drawn sword

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “drawn sword” in English is translated in Newari as “naked sword” (source: Newari Back Translation).

Jericho

The name that is transliterated in English as “Jericho” means “city of the moon,” “a fragrant place.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a sign that alludes to the walls of Jericho coming tumbling down (see Joshua 6:20). (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)


“Jericho” in Hungarian Sign Language — note that only the first part refers to “Jericho,” the second parts refer to “town” (source )

See also The Fall of Jericho.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jericho .

Joshua

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.


“Joshua” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Joshua .

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Josh 5:13)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the exclusive pronoun, excluding the man.

complete verse (Joshua 5:13)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 5:13:

  • Kupsabiny: “One day when Joshua had gone near to Jericho, he saw a person standing in front of him with a sword in hand. Joshua approached that person and asked, ‘Are you an enemy or are you ours?’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “When Joshua was near Jericho, he saw a man holding a sword in his hand standing before him. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or are you of our enemies?"” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “While Josue (was) there near Jerico, suddenly he saw a man standing before him holding a sword. Josue asked him, ‘(Are) you (sing.) our (excl.) soldier [yes/no question particle] or (an) enemy?’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “One day when Joshua came near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him. The man was holding a sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked him, ‘Are you going to fight for us or against us?’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 5:13

The Israelites conquered Jericho, Ai, and many other towns in the southern part of the land of Canaan. God helped them, and through these events they learned to depend on him.

Section 5:13–6:27 Israel conquered Jericho by God’s power

The Israelites followed God’s instructions and marched around the wall of Jericho town. On the seventh day the wall of the town collapsed and they conquered the town. They killed everybody in it except for Rahab and her family.

Here are some other possible section headings:

The wall of Jericho fell
-or-
The conquering of Jericho

Paragraph 5:13–15

5:13a

Now when: This sentence introduces a new section of the story. In many languages it is natural to start a new section with a time word.

Here is another way to translate this word:

One day…

Joshua was near Jericho: The Hebrew preposition that the Berean Standard Bible translates as near means that Joshua was near the town of Jericho. Perhaps he had come close to the town to spy on it and plan his strategy.

5:13b

he looked up: The Hebrew clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as he looked up is used to show that something unexpected is going to happen. It may not be natural in some languages to translate he looked up literally. Use an expression or grammatical device that shows that something surprising is going to happen. It is also possible to leave this phrase untranslated. For example:

While Joshua was near Jericho, he suddenly saw a man (Good News Translation)
-or-
One day, Joshua was near Jericho when he saw a man (Contemporary English Version)

and saw: The Hebrew expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and saw is another way that the Hebrew language focuses attention on what is going to happen next. You may have a similar expression in your language. It is also possible to leave this phrase untranslated.

5:13c

a man standing in front of him: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as man refers to a male person. Some commentators believe that this man was an angel. Others believe that this was Yahweh.

Here is another way to translate this clause:

a man stood in front of him

with a drawn sword in His hand: The phrase with a drawn sword means that he had taken the sword out of its sheath. It was in his hand and was ready to use.

5:13d

and: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and shows that this is the next event in the storyline.

Joshua approached Him and asked: The clause Joshua approached Him and asked can also be translated as:

Joshua approached the man and said

5:13e

Are You for us or for our enemies?: Joshua asked this question to find out if the man would fight with the Israelites or against them. The word enemies means “adversaries.”

for us: With the phrase for us Joshua asked the man if he was a friend of the Israelites.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

one of our friends
-or-
somebody one our side

for our enemies: With the phrase our enemies Joshua asked the man if he was an enemy of the Israelites.

one of our enemies
-or-
somebody who is against us

© 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.