Joshua 6:1–12:24

Footnotes

1. 1 For location see ; ; ; ; ; .
2. 2 Heb “was shutting and shut up.” 2: paraphrases, “blocking [any way of access] and blocked [against any who would leave].”
3. 3 Heb “there was no one going out and there was no one coming in.”
4. 4 Heb “I have given into your hand Jericho.” The Hebrew verb נָתַתִּי (natatti, “I have given”) is probably best understood as a perfect of certitude, indicating the certainty of the action. The Hebrew pronominal suffix “your” is singular, being addressed to Joshua as the leader and representative of the nation. To convey to the modern reader what is about to happen and who is doing it, the translation “I am about to defeat Jericho for you” has been used.
5. 5 Heb “and go around the city, all [you] men of war, encircling the city one time.” The Hebrew verb וְסַבֹּתֶם (vésabbotem, “and go around”) is plural, being addressed to the whole army.
6. 6 Heb “rams’ horns, trumpets.”
7. 7 Heb “and it will be at the sounding of the horn, the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn.” The text of Josh 6:5 seems to be unduly repetitive, so for the sake of English style and readability, it is best to streamline the text here. The reading in the Hebrew looks like a conflation of variant readings, with the second (“when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn”) being an interpolation that assimilates the text to verse 20 (“when the army heard the sound of the horn”). Note that the words “when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn” do not appear in the of verse 5.
8. 8 Heb “all the people will shout with a loud shout.”
9. 9 Heb “fall in its place.”
10. 10 Heb “and the people will go up, each man straight ahead.”
11. 11 An alternative reading is “and they said.” In this case the subject is indefinite and the verb should be translated as passive, “[the army] was told.”
12. 12 Heb “the people.”
13. 13 Heb “pass by.”
14. 14 Heb “when Joshua spoke to the people.”
15. 15 Heb “the people.”
16. 16 Or “the shout.”
17. 17 Heb “do not let a word come out of your mouths.”
18. 18 Or “the shout.”
19. 19 Or “the shout.”
20. 20 Heb “and he made the ark of the Lord go around the city, encircling one time.”
21. 21 Heb “and they entered the camp and spent the night in the camp.”
22. 22 Heb “Joshua rose early in the morning and the priests picked up the ark of the Lord.”
23. 23 Heb “On the seventh day they rose early, when the dawn ascended.”
24. 24 Heb “and they went around the city according to this manner seven times, only on that day they went around the city seven times.”
25. 25 Heb “the people.”
26. 26 Or “the shout.”
27. 27 Heb “for the Lord has given to you the city.” The verbal form is a perfect, probably indicating certitude here.
28. 28 Or “dedicated to the Lord.” To make the city set apart for the Lord would involve annihilating all the people and animals and placing its riches in the Lord’s treasury (vv. 19, 21, 24).
29. 29 Heb “messengers.”
30. 30 Heb “Only you keep [away] from what is set apart [to the Lord] so that you might not, as you are setting [it] apart, take some of what is set apart [to the Lord] and make the camp of Israel set apart [to destruction by the Lord] and bring trouble on it.”
31. 31 Heb “it is holy to the Lord.”
32. 32 Heb “and the people shouted and they blew the rams’ horns.” The initial statement (“and the people shouted”) seems premature, since the verse goes on to explain that the battle cry followed the blowing of the horns. The statement has probably been accidentally duplicated from what follows. It is omitted in the .
33. 33 Heb “the people.”
34. 34 Heb “the sound of the horn.”
35. 35 Heb “they shouted with a loud shout.”
36. 36 Heb “fell in its place.”
37. 37 Heb “and the people went up into the city, each one straight ahead, and they captured the city.”
38. 38 Heb “all which was in the city.”
39. 39 Heb “the house of the woman, the prostitute.”
40. 40 Heb “and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her as you swore on oath to her.”
41. 41 Or “placed them outside.”
42. 42 The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”
43. 43 Heb “the treasury of the house of the Lord.” Technically the Lord did not have a “house” yet, so perhaps this refers to the tabernacle using later terminology.
44. 44 Heb “kept alive.”
45. 45 Heb the house of her father.”
46. 46 Or “among the Israelites”; Heb “in the midst of Israel.”
47. 47 For location see ; ; ; ; ; .
48. 48 Normally the Hiphil of שָׁבַע (shava’) has a causative sense (“make [someone] take an oath”; see Josh 2:17, 20), but here (see also Josh 23:7) no object is stated or implied. If Joshua is calling divine judgment down upon the one who attempts to rebuild Jericho, then “make a solemn appeal [to God as judge]” or “pronounce a curse” would be an appropriate translation. However, the tone seems stronger. Joshua appears to be announcing the certain punishment of the violator. 1 Kgs 16:34, which records the fulfillment of Joshua’s prediction, supports this. Casting Joshua in a prophetic role, it refers to Joshua’s statement as the “word of the Lord” spoken through Joshua.
49. 49 Heb “rises up and builds.”
50. 50 The omits “Jericho.” It is probably a scribal addition.
51. 51 The Hebrew phrase אָרוּר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה (’arur lifney yéhvah, “cursed [i.e., condemned] before the Lord”) also occurs in 1 Sam 26:19.
52. 52 Heb “With his firstborn he will lay its foundations and with his youngest he will erect its gates.” The Hebrew verb יַצִּיב (yatsiv, “he will erect”) is imperfect, not jussive, suggesting Joshua’s statement is a prediction, not an imprecation.
