SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 2023 – Page 60

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 15:26

15:26

Amam, Shema, Moladah:

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SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 15:58

Paragraph: 15:58-59

This paragraph is a list of more towns that were given to the tribe of Judah.

15:58

Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor: This is the beginning of a new list of towns. It may be helpful to make this clear.

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

⌊There were also the towns of⌋ Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor…

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 17:17

17:17a

So Joshua said to the house of Joseph: The term the house of Joseph refers to the descendants of Joseph.

to Ephraim and Manasseh: The phrase Ephraim and Manasseh refers to the clans of Ephraim and Manasseh. It is another way of referring to the descendants of Joseph.

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

Then Joshua said to the clans of Ephraim and Manasseh, who were the descendants of Joseph
-or-
Joshua answered the descendants of Joseph, that is, the clan of Ephraim and the clan of Manasseh

17:17b

You have many people and great strength: Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

Your clans have many people and are strong
-or-
You have a lot of people in your clans. You are very powerful

17:17c

You shall not have just one allotment: Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

So you will not have only one piece of land
-or-
You will not have just one area of land

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 19:3

19:3

Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem: Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

They also received the towns of Hazar-shual and Balah and Ezem
-or-
Hazar-shual and Balah and Ezem

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 19:35

19:35

The fortified cities: The term fortified cities indicates towns that have strong walls around them. This term occurred in verse 19:29.

were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth: The location of the towns of Ziddim and Zer is not known. The towns of Hammath and Rakkath were on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. The town of Chinnereth was northwest of the Sea of Galilee. It is called Gennesaret in the New Testament.

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

Within their land were several cities with strong walls around them. They were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth (Translation for Translators)
-or-
The towns with strong walls that belonged to the clan of Naphtali were Ziddim, and Zer and Hammath and Rakkath and Kinnereth

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 21:7

21:7a

And the descendants of Merari: Merari was one of the three sons of Levi.

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

The descendants of Merari, by their families
-or-
The families that were descended from Merari

21:7b

received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun: This verse is similar to 21:4c although it does not have the phrase “by lot.”

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

received twelve towns from the clans of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun
-or-
were given twelve towns ⌊in all⌋ from the clan of Reuben, the clan of Gad, and the clan of Zebulun

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 21:39

21:39

Heshbon: The town of Heshbon was mentioned in 9:10. It was southwest of the city of Amman in what is now the country of Jordan.

Jazer: The town of Jazer was mentioned in 13:25. It was probably west of the present city of Amman in what is now the country of Jordan.

four cities in all, together with their pasturelands: The phrase four cities in all indicates that the clan of Gad gave four of their towns for the Merari families to live in.

Here are some other ways to translate this verse:

the town of Heshbon and the grasslands around it, and the town of Jazer and the grasslands around it. The total was four towns.
-or-
the town of Heshbon with its grazing lands and the town of Jazer with its grazing lands. The clan of Gad gave the families of Merari four towns in all.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 22:26

22:26

That is why: The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as That is why introduces a conclusion. Because of what might happen, the eastern people took this action. Use a connecting word that is natural in your language.

we said: The clause we said refers to the discussion that the eastern clans had with each other before they built the altar. It may be helpful to include the implicit information “to each other.”

Let us take action and build an altar for ourselves, but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices: This statement is in the form of a quotation. It may be more natural to rephrase it without a quotation. In that case the clause “we said” would be left untranslated. For example:

So we decided to build this altar, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices (NET Bible)

burnt offerings: This is the same term used in verse 23b.

sacrifices: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sacrifices refers to offerings of animals that were burnt. It is a more general word for sacrifices than the word that is translated as “burnt offerings.”

Here are some other ways to translate this verse:

So we said ⌊to each other⌋ , ‘Let’s build an altar. We will not offer burnt offerings or ⌊other⌋ sacrifices on it,
-or-
That is why we decided to build an altar. It was not for offering burnt offerings or ⌊other⌋ sacrifices.

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 2023

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 15:26

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 15:58

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 17:17

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 19:3

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 19:35

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 21:7

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 21:39

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 22:26

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