SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 2023 – Page 35

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 15:36

15:36a

Shaaraim, Adithaim, and Gederah (or Gederothaim): There are two ways to interpret the names Gederah and Gederothaim.

(1) These names refer to two different places. For example:

Gederah and Gederothaim (God’s Word)

(God’s Word, English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, Revised Edition, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, King James Version)

(2) These names refer to one place that has two different names. For example, the New International Version says:

Gederah (or Gederothaim)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, NET Bible, New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This agrees with the Hebrew text and is followed by most English versions.

15:36b

fourteen cities, along with their villages: The list of town names in verses 15:33-36 adds up to fifteen towns. It is not clear why the author says fourteen. It is possible that one of the towns was a small settlement that did not have villages attached to it. It is recommended that you translate this as fourteen.

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

In all there were fourteen towns together with the villages that surrounded them
-or-
The number of towns was fourteen, and there were villages that were near them

© 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 16:5

Paragraph 16:5–10

16:5a

This was the territory of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans: The phrase the territory of the descendants of Ephraim refers to the land that the clan of Ephraim received.

clans: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as clans actually refers to families or groups of people within a clan. This word is translated in the display as “sub-clans.” See the note at Joshua 7:14.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

according to their sub-clans
-or-
each sub-clan in the clan of Ephraim received their own portion of land

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

the land that the clan of Ephraim received, according to their sub-clans, was like this
-or-
each family in the clan of Ephraim received their own portion of land. That land had the following boundaries.

16:5b

The border of their inheritance went from Ataroth-addar in the east: The boundary points in this verse define the southern boundary of the clan of Ephraim.

Ataroth-addar: This town may be the same town as the town of “Ataroth” in Joshua 16:2, but this is not certain.

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

The border of their land began at Ataroth-addar in the east
-or-
Their ⌊southern⌋ boundary started at the town of Ataroth-addar in the east

16:5c

to Upper Beth-horon: The town of Upper Beth-horon was to the west of Ataroth-addar.

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

and continued ⌊west⌋ to Upper Beth-horon
-or-
and went on to the town of Upper Beth-horon

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 18:9

18:9a

So the men departed and went throughout the land: The Hebrew clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as throughout the land is more literally “they passed through in the land.” The Hebrew verb is different from the verb used in verse 18:4b but the meaning is the same.

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

So the men left and went through the land (New International Version)
-or-
So the men went all over the land. (Good News Translation)

18:9b

mapping it city by city into seven portions: The clause which the Berean Standard Bible translates as mapping it is more literally “they wrote it on a book.” This indicates that the men wrote down a description on writing material, perhaps on a scroll. They did not have books in the modern sense of the word.

city by city into seven portions: This indicates that the men described the land according to the towns that were in seven parts of the land.

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

and wrote down a description of the land in seven parts, according to the towns that were in each part
-or-
they described in a scroll each town that was in the seven parts into which they had divided the land (Translation for Translators)
-or-
they wrote a report about it on a scroll. The report showed how they divided up the land into seven parts and listed the towns in each part

18:9c

Then they returned with the document to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh: Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

Then they returned to Joshua, to the camp in the town of Shiloh
-or-
Then they went back to Joshua. He was at the tenting place in Shiloh

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 19:13

19:13a

From there it crossed eastward to Gath-hepher: This verse describes the eastern border. The town of Gath-hepher was north of the towns of Daberath and Japhia.

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

From there the eastern border went toward the sunrise to the town of Gath-hepher
-or-
It then continued on the east side to the town of Gath-hepher

19:13b

and to Eth-kazin: The location of the town of Eth-kazin is unknown.

it extended to Rimmon: Rimmon was a town six miles northeast of Nazareth.

and curved around toward Neah: The exact location of the town of Neah is unknown. It was on the northern border of Zebulun’s land.

