Joshua 2:6-7

2:6 (Now she had taken them up to the roof and had hidden them in the stalks of flax she had spread out ¹  on the roof.) 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 

¹ tn Heb “arranged in rows by her.”

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.