Joshua 22-24

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Joshua 22:2 tn Heb “You have kept all which Moses, the Lord’s servant, commanded you, and you have listened to my voice, to all which I commanded you.”
2. Joshua 22:3 tn Heb “your brothers” (also in vv. 4, 7), but this does not refer to siblings or necessarily even to relatives. It refers to the Israelites of the remaining tribes.
3. Joshua 22:3 tn Heb “these many days.”
4. Joshua 22:3 tn Heb “you have kept the charge of the command of the Lord your God.”
5. Joshua 22:4 tn Heb “has given rest to your brothers.”
6. Joshua 22:4 tn Heb “tents.”
7. Joshua 22:4 tn Heb “the land of your possession.”
8. Joshua 22:5 tn Heb “But be very careful to do the commandment and the law which Moses, the Lord’s servant, commanded you, to love.”
9. Joshua 22:5 tn Heb “walk in all his paths.”
10. Joshua 22:5 tn Or “keep.”
11. Joshua 22:5 tn Heb “hug him.”
12. Joshua 22:5 tn Or “soul.”
13. Joshua 22:6 tn Heb “blessed.” However, see v. 8, where rewards are given.
14. Joshua 22:6 tn Heb “and they went to their tents.”
15. Joshua 22:7 tn Heb “to their tents.”
16. Joshua 22:7 tn Heb “blessed.”
17. Joshua 22:8 tn Heb “return to your tents with.”
18. Joshua 22:8 tn Heb “very many cattle.”
19. Joshua 22:8 tn Heb “very much clothing.”
20. Joshua 22:9 tn Heb “returned and went from the sons of Israel, from Shiloh which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession.”
21. Joshua 22:10 tn Heb “and they went to Geliloth of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, and the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar near the Jordan, an altar great with respect to appearance.”
22. Joshua 22:11 tn Heb “the sons of Israel heard, saying.”
23. Joshua 22:11 tn Heb “toward the front of.”
24. Joshua 22:12 tn Heb “to go up against them for battle.”
25. Joshua 22:14 tn Heb “ten leaders with him, one leader, one leader for a paternal house, for all the tribes of Israel, and each a head of the house of their father, they belong to the clans of Israel.”
26. Joshua 22:16 tn Heb “What is this unfaithfulness with which you have been unfaithful against the God of Israel, turning today from after the Lord, when you built for yourselves an altar, rebelling today against the Lord?”
27. Joshua 22:17 tn Heb “Was the sin of Peor too insignificant for us, from which we have not made purification to this day? And there was a plague in the assembly of the Lord.”
28. Joshua 22:18 tn Heb “you are turning back.”
29. Joshua 22:18 tn Or “he will be angry with.”
30. Joshua 22:19 tn Heb “the land of your possession.”
31. Joshua 22:19 sn The western tribes here imagine a possible motive for the action of the eastern tribes. T. C. Butler explains the significance of the land’s “impurity”: “East Jordan is impure because it is not Yahweh’s possession. Rather it is simply ‘your possession.’ That means it is land where Yahweh does not live, land which his presence has not sanctified and purified” (Joshua [WBC], 247).
32. Joshua 22:19 tn Heb “the land of the possession of the Lord.”
33. Joshua 22:19 tn Heb “where the dwelling place of the Lord resides.”sn The phrase where the Lord himself lives refers to the tabernacle.
34. Joshua 22:19 tn Heb “and take for yourselves in our midst.”
35. Joshua 22:19 tc Heb “and us to you rebel.” The reading of the MT, the accusative sign with suffix (וְאֹתָנוּ, v^eʾotanu), is problematic with the verb “rebel” (מָרַד, marad). Many Hebrew mss correctly read the negative particle אַל (ʾal) for the preposition אֶל (ʾel, “to”).
36. Joshua 22:20 tn Heb “Is it not [true that] Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful with unfaithfulness concerning what was set apart [to the Lord] and against all the assembly of Israel there was anger?”
37. Joshua 22:20 tn The second half of the verse reads literally, “and he [was] one man, he did not die for his sin.” There are at least two possible ways to explain this statement: (1) One might interpret the statement to mean that Achan was not the only person who died for his sin. In this case it could be translated, “and he was not the only one to die because of his sin.” (2) Another option, the one reflected in the translation, is to take the words וְהוּא אִישׁ אֶחָד (v^ehuʾ ʾish ʾekhad, “and he [was] one man”) as a concessive clause and join it with what precedes. The remaining words (לֹא גָוַע בַּעֲוֹנוֹ, loʾ gavaʿ baʿavono) must then be taken as a rhetorical question (“Did he not die for his sin?”). Taking the last sentence as interrogative is consistent with the first part of the verse, a rhetorical question introduced with the interrogative particle. The present translation has converted these rhetorical questions into affirmative statements to bring out more clearly the points they are emphasizing. For further discussion, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 240.
