28Joshua took Makkedah on that day and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed every person in it; he left no one remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
The Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that is transliterated as “Joshua” is translated in Swiss-German Sign Language with a sign that depicts a trumpet of rams’ horn, referring to Joshua 6:4 and following.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 10:28:
Kupsabiny: “On that day Joshua destroyed the city of Makkedah and all the people and he also killed the king of that city as he killed those of Jericho.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “That day Joshua attacked Makkedah city, conquered and took it, destroyed the town. Then he killed its king and all the people who lived there with the sword. He did to the king of Makkedah like he had done to the king of Jericho.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “On that day, Josue subjected/brought-under-(their)-jurisdiction Makeda. He killed all its residents, including their king. No-one at-all was-left alive. Josue did to the king of Makeda what he had- also -done to the king of Jerico.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “That is how Joshua’s army attacked and captured Makkedah. They killed the king and everyone else in the town. They did not leave anyone alive. They did to the king of Makkedah the same thing that they had done to the king of Jericho.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
Joshua first attacks Makkedah, a city in the lowlands, about 25 kilometers southwest of Gibeon. In place of Makkedah one may want to translate “the Amorite city of Makkedah.” The adverbial modifier that day may be more satisfactory if placed in a different position in some languages: “That same day Joshua also attacked and captured the Amorite city of Makkedah and its king.”
Put … to death (Revised Standard Version “utterly destroyed”) translates the Hebrew verb discussed at 2.10. The text is very emphatic: “killed … utterly destroyed … left no survivor”—indicating the complete slaughter of all the inhabitants. This is a holy war. Notice that the phrase “(struck it) with the edge of the sword” (see Revised Standard Version; verses 28, 30, 32, 35, 37, 39) is a way of saying “killed in battle” or “executed.”
Joshua of course did not attack, capture, and kill all these inhabitants by himself. In most languages it will be necessary to say “Joshua and his men…,” or it may even be necessary to state explicitly that Joshua gave certain commands before the battle began.
Although repetition is forceful in Hebrew, it may lessen the impact in other languages. One may reduce the length the last half of this verse as follows:
• He told his men to put to death everyone in the city. Then he killed the king of Makkedah, just as he had killed the king of Jericho.
Or, somewhat longer:
• Before they attacked the city, Joshua told his men, “Put to death everyone in the city.” So Joshua’s men killed all the people of the city. Then after the city was completely destroyed, Joshua killed the king of Makkedah, just as he had killed the king of Jericho.
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 .
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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