8:26a

The Hebrew conjunction that Berean Standard Bible leaves untranslated but many English versions translate as “For” introduces the reason why the Israelites could destroy Ai. You should indicate reason in a natural way in your language. It some languages it may be most natural to use no connecting word, as in many English versions.

Joshua did not draw back the hand: This clause indicates that Joshua continued to stretch out his arm.

that held his battle lance: Joshua stretched out his arm while he held the battle lance in his hand, and pointed the lance towards Ai.

battle lance: Translate the phrase battle lance the same way as you did in 8:18.

It was important that Joshua keep his arm stretched out and point the battle lance towards Ai until all the people of Ai were dead. This was what Yahweh commanded him to do. This was a symbol that it was Yahweh who won the victory over Ai and not the Israelites themselves.

8:26b

until he had devoted to destruction all who lived in Ai: It may be necessary to make explicit the implied information that Joshua did not kill the people himself. The Israelite soldiers followed his orders and killed every Ai person. For example, you could say:

until the Israelite soldiers destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai

Many English versions use a passive verb. For example:

until all who lived in Ai had been destroyed (Revised English Bible)

Translate this in a way that is natural in your language.

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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.
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9:23a-b

Now therefore you are under a curse and will perpetually serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now therefore can be translated in two different ways:

(1) It means therefore, or because of this, or for that reason. For example:

Because you did this, God has condemned you. (Good News Translation)

(Berean Standard Bible, Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version, New American Bible, New American Standard Bible, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, King James Version)

(2) It is a temporal marker now. For example:

You are now under a curse (New International Version)

(New International Version, New American Bible, Revised Edition, God’s Word, New Century Version, NET Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, Contemporary English Version)

It is recommended that you follow option (1) and make the reason relation explicit. But option (2) is acceptable if the reason relation is implied by the context in your translation.

will perpetually serve as woodcutters and water carriers: The Hebrew words are more literally “not he will be cut off from you a slave.” There are two ways to interpret what this means.

(1) This means that all the Gibeonites became slaves. For example:

every one of you shall always be a slave (New American Bible, Revised Edition)

(Berean Standard Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition, New American Standard Bible, New International Version, NET Bible, Good News Translation, God’s Word, New American Bible, New Century Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, New Living Translation (2004), King James Version)

(2) This means that some of the Gibeonites became slaves. For example:

some of you shall never be anything by servants (English Standard Version)

(English Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Contemporary English Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). God’s curse was on the whole Gibeonite nation. It is not clear from the Hebrew that we can translate this as only “some” of the Gibeonites.

9:23a

you are under a curse: The phrase you are under a curse means that God considered them to be guilty and condemned them.

will perpetually serve: The phrase will perpetually serve indicates the Gibeonites will live in submission to the Israelites.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

shall always be slaves (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
shall never be anything but servants (English Standard Version)
-or-
perpetual servitude (NET Bible)

9:23b

woodcutters: The word woodcutters indicates that they will cut firewood.

and water carriers: The phrase water carriers indicates that they will draw water from the wells and carry it.

for the house of my God: The phrase for the house of my God indicates that the Gibeonites will provide wood and water for the place of worship. During the time of Joshua, the house of my God in which the Israelites worshiped was a tent, not a permanent house. In 9:27 it is clear that the Gibeonites served both the place of worship and also the broader community in this way.

my God: The word my refers to Joshua. Joshua referred to Yahweh as his God.

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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.

Section 10:28–43 The Israelites conquered the towns of southern Canaan

Joshua defeated seven other important towns in Southern Canaan.

Here is another possible section heading:

Israel defeated the southern towns

Paragraph 10:28–30

10:28a

On that day: The phrase On that day indicates that Joshua and the Israelite army attacked and captured Makkedah on the same day that they killed the five kings.

Joshua captured Makkedah: The clause Joshua captured Makkedah indicates that Joshua and the Israelite army captured the town of Makkedah. It may be necessary in some languages to make explicit that the Israelite army also fought, and that Joshua did not capture Makkedah by himself. For example:

Joshua and the Israelites captured the town of Makkedah on that day

Makkedah: The town of Makkedah was about 40 kilometers southwest of Gibeon. The cave where the five Amorite kings hid was near Makkedah. After Joshua killed the five kings, he and his army proceeded to capture this nearby town.

10:28b

and put it to the sword, along with its king: This indicates that Joshua and the Israelite army killed the king of Makkedah and the people who lived there.

put it to the sword: The phrase put it to the sword is a Hebrew idiom. The word “smote” is the past tense of “smite.” It means “hit.” This idiom means that they killed the king and the people of Makkedah.

Here is another way to translate this Hebrew idiom:

Joshua killed its king and everyone else in the town (Contemporary English Version)

10:28c

He devoted to destruction everyone in the city: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as devoted to destruction everyone comes from the same root word as the term “devoted for destruction” used in 6:17b. It refers to people or things that are claimed by Yahweh and cannot be bought back by any means. They must be destroyed. If possible, translate this word in the same way as you did in 6:17b. For example:

he devoted to destruction every person in it (English Standard Version)

leaving no survivors: The clause leaving no survivors indicates that not a single person was left alive in the town.