38. Joshua 22:21 tn Heb “answered and spoke to the heads of.”
39. Joshua 22:22 sn Israel’s God is here identified with three names: (1) אֵל (ʾel), “El” (or “God”); (2) אֱלֹהִים (ʾelohim), “Elohim” (or “God”), and (3) יְהוָה (y^ehvah), “Yahweh” (or “the Lord”). The name אֵל (ʾel, “El”) is often compounded with titles, for example, El Elyon, “God Most High.”
40. Joshua 22:22 tn Heb “he knows.”
41. Joshua 22:22 tn Heb “if in rebellion or if in unfaithfulness against the Lord.”
42. Joshua 22:22 tn Heb “do not save us.” The verb form is singular, being addressed to either collective Israel or the Lord himself. The LXX translates in the third person.
43. Joshua 22:23 tn Heb “by building.” The prepositional phrase may be subordinated to what precedes, “if in unfaithfulness…by building.”
44. Joshua 22:23 tn Heb “or if to offer up.”
45. Joshua 22:23 tn Heb “or if to make.”
46. Joshua 22:23 tn Or “peace offerings.”
47. Joshua 22:23 tn Heb “the Lord, he will seek.” Perhaps this is a self-imprecation in an oath, “may the Lord himself punish us.”
48. Joshua 22:24 tn Heb “Surely, from worry concerning a matter we have done this, saying.”
49. Joshua 22:24 tn Heb “What is there to you and to the Lord God of Israel?” The rhetorical question is sarcastic in tone and anticipates a response, “Absolutely none!”
50. Joshua 22:25 tn Heb “You have no portion in the Lord.”
51. Joshua 22:25 tn Heb “fearing.”
52. Joshua 22:27 tn Heb “but it is a witness between us and you.”
53. Joshua 22:27 tn Heb “to do the service of the Lord before him.”
54. Joshua 22:27 tn Or “peace offerings.”
55. Joshua 22:27 tn Heb “You have no portion in the Lord.”
56. Joshua 22:28 tn The words “such a thing” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
57. Joshua 22:28 tn Heb “fathers.”
58. Joshua 22:28 tn Heb “but it is a witness between us and you.”
59. Joshua 22:29 tn Or “peace offerings.”
60. Joshua 22:29 sn The Lord’s dwelling place here refers to the tabernacle.
61. Joshua 22:30 tn Heb “the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh.”
62. Joshua 22:30 tn Heb “it was good in their eyes.”
63. Joshua 22:31 tn Heb “the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh.”
64. Joshua 22:31 tn Heb “because you were not unfaithful with this unfaithfulness against the Lord.”
65. Joshua 22:31 tn On the use of אָז (ʾaz) in a logical sense, see IBHS 667 §39.3.4f.
66. Joshua 22:31 tn Heb “the hand (i.e., power) of the Lord.”
67. Joshua 22:32 tn Heb “and Phinehas…returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel. And they brought back to them a word.”
68. Joshua 22:33 tn Heb “and the word was good in the eyes of the sons of Israel and the sons of Israel blessed God.”
69. Joshua 22:33 tn Heb “and they did not speak about going up against them for battle to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad were living.”
70. Joshua 22:34 tn Heb “a witness between us.”
71. Joshua 23:1 tn Heb “many days.”
72. Joshua 23:1 tn Heb “the Lord had given rest to Israel from their enemies all around.”
73. Joshua 23:1 tn Heb “was old, coming into the days.” This expression, referring to advancing in years, also occurs in the following verse.
74. Joshua 23:3 tn Heb “for the Lord your God, he [is] the one who fights for you.”
75. Joshua 23:4 tn Heb “I have assigned by lots to you these remaining nations as an inheritance for your tribes.”
76. Joshua 23:4 tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.
77. Joshua 23:4 tn Heb “from the Jordan and all the nations which I cut off and the Great Sea [at] the place where the sun sets.” The relationship of the second half of the verse, which mentions nations already conquered, to the first half, which speaks of “remaining nations,” is difficult to understand.
78. Joshua 23:5 tn The Hebrew text reads, “from before you.” This has not been included in the translation because it is redundant in English.
