SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 11:4

11:4a

So: The Hebrew connector that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So introduces the next event in the story. Here it also indicates result. The kings and their armies marched out in response to the message they had received from King Jabin of Hazor.

these kings: The pronoun these kings indicates the kings of the towns referred to in verse 3.

came out with all their armies: The verb came out indicates that the kings gathered their troops together and came out of their towns to fight against the Israelites.

Here is another way to translate this clause:

⌊the kings of these towns⌋ came out with all their soldiers

a multitude: The phrase a multitude indicates that there were many soldiers.

11:4b

as numerous as the sand on the seashore: The phrase as numerous as the sand on the seashore indicates a comparison. The number of Canaanite soldiers gathered to fight against the Israelites is compared to the grains of sand on the beach by the sea. There were so many that it was impossible to count them. In some languages it may be helpful to make this comparison clearer. For example:

there were so many soldiers ⌊that they could not be counted⌋ . It was like counting the sand that is on the seashore

11:4c

along with a great number of horses and chariots: The horses were used to pull the chariots. At that time, the Israelite army did not have any horses or chariots. The Canaanite army had more soldiers and had better weapons than the Israelites. This made the Israelite victory even more remarkable and showed that it was only possible because God fought for them.

chariots: The chariots were light carts that were each pulled by one or two horses. There was room in the chariot for two soldiers. One drove the horses and the other was free to fight with a sword or with bow and arrows.

Here are some other ways to translate this term:

war cart
-or-
horse-drawn war cart

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Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 13:1

Section 13:1–33 Moses had distributed the land east of the Jordan River

Before Moses died he had given land to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. In this section Yahweh reminded Joshua of the land that they still had not conquered. Then there is a detailed listing of the boundaries of the lands on the east side of the Jordan River.

Here is another possible section heading:

The land east of the Jordan River

Paragraph 13:1-7

13:1a

Now: The word Now indicates that a new section of the narrative is beginning in this verse. It does not refer to a specific time.

Here are some other ways to translate this connection:

When Joshua was very old (New Century Version)
-or-
Many years later (Contemporary English Version)

There may be a particle or grammatical marker in your language to indicate that a significant time had passed between the events of the previous chapter and chapter 13.

Joshua was old and well along in years: The Hebrew idiom that the Berean Standard Bible translates as well along in years is more literally “he had come in days.” This idiom means that Joshua was very old. If there is an idiom for great age in your language, you can use it. Or you can say:

Joshua was very old

13:1b

and the LORD said to him: The clause the LORD said to him may be restructured according to how you have translated the first part of verse one. For example:

When Joshua was very old, the Lord said to him (New Century Version)
-or-
Joshua was old, near the end of his life. So the Lord said to him (God’s Word)

13:1c

You are old and well along in years: The clause You are old and well along in years contains the same words as 13:1a. It indicates that Joshua was very old. If it is not natural to restate this information, it maybe left implicit in the first part of the verse, for example,

Many years later, the Lord told Joshua, “Now you are very old,” (Contemporary English Version)

13:1d

but: In some languages it may be more natural to begin a new sentence rather than use the conjunction but.

very much of the land remains to be possessed: The clause very much of the land remains to be possessed indicates that there was still a lot of land that the Israelites had not conquered. In some languages it may be more natural to translate this clause in an active voice, for example:

There is still much land for you to take (New Century Version)
-or-
There is still a lot of land that the Israelites must conquer

© 2001, 2011, 2020, 2022, 2023 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 13:33

13:33a

To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance: The tribe of Levi was the only tribe that did not receive land of their own.

The Hebrew text places the phrase To the tribe of Levi at the beginning of the sentence. In Hebrew this shows emphasis. In some languages it may not be natural to begin a sentence with this phrase. Use a way that is natural to emphasize that the tribe of Levi was different from the other tribes.

This verse is similar to verse 13:14.

13:33b

The LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance: The phrase their inheritance indicates that the tribe of Levi had a special relationship with Yahweh, the God of Israel. They were the only tribe that served Yahweh at his altar in the Tent of Meeting. The words here are similar to Numbers 18:20.

just as He had promised them: The clause just as He had promised them indicates that Yahweh had previously promised this privilege to the tribe of Levi. See, for example, Deuteronomy 18:1-2.

© 2001, 2011, 2020, 2022, 2023 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 15:17

15:17a

So Othniel son of Caleb’s brother Kenaz captured the city: Kenaz was the father of Othniel and the younger brother of Caleb.

Othniel: Here are some ways that English versions spell the name of this person.

Othni-el (Revised Standard Version, King James Version)
-or-
Othniel (NET Bible, English Standard Version, New International Version, God’s Word, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version)

captured the city: The clause captured the city indicates that Othniel attacked and defeated the town of Kiriath-sepher.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

Then Othni-el defeated that town. Othni-el was the son of Kenaz, who was Caleb’s younger brother
-or-
Othni-el, who was the son of Caleb’s ⌊younger⌋ brother Kenaz, captured the town of Kiriath-sepher

15:17b

and Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage: Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

So Caleb gave Othniel his daughter Acsah to be his wife
-or-
So Caleb let Othniel marry his daughter Acsah

© 2001, 2011, 2020, 2022, 2023 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 15:49

15:49

Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir):

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

Dannah, Kiriath-sannah which is also known as Debir
-or-
Dannah, Kiriath-sannah which is also called Debir

© 2001, 2011, 2020, 2022, 2023 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 17:8

17:8a

The region of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh: The phrase The region of Tappuah refers to the land near the town of Tappuah.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

The land around the town of Tappuah belonged to the clan of Manasseh
-or-
The land near Tappuah belonged to the descendants of Manasseh

17:8b

but Tappuah itself, on the border of Manasseh, belonged to Ephraim: Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

but the town of Tappuah itself did not belong to Manasseh. It was on the border of Manasseh and belonged to the clan of Ephraim
-or-
the town of Tappuah was on the border between the clans of Manasseh and Ephraim, and it belonged to Ephraim

© 2001, 2011, 2020, 2022, 2023 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 18:22

18:22

Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel:

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Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 19:26

19:26a

Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal: The location of these towns is not certain.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

Allammelech town and Amad town and Mishal town
-or-
and the towns of Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal

19:26b

On the west the border touched Carmel: The clause On the west the border touched Carmel indicates that the clan of Asher’s land extended to the Mount Carmel Range in the southwest. The Mount Carmel range extends to the Mediterranean Sea south of the land that the clan of Asher received. The western border of Asher’s land ran along the Mediterranean Sea. However, the text does not describe all the western border. Here it mentions the southern point of the western border. In the next verse it describes the border as it ran southeast to the land that belonged to the clan of Zebulun.

and Shihor-libnath: The location of Shihor-libnath is unknown. It is not certain whether this name refers to a wadi or a town. If the grammar of your language demands a label then it is recommended that you call it a town.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

In the ⌊south⌋ west the border extended to Mount Carmel and Shihor-libnath ⌊town⌋
-or-
The western border started ⌊in the south⌋ at Carmel Mountain and Shihor-libnath (Translation for Translators)

© 2001, 2011, 2020, 2022, 2023 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.