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

It went on to the towns of Eth-kazin and Rimmon, turning towards Neah
-or-
Then the border continued to Eth-kazin town and Rimmon, and curved towards Neah

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 19:45

19:45

Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon: The town of Jehud was east of the town of Joppa in the coastal plain. The town of Bene-berak was southeast of Joppa. The town of Gath-rimmon was northeast of Joppa.

Here is another way to translate this part of the verse:

Jehud town and Bene-berak town and Gath-rimmon town

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 21:17

21:17

And from the tribe of Benjamin: This indicates that the clan of Benjamin gave the Levi people towns from their land for them to live in.

they gave them Gibeon: The town of Gibeon was mentioned in 18:25. It was northwest of Jerusalem.

Geba: The town of Geba was mentioned in chapter 18:24. It was northeast of Jerusalem.

Here are some other ways to translate this verse:

The clan of Benjamin gave these towns: Gibeon and the grazing lands around it, Geba and the grazing lands around it,
-or-
The following towns were given from the clan of Benjamin: the town of Gibeon and its grasslands, the town of Geba and its grasslands,

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 22:4

22:4a

And: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And indicates the next event in the story. Many English versions leave this conjunction untranslated.

now that: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as now indicates a contrast between the time when all the Israelites were fighting to conquer the land of Canaan, and the present time, when they were able to settle down in it.

the LORD your God: In some languages it may be more natural to translate this phrase as “Yahweh our God.” Yahweh was the God of Joshua as well as the God of the Israel people.

has given your brothers rest: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as has given…rest comes from the same verbal root as was used in 1:13. It indicates that Yahweh gave the Israelites a place to settle and live in peace.

as He promised them: Here, the pronoun them refers to the other Israelite people.

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

Now Yahweh your God has given peace to the other Israel clans, as he promised.
-or-
Now Yahweh our God has given your fellow Israel people a place to settle and live in peace. He promised to do that.

22:4b

The Hebrew words that the Berean Standard Bible leaves untranslated are the same words that were translated “and now” in verse 22:4. They are repeated here for emphasis. Choose a natural way in your language to connect this sentence with the previous sentence in the first part of the verse.

you may return to your homes: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as your homes is more literally “your tents.” It indicates the place where their wives and children were living.

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

So return to your homes in the land that you own
-or-
Now return to your own place in the land that you possess

22:4c

that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you across the Jordan: It may be more natural in some languages to begin a new sentence here.

across the Jordan: The across the Jordan refers to the east side of the Jordan River.

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

Moses, who was Yahweh’s servant, gave you that land on the east side of the Jordan River.
-or-
east of the Jordan River. Moses gave that land to you.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 23:2

23:2a

he summoned all Israel: This can also be translated:

Joshua called all the Israelites together

including its elders, leaders, judges, and officers: The terms in this list are similar to the list in 8:33. Look to see how you translated these terms there.

elders: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as elders refers to the heads of families who represented their clan on special occasions. This Hebrew term occurred in 8:33.

leaders: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as leaders was used in chapter 22, verses 14 and 30. It refers to the heads of families.

judges: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as judges refers to people who judged disputes between Israelites. See Exodus 18:17-26 where Moses first appointed judges. This term was used in 8:33.

officers: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as officers refers to people who had both military and administrative responsibilities. This term occurred in 1:10 and in 8:33.

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

Then Joshua called all the Israelites together. He called the elders, the heads of families, the judges and the officers.
-or-
So Joshua gathered all the Israelite people together: their tribal leaders, their family leaders, their judges and their officials.

23:2b

“I am old and well along in years,” he said: The sentence that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “I am now old and well advanced in years,” uses almost the same Hebrew words as in verse 23:1c.

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

and said to them, “I am an old man now
-or-
Then Joshua told them, “I am very old

Search

Step into the multitudes of languages of the Bible and join the worldwide conversation!

Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 2023

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 15:36

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 16:5

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 18:9

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 19:13

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 19:45

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 21:17

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 22:4

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 23:2

Search

Step into the multitudes of languages of the Bible and join the worldwide conversation!

American Bible Society