79. Joshua 23:5 tn Or “take possession of.”
80. Joshua 23:5 tn Heb “said to.”
81. Joshua 23:6 tn Heb “Be strong so you can be careful to do.”
82. Joshua 23:7 tn Heb “with.”
83. Joshua 23:7 tn Heb “and in the name of their gods you must not invoke and you must not make solemn declarations.” The words “and you must not make solemn declarations” are omitted in the LXX and may represent a later scribal addition to elucidate the immediately preceding command. The Hiphil of שָׁבַע (shavaʿ) without an object occurs only here and in Josh 6:26.
84. Joshua 23:7 tn Or “serve.”
85. Joshua 23:8 tn Heb “hug.”
86. Joshua 23:8 tn Heb “done.”
87. Joshua 23:9 tn Heb “not a man has stood before you.”
88. Joshua 23:10 tn Or “chases a thousand.”
89. Joshua 23:10 tn Heb “for the Lord your God, he [is] the one who fights for you.”
90. Joshua 23:10 tn Heb “as he said to you.”
91. Joshua 23:11 tn Heb “Watch carefully yourselves so as to love the Lord your God.”
92. Joshua 23:12 tn Heb “and hug.”
93. Joshua 23:12 tn Heb “the remnant of the these nations, these nations that are with you.”
94. Joshua 23:12 tn Heb “and go into them, and they into you.”
95. Joshua 23:13 tn Heb “be a trap and a snare to you.”
96. Joshua 23:13 tn Heb “in.”
97. Joshua 23:13 tn Heb “thorns in your eyes.”
98. Joshua 23:13 tn Or “perish.”
99. Joshua 23:14 tn Heb “go the way of all the earth.”
100. Joshua 23:14 tn Or “soul.”
101. Joshua 23:14 tn Heb “one word from all these words which the Lord your God spoke to you has not fallen, the whole has come to pass for you, one word from it has not fallen.”
102. Joshua 23:15 tn Heb “and it will be as every good word which the Lord your God spoke to you has come to pass.”
103. Joshua 23:15 tn Heb “so the Lord will bring every injurious [or “evil”] word [or “thing”] upon you.”
104. Joshua 23:16 tn Heb “when you violate the covenant of the Lord your God which he commanded you.”
105. Joshua 23:16 tn Heb “and you walk and serve other gods and bow down to them.”
106. Joshua 23:16 tn Or “perish.”
107. Joshua 24:2 tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.
108. Joshua 24:2 tn Or “served.”
109. Joshua 24:3 tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.
110. Joshua 24:3 tn Or “through.”
111. Joshua 24:4 tn Heb “I gave to Esau Mount Seir to possess it.”
112. Joshua 24:5 tn Heb “by that which I did in its midst.”
113. Joshua 24:7 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the fathers) has been specified in the translation for clarity (see the previous verse).
114. Joshua 24:7 tn Or “put darkness between you and the Egyptians.”
115. Joshua 24:7 tn Heb “and he brought over them the sea and covered them.”
116. Joshua 24:7 tn Heb “your eyes saw.”
117. Joshua 24:7 tn Heb “many days.”
118. Joshua 24:8 tn Or “took possession of.”
119. Joshua 24:9 tn Heb “arose and fought.”
120. Joshua 24:9 tn Heb “sent and called.”
121. Joshua 24:9 tn Or “to curse.”
122. Joshua 24:10 tn The infinitive absolute follows the finite verb in the Hebrew text and indicates continuation or repetition of the action. Balaam pronounced several oracles of blessing over Israel (see Num 23-24).
123. Joshua 24:10 tn Heb “blessing.” Balaam’s “blessings” were actually prophecies of how God would prosper Israel.
124. Joshua 24:10 tn Heb “hand.”
125. Joshua 24:11 tn Or perhaps, “citizens.”
126. Joshua 24:12 tn Traditionally, “the hornet” (so KJV, NKJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV) but the precise meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain (cf. NEB “panic”).
127. Joshua 24:12 tn The LXX has “twelve,” apparently understanding this as a reference to Amorite kings west of the Jordan (see Josh 5:1, rather than the trans-Jordanian Amorite kings Sihon and Og (see Josh 2:10; 9:10).
128. Joshua 24:12 tn Heb “and it drove them out from before you, the two kings of the Amorites, not by your sword and not by your bow.” The words “I gave you the victory” are supplied for clarification.
129. Joshua 24:13 tn Or perhaps, “for.”
130. Joshua 24:13 tn The words “the produce of” are supplied for clarification.
131. Joshua 24:14 sn Joshua quotes the Lord’s words in vv. 2b-13 (note that the Lord speaks in the first person in these verses); in vv. 14-15 Joshua himself exhorts the people (note the third person references to the Lord).
