SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 2023 – Page 80

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 9:25

9:25a

Now: The word Now calls attention to what the Gibeonites said next. It is a way to emphasize it. Use whatever means is natural to show this emphasis.

we are in your hands: The clause we are in your hands is an idiom. It indicates that the Gibeonites know the Israelites are stronger than them and can do whatever they want to them.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

we are in your power (NET Bible)
-or-
you are strong enough to do anything to us that you want (Contemporary English Version)

9:25b

Do to us whatever seems good and right to you: The phrase Do to us whatever seems good and right to you indicates that the Gibeonites asked the Israelites to treat them in whatever way seemed just to the Israelites.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

do to us what you think is good and appropriate (NET Bible)
-or-
do to us whatever you think is right (New Living Translation (2004))

© 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 10:30

10:30a

And the LORD also delivered that city and its king into the hand of Israel: The clause the LORD also delivered that city and its king into the hand of Israel indicates that Yahweh gave Joshua and the Israelite army the power to defeat the king and the town of Libnah. They captured the town of Libnah as they had captured the town of Makkedah.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

The Lord also gave that city and its king into Israel’s hand (New International Version)
-or-
The Lord also gave the Israelites victory over this city and its king (Good News Translation)

10:30b

and Joshua: There are two ways to understand the pronoun “he,” which the Berean Standard Bible translates as Joshua.

(1) The pronoun “he” refers to Joshua and the Israelite army. For example:

the city and everyone in it Joshua put to the sword (New International Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, NET Bible, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004), New Century Version, Contemporary English Version)

(2) The pronoun “he” refers to Yahweh. For example:

and he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it (English Standard Version)

(English Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, God’s Word, New American Bible, Revised Edition, King James Version)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). The pronoun “he” probably to refers to Joshua as the representative of the Israelite army, or to the Israelite army itself.

put all the people to the sword: The Hebrew clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as put all the people to the sword is an idiom. It indicates that Joshua and his army killed every person in the town of Libnah.

Here is another way to translate this Hebrew idiom:

he killed all the people (God’s Word)
-or-
killed every person in it (Good News Translation)

10:30c

leaving no survivors: The clause leaving no survivors indicates that there were no people still alive in Libnah after the Israelite army attacked it. This information was stated in a positive manner in the previous part of the verse. It is restated here negatively. This is a way to emphasize that every single person died.

Here is another way to translate 30b-c:

Joshua ⌊and his army⌋ killed everyone in Libnah with their swords, leaving no survivors

10:30d

And he did to the king of Libnah as he had done to the king of Jericho: The clause he did to the king of Libnah as he had done to the king of Jericho is similar to the clause in 10:28d. It indicates that Joshua killed the king of Libnah. You should translate this in a similar way to 10:28d.

It may be helpful to begin a new sentence here. For example:

Then Joshua killed the king of Libnah as he had killed the king of Jericho (New Living Translation (2004))

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 11:19

11:19a

No city made peace with the Israelites: Every town in this area fought against Israel. No town (except Gibeon) tried to make peace.

the Israelites: Another term for the Israelites is “the people of Israel.”

except the Hivites living in Gibeon: In 9:7 the people who lived in the town of Gibeon were identified as Hivites. The Hivites were one of the nations who lived on the west side of the Jordan River in the land of Canaan (see 9:3).

It may be more natural in some languages to translate the clause “No city made peace with the Israelites” in positive rather than negative terms. For example:

The people of only one city in all the land had made peace with Israel (New Century Version)
-or-
The only city that made peace with the people of Israel was Gibeon (Good News Translation)

11:19b

all others were taken in battle: The clause all others were taken in battle indicates that the Israelite army fought against all the other enemy nations and captured them.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 13:16

13:16a

The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible that other versions translate as “and” or “so” leaves untranslated introduces the details about the land that was given to Reuben. Use whatever connecting word or particle is appropriate in your language.

The territory from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley: The Hebrew words of this clause are almost identical to the words in 13:9a, and you should translate it in the same way.

13:16b

along with the city in the middle of the valley, to the whole plateau beyond Medeba: The Hebrew words of this clause are almost identical to the words in 13:9b-c, and you should translate it in the same way.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 14:15

14:15a-b

(Hebron used to be called Kiriath-arba, after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.): The Hebrew word that begins this verse is often translated as “Now” and introduces an explanation about the name of Hebron. The Berean Standard Bible indicates this by putting it in parentheses. Introduce this explanation in a way that is natural in your language.

