6:20 The rams’ horns sounded 6 and when the army 7 heard the signal, 8 they gave a loud battle cry. 9 The wall collapsed 10 and the warriors charged straight ahead into the city and captured it. 11
1 tn Heb “Then you may return to the land of your possession and possess it, that which Moses, the
2 tn 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 LXX of verse 5.
3 tn Heb “all the people will shout with a loud shout.”
4 tn Heb “fall in its place.”
5 tn Heb “and the people will go up, each man straight ahead.”
3 tc 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 LXX.
4 tn Heb “the people.”
5 tn Heb “the sound of the horn.”
6 tn Heb “they shouted with a loud shout.”
7 tn Heb “fell in its place.”
8 tn Heb “and the people went up into the city, each one straight ahead, and they captured the city.”
4 tn 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
5 tn Heb “rises up and builds.”
6 tc The LXX omits “Jericho.” It is probably a scribal addition.
7 tn The Hebrew phrase אָרוּר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה (’arur lifney yÿhvah, “cursed [i.e., condemned] before the
8 tn 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.
5 tn Heb “and they saw, and look.” The Hebrew term הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to the scene and invites the audience to view the events from the perspective of the men of Ai.
6 tn Heb “and there was not in them hands to flee here or there.” The Hebrew term יָדַיִם (yadayim, “hands”) is idiomatic for “strength.”
6 tn Heb “on a tree until evening.” The words “leaving him exposed” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
7 sn For the legal background of this action, see Deut 21:22-23.
8 tn Heb “to this day.”
7 tn Heb “Joshua.” The translation has replaced the proper name with the pronoun (“he”) because a repetition of the proper name here would be redundant according to English style.
8 tn Or “Draw near.”
9 tn Or “drew near.”
8 tn Heb “the territory of the sons of Dan went out from them.”
9 tn Heb “Leshem.” The pronoun (“it”) has replaced the name “Leshem” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
10 tn Heb “according to the name of their father.”
9 tn Or “peace offerings.”
10 sn The Lord’s dwelling place here refers to the tabernacle.