53. 53 Heb “and the report about him was in all the land.” The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”) may also be translated “earth.”
54. 1 Heb “But the sons of Israel were unfaithful with unfaithfulness concerning what was set apart [to the Lord].”
55. 2 1 Chr 2:6 lists a “Zimri” (but no Zabdi) as one of the five sons of Zerah (cf. also 1 Chr 7:17, 18).
56. 3 Heb “took from what was set apart [to the Lord].”
57. 4 Heb “the anger of the Lord burned against the sons of Israel.” This incident illustrates well the principle of corporate solidarity and corporate guilt. The sin of one man brought the Lord’s anger down upon the entire nation.
58. 5 For location see ; ; ; ; ; .
59. 6 For the location of Bethel see ; ; ; ; .
60. 7 Heb “and they returned to Joshua and said to him.”
61. 8 Heb “Don’t let all the people go up.”
62. 9 Heb “Let about two thousand men or about three thousand men go up to defeat Ai.”
63. 10 Heb “all the people for they are small.”
64. 11 The meaning and correct translation of the Hebrew word שְׁבָרִים (shévarim) is uncertain. The translation “fissures” is based on usage of the plural form of the noun in Ps 60:4 (60:2 ), where it appears to refer to cracks in the earth caused by an earthquake. Perhaps deep ravines or gorges are in view, or the word is a proper noun (“all the way to Shebarim”).
65. 12 The precise geographical location of the Israelite defeat at this “steep slope” is uncertain.
66. 13 Or “army’s.”
67. 14 Heb “and the heart of the people melted and became water.”
68. 15 Tearing one’s clothes was an outward expression of extreme sorrow (see Gen 37:34; 44:13).
69. 16 Or “elders.”
70. 17 Heb “and fell on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel.”
71. 18 Throwing dirt on one’s head was an outward expression of extreme sorrow (see Lam 2:10; Ezek 27:30).
72. 19 Heb “said.”
73. 20 Heb “turned [the] back.”
74. 21 Heb “and cut off our name.”
75. 22 Heb “What will you do for your great name?”
76. 23 Heb “said.”
77. 24 Heb “Why are you falling on your face?”
78. 25 Heb “They have violated my covenant which I commanded them.”
79. 26 Heb “what was set apart [to the Lord].”
80. 27 Heb “and also they have stolen, and also they have lied, and also they have placed [them] among their items.”
81. 28 Heb “they turn [the] back before their enemies because they are set apart [to destruction by the Lord].”
82. 29 The second person pronoun is plural in Hebrew, indicating these words are addressed to the entire nation.
83. 30 Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the Lord] from your midst.”
84. 31 Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the Lord] [is] in your midst.”
85. 32 Heb “remove what is set apart [i.e., to destruction by the Lord] from your midst.”
86. 33 Heb “by your tribes.”
87. 34 Heb “takes forcefully, seizes.”
88. 35 Heb “houses.”
89. 36 Heb “by men.”
90. 37 Heb “with what was set apart [to the Lord].”
91. 38 Heb “burned with fire.”
92. 39 Heb “by tribes.”
93. 40 See the note on “Zabdi” in .
94. 41 Heb “and he selected Zabdi.” The Lord is the apparent subject. The supports reading a passive (Niphal) form here, as does the immediate context.
95. 42 Heb “his”; the referent (Zabdi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
96. 43 Heb “by men.”
97. 44 Heb “give glory to.”
98. 45 Heb “like this and like this I did.”
99. 46 Heb “Shinar,” a reference to Babylon (cf. Gen 10:10; 11:2; 14:1). Many modern translations retain the Hebrew name “Shinar” (cf. , ) but some use the more familiar “Babylon” (cf. , ).
100. 47 Heb “shekels.”
101. 48 Heb “Look, [it was] hidden in his tent, and the silver was beneath it.”
102. 49 Heb “poured out,” probably referring to the way the silver pieces poured out of their container.
103. 50 Or “Trouble” The name is “Achor” in Hebrew, which means “disaster” or “trouble” (also in v. 26).
104. 51 Or “trouble.” The word is “achor” in Hebrew (also in the following clause).
105. 52 Heb “and they burned them with fire and they stoned them with stones.” These words are somewhat parenthetical in nature and are omitted in the ; they may represent a later scribal addition.
106. 53 Heb “to this day.” The phrase “to this day” is omitted in the and may represent a later scribal addition.
107. 1 Or perhaps “and don’t get discouraged!”
108. 2 Heb “Take with you all the people of war and arise, go up against Ai!”
109. 3 Heb “I have given into our hand.” The verbal form, a perfect, is probably best understood as a perfect of certitude, indicating the certainty of the action.
110. 4 For location see ; ; ; ; ; .
111. 5 “And Joshua and all the people of war arose to go up [against] Ai.”
112. 6 Or “commanded, ordered.”
113. 7 Heb “the people.”
114. 8 Heb “come out after.”
115. 9 Heb “from the ambush.”
116. 10 Heb “take possession of.”
117. 11 Heb “the city.”
118. 12 Heb “I have commanded you.”
119. 13 Or “the place of ambush.”
120. 14 For location see ; ; ; ; .
121. 15 Heb “and they stayed between Bethel and Ai, west of Ai.”
122. 16 Heb “in the midst of the people.”