1Then Joshua son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and spent the night there.
The Greek, Latin, and Hebrew that is typically translated as “prostitute” in English (in some, mostly earlier translation also as “harlot” or “whore”) is translated in the 2024 revision of the inter-confessional LatvianJauna Pārstrādāta latviešu Bībele as netikle or “hussy.” This replaced the previous translation mauka or “whore.” Nikita Andrejevs, editor of the Bible explains the previous and current translations: “The translators at the time felt that this strong word best described the thought contained in the main text. Many had objections, as it seemed that this word would not be the most appropriate for public reading in church.” (Source: Updated Bible published in Latvia ).
Other translations include:
Bariai: “a woman of the road” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “a woman who sells her body” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Uma: “a woman whose behavior is not appropriate” or “a loose woman” (source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “a bad woman” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “a woman who make money through their reputation” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “a woman who makes money with her body” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “a woman whose womanhood is repeatedly-bought” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Rahab” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “prostitute” referring to Joshua 2:1. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
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 2:1:
Kupsabiny: “Joshua had already/earlier called some two people at Shittim and said to (them), ‘You go and spy out the land of Canaan, and especially the city of Jericho.’ Then those people went, and when they arrived at the city, they entered the house of a woman who was prostitute who was called Rahab.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Then Joshua, son of Nun, speaking like this, sent two spies from Shittim without anyone knowing of it, "Go, spy out that land carefully, especially the city of Jericho." So they went. They went to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Now, Josue secretly sent-out two men from the camp of the Israelinhon to Shitim to spy-(out) the land of Canaan, especially the city of Jerico. When the two spies arrived at Jerico, there they stayed at the house of Rahab, a woman who sells her body.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Then Joshua chose two men from their camp at Acacia. He told them, ‘Go across the Jordan River and secretly find out all that you can about the land on that side of the river, especially about Jericho city.’ So the two men crossed the river and entered Jericho. They entered the house of a prostitute, whose name was Rahab. They stayed in her house that night.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
In the phrase sent two spies, the word spies may convey to some readers a highly specialized and technical meaning. To avoid this complication, one may render “secretly sent two men.” This may be an excellent solution if it is certain that the readers will understand secretly to apply only to the people of Canaan and not to the people of Israel as well. In order not to be misunderstood, one may translate “Then Joshua sent two men from the camp at Acacia to go and secretly explore the land of Canaan.” Or, if direct discourse is more appropriate, “While the people of Israel were camped at Acacia, Joshua told two of the men, ‘Go and secretly explore the land of Canaan….’ ”
The Israelite camp was at Acacia northeast of the Dead Sea, opposite Jericho (see Num 25.1; 33.49). The Hebrew name “Shittim” (Revised Standard Version) means “the acacias,” a flowering tree. For English speakers the noun “Shittim” sounds like a vulgar word and should be avoided. This is also a principle that should be followed in any language; in the translation or transliteration of terms, any vulgar-sounding words or word combinations should be avoided.
Explore the land of Canaan may be rendered, “to find out all they (you) can about the land of Canaan” or “to find out what the land of Canaan is like.”
Jericho, the most important city in the region, was west of the Jordan. The Hebrew text “to go and look at the land and Jericho” is rather strange; Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation both translate “especially Jericho”; Jerusalem Bible “the country at Jericho”; Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible de Jérusalem “the land of Jericho.” New English Bible (without any textual note) translates “… with orders to reconnoiter the country. The two men came to Jericho” (which represents neither the Hebrew nor the Greek Old Testament).
A prostitute: commentators make the point that the two Israelites would have a good chance of going unnoticed in a house of prostitution. Her home was built into the city wall (see verse 15). Josephus (Antiquities V.i.2) speaks of Rahab as an innkeeper, not a harlot. (She may have been both.) If the translation is intended for young readers, no harm will be done to the text if a prostitute is represented by “a woman.” The last sentence of this verse may be rendered in a chronological sequence: “When they came to the city, they went to the house … in order to spend the night.”
