Translation commentary on Joshua 23:12

If you are disloyal translates an intensive verb construction in Hebrew; “if you turn back” (Revised Standard Version).

Join with the nations is ambiguous and conveys little if any meaning to the reader. Join with translates the same verb rendered be faithful to in verse 8, and the reference is to adopting the policies of the nations among whom the Israelites live, particularly that of intermarriage. By transforming the “if” clause to an imperative and the verb disloyal to a negative form, the following results: “Be faithful to the LORD. Do not mix with the nations that are left in the land, and do not intermarry with them.” Or, the clauses of the second sentence may be inverted for what may be an arrangement that leads to a climax: “… Do not intermarry with any of the nations that are left in the land, and do not even associate with them.” Or yet another possibility: “… Do not be friendly with any of the nations left in the land. And, above all else, do not intermarry 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 .

Translation commentary on Joshua 24:33

Nothing definite is known of the location of Gibeah. Instead of being a proper name, the Hebrew word could be the common noun “hill” (so King James Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New English Bible, New American Bible). For Phinehas see 22.13-14.

Was buried at Gibeah may be shifted to an active verb phrase with the subject expressly indicated: “When Eleazar son of Aaron died, the people of Israel buried him at the town of Gibeah. This town was in the hill country of Ephraim, and it belonged to his son Phinehas.” Or, following the other interpretation. “When Eleazar son of Aaron died, the people of Israel buried his body in one of the hills in the hill country of Ephraim. This hill belonged to Eleazar’s son Phinehas.”

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 1:15

Verse 15 in Hebrew is quite wordy, and Good News Translation has tried to reduce the number of words without loss of meaning. It is possible, however, to do even better. Since it is clear in the readers’ mind that Joshua is now addressing the tribes east of the Jordan (verse 12), it may not be necessary to mention explicitly west of the Jordan. The last part of verse 14 and the first part of verse 15 may then be rendered, “in order to help them 15 occupy the land that the LORD your God is giving them.” As previously noted, it may be necessary to say “the LORD our God” in place of “the LORD your God.”

Joshua foresees the time when all resistance is crushed and all the tribes of Israel are safe in their territories. The emphasis throughout is on the LORD’s power: he will give the western tribes safety (as in verse 13), as he has to the eastern tribes; he is giving them the land. Has given safety to all the tribes of Israel may be rendered “has given all the tribes of Israel a place where they can live in safety.” The Hebrew verb rendered given safety to in Good News Translation does not always include the idea of “safety” but may mean “to give a place to live” or “to give a home to.” After the land on the west side is occupied, then the two and one-half tribes can return to their own territories on the east side (literally “beyond the Jordan toward the rising of the sun”).

Although the Hebrew text once again qualifies Moses as the LORD’s servant, the repetition of this phrase may be unnatural and unnecessary in some languages. One may delete it and render “which Moses gave to 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 .

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 .