complete verse (Joshua 7:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 7:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then soldiers who reached three thousand went for the raid. But the soldiers of Ai defeated them.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “So only about 3000 men went there but the ones of the men of Ai defeated them and forced them to run away.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “So about 3,000 Israelinhon attacked Ai, but they were-caused-to-withdraw/turn-back by those from-Ai.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “So about 3,000 Israeli men went to attack Ai. But the men of Ai defeated them badly.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Joshua 7:4 - 7:5

In order to make a tighter connection between this and the previous verse, one may translate “So Joshua sent about three thousand Israelite men to attack the city.” The second clause (but they were forced to retreat) may be shifted to an active: “but the people of the city forced them to retreat.”

The Israelites were not able to force their way into Ai; they were repulsed at the city gate, and fled down the hill. The place name “Shebarim” (An American Translation, Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible) in Hebrew means “quarries” and has been translated that way by Good News Translation, New English Bible; Soggin translates “ravines”; the Septuagint seems to have understood the Hebrew text to mean, “and they defeated them.”

The sequence of events in this verse is not entirely clear in Good News Translation. One could assume that the sequence is (1) from the city gate, (2) as far as some quarries, and then (3) down the hill. However, the proper sequence seems to be: (1) from the city gate, (2) down the hill, and then (3) as far as some quarries. The verse may need to be restructured: “The men of Ai chased them from the city gate and all the way down the hill as far as some quarries. On the way down the hill they killed about thirty-six of the Israelite men.” Following a slightly different interpretation of the text, one may translate “The men of Ai chased them from the city gate to the place where the rock makes a steep slope, and they killed about thirty-six of the Israelite men.”

Before this unexpected defeat, the Israelites lost their courage and were afraid (literally “their hearts melted, and became like water,” see Revised Standard Version). Lost their courage and were afraid may sound either redundant or anticlimactic. The Hebrew in fact indicates only a single reaction, although two figures of speech are used (“hearts melted” and “like water”). Many languages will have idiomatic ways of expressing fear; moreover, it is also possible to translate either lost their courage or were afraid, without utilizing both figures of speech.

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 7:4

7:4a

So: The Berean Standard Bible inserts the word So, which is not found in the Hebrew text. This introduces the result of the advice in 7:3d. Many English versions introduce this result with the word “so.”

Consider what is the most natural way in your language to indicate a result connection.

about three thousand men went up: This clause implies that Joshua sent the three thousand men to Ai, as the spies suggested. In some languages it may be more natural to make this explicit. For example:

Joshua sent about three thousand soldiers to attack Ai (Contemporary English Version)

Notice that the Contemporary English Version included the reason why the men went to Ai, that is, to attack. It may be helpful to make that clear in your translation in some way.

men: The word men indicates “from among the Israelite army.” Only three thousand Israelite soldiers went to Ai. Some English versions omit this phrase because it is implied by the context.

went up: The town of Ai was at a higher elevation than the Israelite camp at Gilgal. The Hebrew language keeps track of elevation, and thus has the word up.

7:4b

but: The Hebrew prefix that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but introduces the next event in the storyline. Mark this next event in a way that is most natural in your language.

Many English versions use a contrastive connector such as but or “however” to show that what happened next is contrary-to-expectation. For example:

but they were routed by the men of Ai (New International Version)

Translate this contrary-to-expectation relation in a way that is most natural in your language.

they fled before the men of Ai: The Hebrew text implies that the Israelites attacked Ai. The men of Ai defeated the Israelites so that the Israelites ran away from the battle. In some languages it may be helpful to make some of this information explicit. For example:

⌊When the soldiers arrived at Ai, they attacked the town. The men of Ai defeated them and⌋ they ran from the battle

they: The word they refers to the three thousand Israelite men.

fled: The word fled indicates that the Israelite army had to run away from the people who were defending Ai.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

they turned back
-or-
they ran away

the men of Ai: This phrase refers to the men who lived in Ai and were defending it against the Israelites. Because they were fighting a battle they could be called:

the soldiers of Ai

© 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.