Canaan and not to the people of Israel as well. In order not to be misunderstood, one may translate “Then Joshua sent two men from the camp at Acacia to go and secretly explore the land of Canaan.” Or, if direct discourse is more appropriate, “While the people of Israel were camped at Acacia, Joshua told two of the men, ‘Go and secretly explore the land of Canaan….’ ”

The Israelite camp was at Acacia northeast of the Dead Sea, opposite Jericho (see Num 25.1; 33.49). The Hebrew name “Shittim” (Revised Standard Version) means “the acacias,” a flowering tree. For English speakers the noun “Shittim” sounds like a vulgar word and should be avoided. This is also a principle that should be followed in any language; in the translation or transliteration of terms, any vulgar-sounding words or word combinations should be avoided.

Explore the land of Canaan may be rendered, “to find out all they (you) can about the land of Canaan” or “to find out what the land of Canaan is like.”

Jericho, the most important city in the region, was west of the Jordan. The Hebrew text “to go and look at the land and Jericho” is rather strange; Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation both translate “especially Jericho”; Jerusalem Bible “the country at Jericho”; Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible de Jérusalem “the land of Jericho.” New English Bible (without any textual note) translates “… with orders to reconnoiter the country. The two men came to Jericho” (which represents neither the Hebrew nor the Greek Old Testament).

A prostitute: commentators make the point that the two Israelites would have a good chance of going unnoticed in a house of prostitution. Her home was built into the city wall (see verse 15). Josephus (Antiquities V.i.2) speaks of Rahab as an innkeeper, not a harlot. (She may have been both.) If the translation is intended for young readers, no harm will be done to the text if a prostitute is represented by “a woman.” The last sentence of this verse may be rendered in a chronological sequence: “When they came to the city, they went to the house … in order to spend the night.”

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 .