All of the people are to be brought forward (Revised Standard Version “brought near”); here and throughout these two verses this probably means to be brought near the Covenant Box, which represented the throne of the Lord. He himself will make the decision—that I pick out; this would probably be done by the casting (or drawing) of lots to indicate which one of the units (tribe, clan, family, man) was indicated. See 1 Samuel 14.41-43 for a more detailed description of this method of learning to know God’s will.

A tribe is made up of several clans which trace their origins back to a common ancestor, and which have in common a language, culture, and name. A clan consists of a number of families which have a common ancestor and other close ties. Thus the Lord is narrowing the choice down from the larger units of tribe and clan to the smaller unit of family, and finally to the individual man.

The third personal pronouns them and they represent second personal pronouns (“you”) of the Hebrew text. So tell … that is merely a stylistic device of Good News Translation to make possible the shift from the second personal pronouns of the previous verse to the third personal pronouns of the present verse. It will probably simplify translation of this verse if the second person is maintained: “So in the morning you will come and stand before me, one tribe at a time….”

In order to indicate the manner in which the Lord makes his choice, The tribe that I pick out may be translated, “The tribe that I cause the lot to fall upon.” This same form may then be maintained throughout the verse, or after its first usage a shift may be made back to the form of Good News Translation.

Come forward continues the scene indicated by “be brought forward” in the first part of the verse. All the tribes are now standing and facing the Lord’s Covenant Box, waiting for him to point out the guilty person. The way that the Lord will do this is to have the guilty tribe to step out in front of all the other tribes. Then the guilty clan will be told to step out in front of the tribe. After that the guilty person’s family will be told to step out in front of the clan, and finally the guilty person himself will be commanded to step out in front of his family. In this way the guilty person will be left standing alone in front of all the people. He will also be standing closest to the Covenant Box, which symbolizes the Lord’s presence.

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 .

Og is called one of the last of the Rephaim, another name for the race of giants (see Deut 2.10-11). For Og himself see Deuteronomy 3.11. For the defeat of King Og of Bashan, see Numbers 21.33-35; Deuteronomy 3.1-11.The Hebrew text begins verse 4 “and the boundary (or, territory) of Og”; the Septuagint has “and Og.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project places the verse division not before “and the territory” (as does the Masoretic text) but after, thus including “and the territory” in verse 3, and beginning verse 4 with “Og.” It translates the end of verse 3 “under the slopes of Pisgah and its (neighboring) territory.” Traduction œcuménique de la Bible retains the division of the Masoretic text and translates the beginning of verse 4 “Then the territory of Og….” Bible de Jérusalem has the same text and footnote as Revised Standard Version.

The pronoun they may be better rendered “Moses and the people of Israel,” because a great deal of information has intervened since the previous mention of Moses in verse 1 (see suggested translation model). Moreover, inasmuch as the book speaks primarily about the exploits of Joshua and the Israelites, it may easily be forgotten by the reader that in this instance the reference is to Moses.

Finally, the first sentence of verse 4 may be divided into two parts: “Moses and the Israelites also defeated King Og of Bashan. He was one of the last of the giants called Rephaim, and he ruled from the cities of Ashtaroth and Edrei.” Ashtaroth and Edrei are two cities to the east and southeast of Lake Galilee, about 25 kilometers distance from one another.

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 Hebrew the clause which begins that my children is in direct discourse, as Revised Standard Version indicates. In many languages the use of direct discourse will be more acceptable than the form of Good News Translation: “Moses promised me, ‘You fully trusted the LORD, and so he will give you the land which you have walked over. It will belong to you and your family forever.’ ”

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 .

Verses 1-4 describe the southern boundary of Ephraim; since it bordered on the territory of the tribe of Benjamin, the geographical information here is similar to that given for the northern boundary of Benjamin (18.12-14a).

Good News Translation retains some of the redundancy and ambiguity of the Hebrew text. For example, went into the desert is left dangling at the end of the sentence in Good News Translation, and it is impossible to determine from Good News Translation the geographical relationship between the desert and Jericho. It may be possible to restructure for clarity and fewer words, and at the same time to indicate the general westerly movement of the border line. For example:

• The southern boundary of the land assigned to the descendants of Joseph started east of the springs of Jericho near the Jordan River. It then moved past Jericho in a northwesterly direction through the desert and into the hill country as far as Bethel.

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 emphasis, as throughout the narrative, is on the Lord; it was his power that enabled the Israelites to conquer Canaan. The Lord kept every one of the promises that he had made to his people. This verse may be phrased negatively: “The LORD had made many promises to the people of Israel, and he did not break even one 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 .