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 .

complete verse (Joshua 8:21)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 8:21:

  • Kupsabiny: “When Joshua and the soldiers of Israel saw the smoke billowing from the city, they knew that the soldiers who had hidden had taken Ai. So, they turned back against the men of Ai and fought them.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “When Joshua and all the troops saw that those who had been hiding had conquered and taken the city and that smoke was coming out of it, they turned around and killed the men of Ai.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “For when Josue and his men saw that their companions had- now -entered/gone-inside the city and they were- now -burning this, they turned-back and attacked those from-Ai.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Joshua and his men saw that the men who had been hiding had captured the city and were burning it, and they saw the smoke rising. So they turned around and started to attack the men of Ai.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Joshua 8:21

Verse 21 essentially repeats the information in verse 20, but this time the focus is on the Israelites, while in verse 20 it is on the enemy.

Because of the duplication of information in verses 20-21, the two may be translated as a unit. Such restructuring may be advisable, since there is already a good deal of repetition in the narrative. One pattern might be:

• When the men from Ai looked back, they saw the smoke from their city rising to the sky. Joshua and his men also saw the smoke, and they knew that the other Israelite soldiers had captured the city and set it on fire. Now there was no place where the men of Ai could run for safety. So Joshua and his men turned around and began killing them.

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 8:21

8:21a

When The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as When is used to give prominence to Joshua and his men and what they saw. You should translate the word with a connecting word that is most natural in your language. In some languages it may be most natural to omit them.

Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city: The phrase Joshua and all Israel refers to Joshua and the soldiers who were with him.

the men in ambush: The phrase the men in ambush refers to the men who were hiding behind Ai.

had captured the city: The clause had captured the city indicates that the soldiers who were in hiding had attacked the town and defeated Ai.

8:21b

and that smoke was rising from it: The clause that smoke was rising from it indicates that the town was burning. The smoke was the visible signal of this for them.

8:21c

they turned around: The clause they turned around indicates that Joshua and the soldiers with him stopped running away. They turned around to face the soldiers of Ai.

and struck down the men of Ai: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as struck is more literally “hit.” This is an idiom. It means that the Israelite soldiers attacked them.

© 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.