complete verse (Joshua 10:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 10:2:

  • Kupsabiny: “When the king of Jerusalem had heard like that, he became very afraid because the city of Gibeon was bigger than the cities of other kings. It was bigger than Ai and all its people were fierce warriors.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The king and his people became very much afraid, because Gibeon was a large city as royal city, it was larger than the city of Ai, and its men were men who knew how to fight well.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He and his people became-afraid for he knew that Gibeon (was) a mighty city which also has (its) own king. And this (was) larger than Ai and its soldiers (were) good in-fighting.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Because of that, he and the people whom he ruled became very afraid, because Gibeon was an important city, like the other cities that had kings. And even though Gibeon was a larger city than Ai and all its soldiers were good fighters, they thought Joshua’s army might defeat them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Joshua 10:2

The people of Jerusalem Good News Translation translates the Masoretic text, which has the plural “they were afraid”; Revised Standard Version New English Bible have the singular “he was afraid”; Hebrew Old Testament Text Project prefers the Masoretic text plural, saying it is used in an impersonal sense, “there was a (great) fear”; so New American Bible Bible de Jérusalem Jerusalem Bible Traduction œcuménique de la Bible. are alarmed at the alliance which the Gibeonites had made with the invaders, especially since Gibeon was a large city and its men had the reputation of being good fighters It should be noticed that Gibeon is not included among cities that had a king (see 9.11, where they refer to “Our leaders”).

The beginning of this verse will depend upon the way in which the last part of verse 1 is translated. On the assumption that a new sentence begins with this verse, one may want to translate:

• When the people of Jerusalem heard that the people of Gibeon had made peace with the Israelites, they became greatly alarmed. Gibeon was larger than Ai, and it was as large as any of the cities that were ruled by a king. Moreover, its men were good fighters.

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 10:2

10:2a

So Adoni-zedek and his people were greatly alarmed: The words greatly alarmed refer to King Adoni-zedek. They indicate that the king was very afraid.

There is a textual issue here.

(1) The Hebrew Masoretic text and the Septuagint translation into Greek both read “they feared greatly.” For example:

he and his people were very much alarmed (New International Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, NET Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition, God’s Word, New Century Version, New Living Translation (2004), Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, King James Version)

(2) Some ancient translations such as the Syriac read “he feared greatly.” For example:

he feared greatly (English Standard Version)

(English Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, Revised English Bible)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). Usually we translate the Hebrew text unless it is very difficult. Your translation could say “they” or it could say “the king and his people.” Here is another way to translate this:

the people of Jerusalem were greatly alarmed (Good News Translation)

If you have translated 10:1 as an independent sentence, you may need to supply some implicit information here. For example, the New Living Translation (2004) supplies this information:

He and his people became very afraid when they heard all this (New Living Translation (2004))

10:2b

because: The word because introduces the reason why the king and his people were afraid.

Gibeon was a great city: In 9:17 it said that Gibeon was actually a group of four towns. The phrase a great city indicates that Gibeon was a large and important place.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

a large city (NET Bible)
-or-
an important city (New International Version)

like one of the royal cities: The phrase like one of the royal cities indicates that Gibeon was equal in size and importance to the towns that had a king to rule them. Gibeon was ruled by an assembly of leaders and did not have a king.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

as large as any of the cities that had a king (Good News Translation)

10:2c

it was: The words it was introduce a second reason why the king and his people were afraid.

and all its men were mighty: The clause all its men were mighty indicates that all the men of Ai were good at fighting.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

all its men were warriors (NET Bible)
-or-
all its men were good fighters (New International Version)

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