10:28d

So he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho: The pronoun he refers to Joshua. The clause he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho indicates that Joshua killed the king of Makkedah. It may be clearer to make this information explicit. For example:

and he killed the king of Makkedah as he had killed the king of Jericho (New Living Translation (2004))

A similar phrase was used in 8:2 referring to the king of Ai.

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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.

11:17a

from Mount Halak: Mount Halak was the southernmost place that the Israelites captured. The location of Mount Halak is uncertain, It may be the modern Jebel Halaq, which is 45 kilometers southeast of Beersheba.

which rises toward Seir: The clause which rises toward Seir indicates that Mount Halak was near the territory of Edom, which was also called Seir. Edom was south of the Dead Sea.

11:17b

as far as Baal-gad: Baal-gad was a town in the valley of Lebanon at the western foot of Mount Hermon. The exact location of Baal-gad is unknown. This was the northernmost place that the Israelites captured. Some English versions spell this “Baal Gad.”

in the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon: Mount Hermon was a high mountain in the northeast of Israel. The Valley of Lebanon was near Mount Hermon. It may be the modern Beqa Valley. It may also include the valley of the Litani River further south.

11:17c

He captured all their kings: The clause He captured all their kings indicates that Joshua and the Israelite army captured all the kings who ruled the towns in the regions mentioned.

and struck them down, putting them to death: The two clauses struck them down and putting them to death have the same meaning. In some languages it may be more natural to combine these two clauses into one clause.

Here is another way to translate these clauses:

Joshua ordered his soldiers to kill these kings

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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.

13:14a

To the tribe of Levi: In the Hebrew text the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as To the tribe of Levi is at the beginning of the sentence to show emphasis. The tribe of Levi was the only tribe that did not receive land as their gift from Yahweh.

In some languages it may not be natural to begin a sentence with this phrase. Use a natural way in your language to emphasize that the tribe of Levi was different from the other tribes.

Moses had given no inheritance: The clause Moses had given no inheritance indicates that Moses did not assign any land to the tribe of Levi.

13:14b

The offerings made by fire to the LORD, the God of Israel, are their inheritance: The phrase offerings made by fire refers to sacrifices that were partially burned. In Numbers 18:21-32| Yahweh told Aaron that the Levites could eat some of these offerings.

There is a textual issue in this verse:

(1) The Hebrew text includes the words offerings made by fire. For example:

To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance. The offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance (English Standard Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, English Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, New International Version (1984), NET Bible, God’s Word, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, New Living Translation (2004), Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, King James Version)

(2) The Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation, does not include the words offerings made by fire. For example:

To the tribe of Levi alone no heritage was given; Yahweh, God of Israel, was his heritage (New Jerusalem Bible)

(New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition)

It is recommended that you follow option (1) and the Hebrew text.

offerings made by fire: There are two ways to interpret the phrase offerings made by fire :

(1) It means offerings that are burned. For example:

the sacrifices burned on the altar to the Lord God of Israel (Good News Translation)

(Berean Standard Bible, Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, NET Bible, English Standard Version, New International Version (1984), God’s Word, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, New Living Translation (2004), King James Version)

(2) It means food offerings. For example:

the food offerings presented to the Lord, the God of Israel (New International Version (2011))

(New International Version (2011))

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

Here is another way to translate the phrase offerings made by fire :

offerings burned on the altar (New Living Translation (2004))

are their inheritance: The phrase their inheritance indicates that God gave the tribe of Levi the offerings of the Israelites instead of land.

13:14c

just as He had promised them: The clause just as He had promised them indicates that Yahweh told this to Moses. This is recorded in Deuteronomy 18:1-2.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

as the Lord had told Moses (Good News Translation)

them: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as them is singular. Some English versions, such as the Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, and King James Version, observe that God spoke to all the Israelites as well as to Moses, and so they translate this word as them.

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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.

Paragraph 14:13-15

14:13a

Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh: The phrase Joshua blessed Caleb indicates that Joshua prayed that God would help Caleb and give him success. In 8:33 it said that Moses blessed the people. You should translate this verb the same way you did there.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Then Joshua gave a blessing to Caleb
-or-
Then Joshua prayed that God would help Caleb (Contemporary English Version)

Caleb son of Jephunneh: This phrase was used in 14:6 and you should translate it the same way in both places.

14:13b

and gave him Hebron as his inheritance: The town of Hebron was in the mountainous area that Joshua gave to Caleb. Hebron was mentioned in 10:3, and you should translate it the same way in both places.

as his inheritance: The phrase as his inheritance indicates that Caleb will receive the town of Hebron for his own.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

Joshua gave the town of Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh and to his descendants
-or-
Joshua gave Caleb the son of Jephunneh the town of Hebron as his own possession

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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.

15:30

Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah:

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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15:62a

Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En-gedi: The phrase City of Salt is a translation of the Hebrew words Ir Hamelah. Some English versions transliterate this phrase instead of translating it.

Here are some ways that English versions translate this name:

City of Salt (Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, NET Bible, English Standard Version, New International Version, New Living Translation (2004), King James Version)
-or-
Salt City (Good News Translation)
-or-
Salt Town (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Ir Hamelah (God’s Word, New American Bible, Revised Edition)

15:62b

six cities, along with their villages: Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

In all there were six towns, and there were villages that surrounded them
-or-
The number of these towns was six, with the 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.