Joshua 2:5

2:5 When it was time to shut the city gate for the night, the men left. ¹  I don’t know where they were heading. Chase after them quickly, for you have time to catch them!”

Joshua 2:7

2:7 Meanwhile ²  the king’s men tried to find them on the road to the Jordan River ³  near the fords. ⁴  The city gate was shut as soon as they set out in pursuit of them. ⁵ 

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 ⁶  and defeated them on the steep slope. ⁷  The people’s ⁸  courage melted away like water. ⁹ 

Joshua 20:4

20:4 The one who committed manslaughter ¹⁰  should escape to one of these cities, stand at the entrance of the city gate, and present his case to the leaders of that city. ¹¹  They should then bring him into the city, give him a place to stay, and let him live there. ¹² 

Joshua 8:29

8:29 He hung the king of Ai on a tree, leaving him exposed until evening. ¹³  At sunset Joshua ordered that his corpse be taken down from the tree. ¹⁴  They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and erected over it a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day). ¹⁵ 

¹ tn Heb “And the gate was to be shut in the darkness and the men went out.”

² tn Another way to translate vv. 6-7 would be, “While she took them up to the roof and hid them…, the king’s men tried to find them….” Both of the main clauses have the subject prior to the predicate, perhaps indicating simultaneous action. (On the grammatical point, see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 42, §235.) In this case Rahab moves the Israelite spies from the hiding place referred to in v. 4 to a safer and less accessible hiding place.

³ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “And the men chased after them [on] the road [leading to] the Jordan to the fords.” The text is written from the perspective of the king’s men. As far as they were concerned, they were chasing the spies.

⁵ tn Heb “And they shut the gate after – as soon as the ones chasing after them went out.” The expressions “after” and “as soon as” may represent a conflation of alternate readings.

³ 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”).

⁴ sn The precise geographical location of the Israelite defeat at this “steep slope” is uncertain.

⁵ tn Or “army’s.”

⁶ tn Heb “and the heart of the people melted and became water.”

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the one who accidentally kills another, cf. v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “and speak into the ears of the elders of that city his words.”

⁶ tn Heb “and they should gather him into the city to themselves, give to him a place, and he will live with them.”

⁵ tn Heb “on a tree until evening.” The words “leaving him exposed” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁶ sn For the legal background of this action, see Deut 21:22-23.

⁷ tn Heb “to this day.”