132. Joshua 24:14 tn Heb “fear.”
133. Joshua 24:14 tn Or “and serve.”
134. Joshua 24:14 tn Heb “your fathers.”
135. Joshua 24:14 tn Or “served.”
136. Joshua 24:14 tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.
137. Joshua 24:14 tn Or “and serve.”
138. Joshua 24:15 tn Heb “if it is bad in your eyes.”
139. Joshua 24:15 tn Or “to serve.”
140. Joshua 24:15 tn Or “will serve.”
141. Joshua 24:15 tn Heb “your fathers.”
142. Joshua 24:15 tn Or “served.”
143. Joshua 24:15 tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.
144. Joshua 24:15 tn Heb “house.”
145. Joshua 24:15 tn Or “will serve.”
146. Joshua 24:16 tn Heb “to.”
147. Joshua 24:16 tn Or “can serve.”
148. Joshua 24:17 tn Heb “of the house of slavery.”
149. Joshua 24:17 tn Heb “for the Lord our God, he is the one who brought up us and our fathers from the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves.”
150. Joshua 24:17 tn Or “great signs.”
151. Joshua 24:17 tn Heb “and he guarded us in all the way in which we walked and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed.”
152. Joshua 24:18 tn Or “will serve.”
153. Joshua 24:19 tn Heb “said to.”
154. Joshua 24:19 tn Heb “you are not able to serve.”
155. Joshua 24:19 sn For an excellent discussion of Joshua’s logical argument here, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 274-75.
156. Joshua 24:19 tn In the Hebrew text both the divine name (אֱלֹהִים, ʾelohim) and the adjective (קְדֹשִׁים, q^edoshim, “holy”) are plural. Normally the divine name, when referring to the one true God, takes singular modifiers, but this is a rare exception where the adjective agrees grammatically with the honorific plural noun. See GKC §124.i and IBHS 122.
157. Joshua 24:19 tn Heb “lift up” or “take away.”sn This assertion obviously needs qualification, for the OT elsewhere affirms that God does forgive. Joshua is referring to the persistent national rebellion against the Mosaic covenant that eventually causes God to decree unconditionally the nation’s exile.
158. Joshua 24:20 tn Or “when.”
159. Joshua 24:20 tn Or “and serve.”
160. Joshua 24:20 tn The words “against you” are added for clarification.
161. Joshua 24:20 tn Heb “bring you to an end.”
162. Joshua 24:20 tn Heb “after he did good for you.”
163. Joshua 24:21 tn The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is emphatic. Another option is to take it as explanatory, “No, for we will….”
164. Joshua 24:21 tn Or “will serve.”
165. Joshua 24:22 tn Heb “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the Lord to serve him.”
166. Joshua 24:22 sn Like witnesses in a court of law, Israel’s solemn vow to worship the Lord will testify against them in the divine court if the nation ever violates its commitment.
167. Joshua 24:23 tn The words “Joshua said” are supplied for clarification.
168. Joshua 24:23 tn Heb “bend your heart toward.” The term לֵבָב (levav, “heart”) probably here refers to the people’s volition or will.
169. Joshua 24:24 tn Or “will serve.”
170. Joshua 24:24 tn Heb “and listen to his voice.”
171. Joshua 24:25 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
172. Joshua 24:25 tn Heb “a statute and a judgment.”
173. Joshua 24:27 tn Heb “all the words of the Lord which he spoke with us.”
174. Joshua 24:27 tn Or “lest,” “so that you might not.”
175. Joshua 24:28 tn Heb “And Joshua sent the people away, each to his inheritance.”
176. Joshua 24:29 tn Heb “after these things.”
177. Joshua 24:30 tn Heb “in the territory of his inheritance.”
178. Joshua 24:31 tn Or “served.”
179. Joshua 24:31 tn Heb “all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived him.”
180. Joshua 24:31 tn Heb “who knew all the work of the Lord which he had done for Israel.”
181. Joshua 24:32 tn Heb “one hundred qesitahs.” The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (q^esitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value and/or weight is unknown. The word occurs only here and in Gen 33:19 and Job 42:11.
182. Joshua 24:32 tn Heb “and they became for the sons of Joseph an inheritance.” One might think “bones” is the subject of the verb “they became,” but the verb is masculine, while “bones” is feminine. The translation follows the emendation suggested in the BHS note, which appeals to the Syriac and Vulgate for support. The emended reading understands “the part (of the field)” as the subject of the verb “became.” The emended verb is feminine singular; this agrees with “the part” (of the field), which is feminine in Hebrew.
183. Joshua 24:33 tn Heb “in Gibeah of Phinehas, his son, which had been given to him in the hill country of Ephraim.”