SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 2023 – Page 11

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 24:28

24:28

Then: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then introduces the next event in the storyline. Introduce the next event in a natural way in your language.

Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance: The phrase each to his own inheritance indicates that each person returned to the land that Joshua gave him when land was divided among the clans of Israel.

Here are some other ways to translate this verse:

Then Joshua told all the people to leave and return to their own property.
-or-
Then Joshua told all the people to go to their homes.

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SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 1:12

Paragraph 1:12-15

The tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh already chose land on the east side of the Jordan River. In this paragraph Joshua reminded the men of these tribes about what they promised Moses. They promised to help the other Israelites conquer the land on the west of the Jordan River. When they had done this, they could return to their own territory.

1:12

But to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said: In verses 1ː10-11 Joshua spoke to the leaders of the people of Israel. In verses 1:12-15 he spoke to just two and a half of the tribes. The Hebrew text shows this contrast by putting to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh at the beginning of the sentence. Use the connection and sentence order that is most natural in your language.

the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh: This refers to the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh. They already received their territory on the east side of the Jordan. See Numbers 32.

tribe: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as tribe can also be translated “branch” or “clan.” The Israelites were divided into twelve tribes. Each tribe was named after one of the sons of Jacob. The people in the tribe were descendants of that ancestor. Choose a word for a group of people who are descended from a common ancestor. See also the note at Joshua 7:14 where “tribe” and “clan” are used in the same verse.

Here are some other ways to translate the word tribe :

clan
-or-
branch
-or-
division
-or-
descendants

Here are some other ways to translate this verse:

Then Joshua spoke to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh
-or-
Joshua said to the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and half of the descendants of Manasseh

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 3:2

3:2

After three days: The Israelites counted days inclusively. The three days included the day that they arrived there.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

After two nights
-or-
After three days had passed

the officers: The term officers refers to the leaders of each Israelite tribe. See how you translated this term in 1:10.

Here are some other ways to translate this termː

the leaders of the tribes of Israel

went through the camp: The clause went through the camp indicates that the leaders walked through the camp to communicate with all the people.

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

After three days, the officers walked around the camp
-or-
After two nights, the leaders of the Israel tribes went to everybody in the camp

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 4:17

4:17a

So Joshua commanded the priests: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So indicates that the next action in the story is taking place. In this case, it also shows that Joshua’s action is a response to God’s command.

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

and so Joshua commanded the priests
-or-
in obedience to God, Joshua commanded the priests

4:17b

Come up from the Jordan: The clause Come up from the Jordan indicates that the priests should come up from the dry riverbed and cross to the west side of the Jordan River. It may be redundant in some languages to repeat this command, which uses almost the same words as in 4:16b. It may be more natural to summarize the action. For example:

Joshua did so (Good News Translation)
-or-
So Joshua gave the command (New Living Translation (2004))

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 6:10

6:10a

But Joshua had commanded the people: The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But marks a contrast. The priests blew on the trumpets, but the people were not allowed to speak until the seventh day. Use a natural way to express this contrast in your language.

the people: The words the people refers to the soldiers and the priests.

6:10b

Do not give a battle cry or let your voice be heard: The two clauses Do not give a battle cry and let your voice be heard have a similar meaning. This is a way to give an emphatic command to the soldiers that they must be silent until Joshua tells them to shout. You should translate this part of the verse with an emphatic expression in your language.

6:10c-d

do not let one word come out of your mouth: The clause do not let one word come out of your mouth emphasizes that the soldiers must not say anything. It may be more natural in some languages to combine 10b and c and use an emphatic idiom or particle to convey the same meaning. For example:

10b You must not shout. 10c Don’t speak even one word. 10b Remain absolutely silent.

until the day I tell you to shout. Then you are to shout!: The term the day refers to the seventh day that they walked around the town. Yahweh instructed Joshua in 6:5 that on the seventh day the army must shout. If you have a word in your language for a shout that soldiers make, you should use it here. For example:

give a war cry (New Century Version)
-or-
shout the battle cry (Contemporary English Version)

Find a natural way to express this in your language.

