Translation commentary on Joshua 6:8 - 6:9

In verse 8 Good News Translation as Joshua had ordered translates the Masoretic text (so most translations); some Hebrew manuscripts have “when Joshua ordered,” which seems to be the text translated by Soggin, “And as Joshua was addressing the people.” The Hebrew text in verse 8 has “before the LORD” and the “the ark of the covenant of the LORD following” (see Revised Standard Version); these appear to say the same thing and are combined into one statement by Good News Translation, since “before the LORD” is obviously a way of saying “ahead of the Covenant Box.”

So, just as Joshua had ordered may be translated as a separate sentence: “Everyone obeyed Joshua’s commands” or “Everyone did as Joshua had ordered.” Since a number of groups are involved in the procession, it may promote clarity to describe the actions of each group by a separate sentence:

A select group of fighting men went first. They were followed by the seven priests who constantly blew the trumpets. The priests who carried the Covenant Box came next. A second group of fighting men marched behind the Covenant Box.

Contrary to what is implicit in verse 4a, here in verse 9 the priests keep blowing the trumpets during the whole march around the city; the soldiers, however, are emphatically told not to make a sound (verse 10).

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 6:8

Paragraph 6:8–11

6:8a

After: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as After indicates that the next event in the story is happening.

Joshua had spoken to the people: It may be more natural in your language to translate the clause Joshua had spoken to the people as an independent sentence. For example:

the soldiers and priests obeyed Joshua

the people: The phrase the people refers to the soldiers and the priests who blew the trumpets and carried the ark.

6:8b

seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns before the LORD: The phrase seven priests refers to the priests who carried the trumpets and walked in front of the ark.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

the priests with their trumpets started walking ahead of the presence of Yahweh

before the LORD: The phrase before the LORD is another way to refer to the ark. The ark represented the presence of Yahweh.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

before the ark of Yahweh
-or-
before the presence of Yahweh

6:8c

advanced and blew the horns: The priests walked in front of the ark. They blew their trumpets while they walked.

6:8d

and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them: The Hebrew language uses the full term the ark of the covenant of the LORD in order to emphasize its importance. If it is not natural to repeat all this information, some of it may be left implicit. For example:

the ark of Yahweh
-or-
the ark of the covenant

If possible, use a way to add emphasis that is natural in your language.

followed them: Verse 6:8b has already mentioned that the priests went ahead of the ark. It may not be natural in your language to include the information that the ark followed them. If you include this information, it may be necessary to make explicit that some of the priests carried the ark. For example:

behind these came the priests who were carrying the covenant box (Good News Translation)

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