FOURTH DISTRICT: cities in the central part of the foothills, between districts two and three.

It is to be noticed that Ether and Ashan (verse 42) are assigned to Simeon in 19.7.

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 .

For “Kiriath-arba” (Revised Standard Version), the old name of Hebron in verse 11, see verses 14.15 and 15.13. In verses 11-12 the point is made that the city of Hebron itself was assigned to the Levites, while the fields of the city, as well as its towns, belonged to Caleb (see 14.13-14). It is difficult to distinguish precisely between the pasture land around Hebron, which belonged to the Levites (verse 11), and the fields of the city, which belonged to Caleb (verse 12); the fields of the city should perhaps be understood to mean “the open country near the city” (New English Bible; see New American Bible).

Verses 11-16 name nine cities from the territories of the tribes of Judah and Simeon.In verse 16, instead of the Masoretic text Ain, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (and others), following some manuscripts of the Septuagint and 1 Chr 6.59, prefers “Ashan”; so New English Bible Bible de Jérusalem Jerusalem Bible New American Bible. Verse 13 calls attention to the fact that Hebron was a city of refuge (see 20.7).

If verses 9-10 are translated as a unit, then verses 11-16 may be dealt with similarly:

• They received the city of Hebron, which was also a city of refuge, and the cities of Libnah … and Beth Shemesh. The city of Hebron lay in the hill country of Judah, and at that time it was called the city of Arba, after Arba, the father of Anak. The city and its pasture lands were given to the descendants of Aaron, but its fields and towns had already been given to Caleb.

Or, so as not to separate the initial mention of Hebron from the description of the city:

• They received the city of Hebron, which was also a city of refuge. It lay in the hill country of Judah, and at that time it was called Arba City, after Arba, the father of Anak. The fields and towns around it had already been given to Caleb, but the city and its pasture lands were now given to the descendants of Aaron. They also received the cities of Libnah … and Beth Shemesh.

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 ten leading men of the community who were with him, the heads of families of the western tribes may be narrowed down to either “the ten leaders who had come with him from the western tribes” or “the ten leaders from the western tribes.”

In the clause heard what the people … had to say, the verb heard must be translated so as to indicate intentional hearing rather than accidental hearing: “listened to the explanation given by the men from the tribes of….”

As verse 30 indicates, Phinehas himself is a priest, even though he may also be referred to as the son of Eleazar the priest (verse 31). Again, this was information of some significance to the original readers, though it is not necessary for it to be carried over into the discourse of other languages. One may translate “30 Phinehas the priest…. 31 Phinehas said to them….”

Now we know that the LORD is with us must be translated with inclusive first personal pronouns for we and us, if such a distinction exists in the receptor language. For languages which do not have the inclusive and exclusive forms, it may be rendered: “Now we all know that the LORD is with our people (or, nation).”

It is possible to rearrange the reply of Phinehas: “You did not rebel against the LORD. So now we know that the LORD is with us, and he will not have to punish our 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 .

In verse 17 Joshua did so is literally “Joshua therefore commanded the priests, ‘Come up out of the Jordan’ ” (Revised Standard Version). It is possible to shorten and combine as “Joshua gave the command.” One may also translate “Joshua did what the LORD had commanded him to do.”

Verse 18, as indicated in the introduction to this section, is much more wordy in Hebrew than in Good News Translation. Whereas Hebrew repeats the full phrase “the priests carrying the Covenant Box,” Good News Translation has shortened this to the priests, since the full information was given in verse 16. Reached the riverbank represents the repetitious “came up from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up on dry ground” (Revised Standard Version). Here again, one may shorten by combining: “and hardly had the priests left the riverbed.” For English speakers “riverbed” is not too frequently used, and so instead of “came up out of the riverbed,” Good News Translation has reached the riverbank. But one may translate “as soon as the priests got out on the other side of the riverbed” or “as soon as the priests had crossed the riverbed.”

As soon as the priests reached the west bank of the Jordan, the water started flowing again and overflowed its banks as before (see 3.14-15).

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 .