5:13 When Joshua was near 1 Jericho, 2 he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him holding a drawn sword. 3 Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you on our side or allied with our enemies?” 4
5:2 At that time the Lord told Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites once again.” 5
20:1 The Lord instructed Joshua: 20:2 “Have the Israelites select 6 the cities of refuge 7 that I told you about through Moses.
9:1 When the news reached all the kings on the west side of the Jordan 8 – in the hill country, the lowlands, 9 and all along the Mediterranean coast 10 as far as 11 Lebanon (including the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites) –
1 tn Heb “in.”
2 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
3 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).
4 tn Heb “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
5 tn Heb “return, circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.” The Hebrew term שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) is used here in an adverbial sense to indicate the repetition of an action.
6 tn Heb “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘Set aside for yourselves.’”
7 tn Or “asylum.”
8 tn Heb “When all the kings who were beyond the Jordan heard.”
9 tn Or “foothills”; Heb “the Shephelah.”
10 tn Heb “all the coast of the Great Sea.” The “Great Sea” was the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.
11 tn Heb “in front of.”
12 sn Whoever is not with me is against me. The call here is to join the victor. Failure to do so means that one is being destructive. Responding to Jesus is the issue.
13 sn For the image of scattering, see Pss. Sol. 17:18.