General Comment on 6:10b-d

In the Hebrew text Joshua speaks with a direct quote. In some languages it may be more natural to use an indirect quote. For example:

Joshua told the people not to shout or let their voices be heard, or let even one word come out of their mouths, until the day that he told them to shout

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 7:15

7:15a

The one who is caught: Yahweh will choose one of the men. The people will know he is guilty because Yahweh will cause the lot to show this.

with the things devoted to destruction: The things devoted to destruction were things from Jericho that must be destroyed. The guilty person did not have the devoted things with him as he stood at the Tent of Meeting. Yahweh knew that this person had stolen them and hidden them. In some languages it might be helpful to make this explicit. For example, you could say:

he who has ⌊stolen⌋ the devoted things

7:15b

must be burned: The fire must destroy him because he had become like one of the things in Jericho that belonged to Yahweh. In some languages it may be redundant to translate “burned with fire” because this is already implied by the word burned.

In 7:25 we learn that they killed the guilty person and then burned his body.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

you shall ⌊kill⌋ that person and then burn ⌊his body⌋ in the fire

7:15c

along with all that belongs to him: The Hebrew is more literally “he and all that he has.” The word “he” is repeated in Hebrew for emphasis.

all that belongs to him: The phrase all that belongs to him refers to his family as well as his belongings. It may be necessary to make this explicit in some languages. For example:

along with his family and everything he owns (Good News Translation)

7:15d

because: The connector that the Berean Standard Bible translates as because introduces the reason for the punishment of the guilty person.

he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD: The phrase he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD means that the person did not keep the promise which the Israelite people agreed to keep.

covenant: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as covenant refers to an agreement of loyalty made between two people. In the Old Testament it often refers to an agreement between God and his people.

7:15e

and: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and introduces a second reason for the punishment of the guilty person.

committed an outrage in Israel: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as an outrage refers to something evil, such as a willful sin. Achan disgraced the Israelites by doing this deed.

Israel: The word Israel refers to the Israelite people. Achan did this sin among the people of Israel. For example:

has done a disgraceful thing among the people of Israel! (New Century Version)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 8:21

8:21a

When The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as When is used to give prominence to Joshua and his men and what they saw. You should translate the word with a connecting word that is most natural in your language. In some languages it may be most natural to omit them.

Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city: The phrase Joshua and all Israel refers to Joshua and the soldiers who were with him.

the men in ambush: The phrase the men in ambush refers to the men who were hiding behind Ai.

had captured the city: The clause had captured the city indicates that the soldiers who were in hiding had attacked the town and defeated Ai.

8:21b

and that smoke was rising from it: The clause that smoke was rising from it indicates that the town was burning. The smoke was the visible signal of this for them.

8:21c

they turned around: The clause they turned around indicates that Joshua and the soldiers with him stopped running away. They turned around to face the soldiers of Ai.

and struck down the men of Ai: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as struck is more literally “hit.” This is an idiom. It means that the Israelite soldiers attacked them.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 9:18

9:18a

But: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But indicates contrast. Contrary to what one would expect, the Israelites did not attack these enemies.

the Israelites did not attack them: The term the Israelites refers to the people of Israel who went to visit the Gibeonites.

attack: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as attack can be translated in two different ways.

(1) It is translated “did not attack them.” For example:

the people of Israel did not attack them (English Standard Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, English Standard Version, New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, New Century Version, NET Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, New Living Translation (2004), Revised English Bible, Contemporary English Version, King James Version)

(2) It is translated “did not kill them.” For example:

the Israelites could not kill them (Good News Translation)

(Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, God’s Word)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). This is the more accurate way to translate the Hebrew word. However, option (2) is may be used if you consider this to be implied information. If the Israelites “attacked” the Gibeonites, then they would probably kill them.

9:18b

because the leaders of the congregation: The word congregation refers to a meeting of free Israelite men who were eligible for military service. You should translate this the same way you did in 9:15.

had sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel: The clause sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel indicates that the leaders made a promise to the Gibeonites in the name of Yahweh. The full name of God is used to emphasize the solemnity of this vow.

9:18c

And the whole congregation: The phrase the whole congregation refers to all the members of the assembly of Israelite men. It is the same group of people as in 9:18b.

grumbled against the leaders: The clause grumbled against the leaders indicates that the Israelite men were not satisfied with the leaders’ decision and complained about it. They wanted to attack the Gibeonites, as is made clear in 9:26.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

the whole community criticized the leaders (NET Bible)
-or-
the whole assembly grumbled against the leaders (New International Version)

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 2023