If the restructuring suggested above is followed (“someone … told Joshua”), them He said should be translated “So Joshua said.”

Joshua orders the entrance of the cave to be blocked with huge stones and has guards stationed there, to prevent the five kings from escaping. Then he orders his troops to pursue the enemy and kill them all before they can reach their fortified cities.

Joshua’s two commands (Roll some big stones in front of the entrance to the cave and Place some guards there) were apparently directed to his soldiers. But then there is a distinction made between the persons whom Joshua addresses and the persons who are to be stationed as guards (see verse 19). Who then are these guards (Revised Standard Version “men”) stationed at the entrance to the cave? Is this a distinction, for example, between Joshua’s “best troops” and the rest of his men (see verse 7)? Or is this a distinction between Joshua’s men and local citizens? It seems quite possible that some local citizen (or perhaps even a Gibeonite) may have found where the kings were hiding and subsequently informed Joshua. Given the circumstances, most any of the local citizens could be trusted at this point to stand guard before the mouth of the sealed-up cave. The verse may therefore be translated, “Joshua said to his men, ‘Roll some big stones in front of the entrance to the cave. Then place some men there to guard it….’ ”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .