2 Chronicles 2:17-18

2:17 Solomon took a census ¹  of all the male resident foreigners in the land of Israel, after the census his father David had taken. There were 153,600 in all. 2:18 He designated ²  70,000 as common laborers, ³  80,000 as stonecutters ⁴  in the hills, and 3,600 as supervisors to make sure the people completed the work. ⁵ 

Joshua 16:10

16:10 The Ephraimites ⁶  did not conquer the Canaanites living in Gezer. The Canaanites live among the Ephraimites to this very day and do hard labor as their servants.

Joshua 17:13

17:13 Whenever the Israelites were strong militarily, they forced the Canaanites to do hard labor, but they never totally conquered them. ⁷ 

Joshua 17:1

17:1 The tribe of Manasseh, Joseph’s firstborn son, was also allotted land. ⁸  The descendants of Makir, Manasseh’s firstborn and the father of Gilead, received land, for they were warriors. ⁹  They were assigned Gilead and Bashan. ¹⁰ 

Joshua 5:13-14

Israel Conquers Jericho

5:13 When Joshua was near ¹¹  Jericho, ¹²  he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him holding a drawn sword. ¹³  Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you on our side or allied with our enemies?” ¹⁴  5:14 He answered, ¹⁵  “Truly I am the commander of the Lord’s army. ¹⁶  Now I have arrived!” ¹⁷  Joshua bowed down with his face to the ground ¹⁸  and asked, “What does my master want to say to his servant?”

[2:17]  ¹ tn Heb “counted.”

[2:18]  ² tn Heb “made.”

[2:18]  ³ tn Heb “carriers of loads.”

[2:18]  ⁴ tn Or “quarry workers”; Heb “cutters” (probably referring to stonecutters).

[2:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “and thirty-six hundred [as] supervisors to compel the people to work.”

[16:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Ephraimites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:13]  ⁷ sn On the Israelites’ failure to conquer the Canaanites completely, see Judg 1:27-28.

[17:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the lot belonged to the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph.”

[17:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “to Makir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, for he was a man of war.”

[17:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Gilead and Bashan belonged to him.”

[5:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in.”

[5:13]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[5:13]  ¹³ 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).

[5:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

[5:14]  ¹⁵ tc Heb “He said, “Neither.” An alternative reading is לוֹ (lo, “[He said] to him”; cf. NEB). This reading is supported by many Hebrew mss, as well as the LXX and Syriac versions. The traditional reading of the MT (לֹא, lo’, “no, neither”) is probably the product of aural confusion (the two variant readings sound the same in Hebrew). Although followed by a number of modern translations (cf. NIV, NRSV), this reading is problematic, for the commander of the Lord’s army would hardly have declared himself neutral.

[5:14]  ¹⁶ sn The Lord’s heavenly army, like an earthly army, has a commander who leads the troops. For the phrase שַׂר־צְבָא (sar-tsÿva’, “army commander”) in the human sphere, see among many other references Gen 21:22, 32; 26:26; Judg 4:2, 7; 1 Sam 12:9.

[5:14]  ¹⁷ sn The commander’s appearance seems to be for Joshua’s encouragement. Joshua could now lead Israel into battle knowing that the Lord’s invisible army would ensure victory.

[5:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Joshua fell on his face to the ground and bowed down.”