Joshua 2:1

Joshua Sends Spies into the Land

2:1 Joshua son of Nun sent two spies out from Shittim secretly and instructed them: ¹  “Find out what you can about the land, especially Jericho.” ²  They stopped at the house of a prostitute named Rahab and spent the night there. ³ 

Joshua 2:3

2:3 So the king of Jericho sent this order to Rahab: ⁴  “Turn over ⁵  the men who came to you ⁶  – the ones who came to your house ⁷  – for they have come to spy on the whole land!”

Joshua 3:16

3:16 the water coming downstream toward them stopped flowing. ⁸  It piled up far upstream ⁹  at Adam (the city near Zarethan); there was no water at all flowing to the sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea). ¹⁰  The people crossed the river opposite Jericho. ¹¹ 

Joshua 5:13

Israel Conquers Jericho

5:13 When Joshua was near ¹²  Jericho, ¹³  he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him holding a drawn sword. ¹⁴  Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you on our side or allied with our enemies?” ¹⁵ 

Joshua 6:25-26

6:25 Yet Joshua spared ¹⁶  Rahab the prostitute, her father’s family, ¹⁷  and all who belonged to her. She lives in Israel ¹⁸  to this very day because she hid the messengers Joshua sent to spy on Jericho. ¹⁹  6:26 At that time Joshua made this solemn declaration: ²⁰  “The man who attempts to rebuild ²¹  this city of Jericho ²²  will stand condemned before the Lord. ²³  He will lose his firstborn son when he lays its foundations and his youngest son when he erects its gates!” ²⁴ 

Joshua 7:2

7:2 Joshua sent men from Jericho ²⁵  to Ai (which is located near Beth Aven, east of Bethel ²⁶ ) and instructed them, “Go up and spy on the land.” So the men went up and spied on Ai.

Joshua 10:1

Israel Defeats an Amorite Coalition

10:1 Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, ²⁷  heard how Joshua captured Ai and annihilated it and its king as he did Jericho ²⁸  and its king. ²⁹  He also heard how ³⁰  the people of Gibeon made peace with Israel and lived among them.

Joshua 10:28

Joshua Launches a Southern Campaign

10:28 That day Joshua captured Makkedah and put the sword to it and its king. He annihilated everyone who lived in it; he left no survivors. He did to its king what he had done to the king of Jericho. ³¹ 

Joshua 10:30

10:30 The Lord handed it and its king over to Israel, and Israel ³²  put the sword to all who lived there; they ³³  left no survivors. They ³⁴  did to its king what they ³⁵  had done to the king of Jericho. ³⁶ 

Joshua 18:12

18:12 Their northern border started at the Jordan, went up to the slope of Jericho ³⁷  on the north, ascended westward to the hill country, and extended to the desert of Beth Aven.

Joshua 20:8

20:8 Beyond the Jordan east of Jericho ³⁸  they selected ³⁹  Bezer in the desert on the plain belonging to the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan belonging to the tribe of Manasseh.

¹ tn Heb “Joshua, son of Nun, sent from Shittim two men, spies, secretly, saying.”

² tn Heb “go, see the land, and Jericho.”

³ tn Heb “they went and entered the house of a woman, a prostitute, and her name was Rahab, and they slept there.”

⁴ tn Heb “and the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying.”

⁵ tn Heb “bring out.”

⁶ tn The idiom “come to” (בוֹא אֶל, bo’ ’el) probably has sexual connotations here, as it often does elsewhere when a man “comes to” a woman. If so, the phrase could be translated “your clients.” The instructions reflect Rahab’s perspective as to the identity of the men.

⁷ tn The words “the ones who came to your house” (Heb “who came to your house”) may be a euphemistic scribal addition designed to blur the sexual connotation of the preceding words.

⁷ tn Heb “the waters descending from above stood still.”

⁸ tn Heb “they stood in one pile very far away.”

⁹ tn Heb “the [waters] descending toward the sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) were completely cut off.”

¹⁰ map For the location of Jericho see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

¹⁰ tn Heb “in.”

¹¹ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

¹² tn Heb “he lifted up his eyes and looked. And look, a man was standing in front of him, and his sword was drawn in his hand.” The verb הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) invites the reader to view the scene through Joshua’s eyes. By calling the stranger “a man,” the author reflects Joshua’s perspective. The text shortly reveals his true identity (vv. 14-15).

¹³ tn Heb “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

¹³ tn Heb “kept alive.”

¹⁴ tn Heb the house of her father.”

¹⁵ tn Or “among the Israelites”; Heb “in the midst of Israel.”

¹⁶ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

¹⁶ 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 Lord” spoken through Joshua.

¹⁷ tn Heb “rises up and builds.”

¹⁸ tc The LXX omits “Jericho.” It is probably a scribal addition.

¹⁹ tn The Hebrew phrase אָרוּר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה (’arur lifney yÿhvah, “cursed [i.e., condemned] before the Lord”) also occurs in 1 Sam 26:19.

²⁰ 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.

¹⁹ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

²⁰ map For the location of Bethel see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

²² map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²³ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

²⁴ tn Heb “as he had done to Jericho and to its king, so he did to Ai and to its king.”

²⁵ tn Heb “and how.”

²⁵ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

²⁸ tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).

²⁹ tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).

³⁰ tn Heb “He”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).

³¹ tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).

³² map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

³¹ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

³⁴ map For the location of Jericho see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

³⁵ tn Or “set aside.”