14:15a

Hebron used to be called Kiriath-arba: The town of Kiriath-arba is mentioned in Genesis 23:2. The word “Kiriath” means “town” in Hebrew. Arba is the name of one of the Anak people.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

The town of Hebron used to be called Kiriath-arba
-or-
In the past times, the name of Hebron was Kiriath-arba
-or-
Before that time, the town of Hebron was called Arba

14:15b

after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim: Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

because Arba was the most important man of the Anak people
-or-
It was named after Arba, the greatest man among the people of Anak

14:15c

Then the land had rest from war: The clause the land had rest from war translates the same Hebrew words as are found in verse 11:23. You should translate this sentence in the same way that you translated verse 11:23.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Then there was peace in the land.
-or-
Then there was no war in the land

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 15:32

15:32a

Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon:

15:32b

twenty-nine cities in all, along with their villages: Most towns in the time of Joshua were very small. They had a wall for protection and a ruler of their own. Outside the walls of the town, there were villages that depended on that town for protection.

The list of town names in verses 15:21-32 adds up to thirty-six towns. It is not clear why the author says twenty-nine. It is possible that seven of the towns were small settlements that did not have villages attached to them. It is recommended that you translate this as twenty-nine.

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

The total was twenty-nine towns and the villages that surrounded them
-or-
In all there were 29 towns, with the villages around them

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 16:1

Section 16:1–17:18 The clans of Ephraim and Manasseh received their land

This section describes the boundaries of the land given to Ephraim and to Manasseh, and the towns within each of their lands.

Paragraph 16:1–4

16:1a

The allotment for the descendants of Joseph: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as The allotment is more literally “the lot went out.” There is a similar phrase in Joshua 15:1. It is recommended that you translate this phrase in a similar way in both places.

the descendants of Joseph: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the descendants of Joseph is more literally “the sons of Joseph.” Joseph had two sons: Ephraim and Manasseh. Their descendants became the clans of Ephraim and Manasseh.

Here are some ways to translate this phrase:

the descendants of Joseph (Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004), NET Bible)
-or-
the people of Joseph (English Standard Version)
-or-
Joseph (New International Version, God’s Word)
-or-
the children of Joseph (King James Version)

extended from the Jordan at Jericho: The clause extended from the Jordan at Jericho describes the starting point of the southern border of the land given to Ephraim and Manasseh. The eastern point of the border was at the Jordan River near the town of Jericho.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

The land that the descendants of Joseph received began at the Jordan River, near Jericho
-or-
The ⌊south border of⌋ the land given to the descendants of Joseph started at the Jordan River, near the town of Jericho

16:1b

to the waters of Jericho on the east: The phrase waters of Jericho refers to springs that were north of the town of Jericho.

through the wilderness: The phrase through the wilderness indicates that the border then continued west into the wilderness.

wilderness: A wilderness is an uncultivated and uninhabited area. In this verse it refers to the Judean wilderness. The Judean wilderness is between the Judean mountains and the valley of the Dead Sea. This wilderness is a rocky place that descends steeply from the mountains into the valley. It consists of flat plateaus, rounded hills, deep canyons, and cliffs. It receives little rainfall and no crops can grow there. It is not a typical desert with large areas of sand. Many languages may have a term for an uncultivated area or an uninhabited place.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

It then went to the east of the springs of Jericho and continued west into the wilderness
-or-
The border began to the east of the springs at the town of Jericho and went west into the wilderness

16:1c

that goes up from Jericho into the hill country of Bethel: The clause goes up from Jericho indicates that the border ascended in elevation as it went through the wilderness, into the hill country to the town of Bethel.

hill country: The term hill country refers to the central mountain range which runs from the north to the south of Israel. This area receives a lot of rain and farmers plant crops in terraces along the hillsides. See how you translated this phrase in Joshua 9:1.

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

The border went from Jericho up into the hill country to the town of Bethel
-or-
From Jericho it went up into the mountains as far as Bethel

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 18:5

18:5a

and divide the land into seven portions: This indicates that the men should divide the remaining land into seven parts, one for each of the clans that had still not received a share of land.

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

They must divide ⌊the remaining land⌋ into seven parts among themselves
-or-
They will divide it into seven areas of land

18:5b

Judah shall remain in their territory in the south: Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

The clan of Judah will remain in the land they have received in the south
-or-
The clan of Judah will stay in their land to the south

18:5c

and the house of Joseph shall remain in their territory in the north: Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

The descendants of Joseph will remain in the land they have received in the north
-or-
The family of Joseph will stay in their land to the north

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 9:25

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 10:30

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 11:19

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 13:16

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 14:15

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 15:32

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 16:1

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 18:5

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

American Bible Society