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 2:1-24 Joshua sent men to explore Jericho secretly
Joshua sent two men to look at Jericho, a town in the land of Canaan. A woman of Jericho called Rahab hid the two men so that the king’s soldiers could not find them. She did this because she believed that Yahweh would help the Israelites conquer their land. The men promised Rahab that if she did not betray them, they would rescue her and her family when the Israelites conquered the town. Rahab helped the men escape from Jericho and they hid in the hills for three days. When the soldiers of Jericho stopped looking for them, they returned to Joshua.
Here are some other possible section headings:
The spies went to Jericho -or-
The spies and Rahab -or-
Rahab helped the spies
Paragraph: 2:1-7
Joshua sent two spies to Jericho and they entered the house of Rahab. The king of Jericho sent soldiers to arrest them, but Rahab protected the two men. She hid the spies and told the soldiers that they had already left.
2:1a
Then: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then introduces the next event in the narrative. This is the start of a new section, and some English versions start this section with the word “then.” Translate this in a way that is natural to introduce a new section in your language.
Joshua son of Nun: You should translate this the same way you did in 1:1b.
secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying: In some languages, a literal translation would suggest that Joshua spoke to the two men after he sent them away. If this is true in your language, you need to make it clear that Joshua gave the orders to the men before they left.
Here is another way to translate this sentence:
Joshua sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies. Before he sent them, he said
secretly: The term secretly means that the two men explored the land secretly. They did not want the Canaanites to know where they came from or what they were doing.
two spies: These two men were Israelites.
spies: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as spies comes from a verb that means “go as an explorer” or “go as a spy.”
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
to explore ⌊secretly⌋ -or-
to learn about the land of Canaan -or-
to see ⌊where the land is weak⌋
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
Then Joshua, the son of Nun, chose two men from the camp at Shittim to go in secret and explore the land. Before he sent them, he said, -or-
The Israelites were staying at Shittim Campground. Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two men from there to go secretly and learn about the land. He told them,
from Shittim: Shittim was the place where the Israelites set up their tents on the east side of the Jordan River. This place is referred to in Numbers 25:1. It was northeast of the Dead Sea, opposite Jericho.
Here is another way to translate this phrase:
while the Israelites were camping at Shittim
The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Shittim means “acacia.” It is possible that there were several acacia trees in this area. Some English versions use the name “Acacia” instead of the name Shittim. If you are familiar with acacia trees, you may choose to use that term instead of Shittim.
Shittim was the name of this area, but it was not a town or a village. If you must identify it you could call it “Shittim campground” or “Shittim region.”
Here are some other ways to translate this Hebrew word:
Acacia Grove (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
Shittim ⌊campground/region⌋ -or-
Acacia ⌊campground/region⌋
2:1b
Go, inspect the land: The clause Go, inspect the land indicates that the men must go to the land of Canaan and gather information about how to conquer it.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
Go through the land and find out about it
especially Jericho: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as especially Jericho is more literally “and Jericho.” Jericho was a town in Canaan that was across the river from the Israelite camp. It was the most important town in that region. There were many towns in Canaan. Joshua told the men to find out especially about this town because they would attack it first.
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
Go through the land and find out about it, especially the town of Jericho. -or-
Go and look around the land, particularly Jericho.
2:1c
Then: The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then introduces the next event in time.
Here is another way to translate this conjunction:
and
Translate this conjunction in a way that is natural to introduce the next event in the narrative.
they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab: Rahab’s house was in Jericho. It may be clearer to make explicit that they arrived in Jericho.
Here is another way to translate this phrase:
They went ⌊to Jericho⌋ and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab
a prostitute named Rahab: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as prostitute refers to someone who has sex with other people for money.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
a prostitute. Her name was Rahab.
and stayed there: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as stayed there means “to lie down (to sleep).” The men intended to spend the night there, but they had to flee, and they left during the night.
Here is another way to translate this phrase:
they ⌊intended⌋ to stay there that night
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
Then the men went to the town of Jericho. They entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab. They planned to spend the night there. -or-
So the men arrived at Jericho, and stayed at the house of a prostitute named Rahab
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