Joshua 1:14

1:14 Your wives, children and cattle may stay in the land that Moses assigned to you east of the Jordan River. But all you warriors must cross over armed for battle ahead of your brothers. ¹  You must help them

Joshua 5:4

5:4 This is why Joshua had to circumcise them: All the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt died on the journey through the desert after they left Egypt. ² 

Joshua 5:12

5:12 The manna stopped appearing the day they ate ³  some of the produce of the land; the Israelites never ate manna again. ⁴ 

Joshua 5:14

5:14 He answered, ⁵  “Truly I am the commander of the Lord’s army. ⁶  Now I have arrived!” ⁷  Joshua bowed down with his face to the ground ⁸  and asked, “What does my master want to say to his servant?”

Joshua 7:5

7:5 The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them and chased them from in front of the city gate all the way to the fissures ⁹  and defeated them on the steep slope. ¹⁰  The people’s ¹¹  courage melted away like water. ¹² 

Joshua 17:9

17:9 The border then descended southward to the Valley of Kanah. Ephraim was assigned cities there among the cities of Manasseh, ¹³  but the border of Manasseh was north of the valley and ended at the sea.

Joshua 18:17

18:17 It went northward, extending to En Shemesh and Geliloth opposite the Pass ¹⁴  of Adummim, and descended to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben.

Joshua 19:27

19:27 It turned eastward toward Beth Dagon, touched Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah El to the north, as well as the Valley of Emek and Neiel, and extended to Cabul on the north ¹⁵ 

Joshua 21:44

21:44 The Lord made them secure, ¹⁶  in fulfillment of all he had solemnly promised their ancestors. ¹⁷  None of their enemies could resist them. ¹⁸ 

Joshua 22:20

22:20 When Achan son of Zerah disobeyed the command about the city’s riches, the entire Israelite community was judged, ¹⁹  though only one man had sinned. He most certainly died for his sin!’” ²⁰ 

¹ tn Heb “But you must cross over armed for battle before your brothers, all [you] mighty men of strength.”

² tn Heb “All the people who went out from Egypt, the males, all the men of war, died in the desert in the way when they went out from Egypt.”

³ tn Heb “the day after, when they ate.” The present translation assumes this means the day after the Passover, though it is possible it refers to the day after they began eating the land’s produce.

⁴ tn Heb “and the sons of Israel had no more manna.”

⁴ tc Heb “He said, “Neither.” An alternative reading is לוֹ (lo, “[He said] to him”; cf. NEB). This reading is supported by many Hebrew mss, as well as the LXX and Syriac versions. The traditional reading of the MT (לֹא, lo’, “no, neither”) is probably the product of aural confusion (the two variant readings sound the same in Hebrew). Although followed by a number of modern translations (cf. NIV, NRSV), this reading is problematic, for the commander of the Lord’s army would hardly have declared himself neutral.

⁵ sn The Lord’s heavenly army, like an earthly army, has a commander who leads the troops. For the phrase שַׂר־צְבָא (sar-tsÿva’, “army commander”) in the human sphere, see among many other references Gen 21:22, 32; 26:26; Judg 4:2, 7; 1 Sam 12:9.

⁶ sn The commander’s appearance seems to be for Joshua’s encouragement. Joshua could now lead Israel into battle knowing that the Lord’s invisible army would ensure victory.

⁷ tn Heb “Joshua fell on his face to the ground and bowed down.”

⁵ tn The meaning and correct translation of the Hebrew word שְׁבָרִים (shÿvarim) is uncertain. The translation “fissures” is based on usage of the plural form of the noun in Ps 60:4 HT (60:2 ET), 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”).

⁶ sn The precise geographical location of the Israelite defeat at this “steep slope” is uncertain.

⁷ tn Or “army’s.”

⁸ tn Heb “and the heart of the people melted and became water.”

⁶ tn Heb “these cities belonged to Ephraim in the midst of the cities of Manasseh.”

⁷ tn Or “ascent.”

⁸ tn Heb “left.”

⁹ tn Heb “gave them rest all around.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “according to all he swore to their fathers.”

¹¹ tn Heb “not a man stood from before them from all their enemies.”

¹⁰ 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?”

¹¹ 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 (vÿhu’ ’ish ’ekhad, “and he [was] one man”) as a concessive clause and join it with what precedes. The remaining words (לֹא גָוַע בַּעֲוֹנוֹ, lo’ gava’ ba’avono) 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.