Deuteronomy 4:6-8

4:6 So be sure to do them, because this will testify of your wise understanding ¹  to the people who will learn of all these statutes and say, “Indeed, this great nation is a very wise ²  people.” 4:7 In fact, what other great nation has a god so near to them like the Lord our God whenever we call on him? 4:8 And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just ³  as this whole law ⁴  that I am about to share with ⁵  you today?

Deuteronomy 4:32-38

The Uniqueness of Israel’s God

4:32 Indeed, ask about the distant past, starting from the day God created humankind ⁶  on the earth, and ask ⁷  from one end of heaven to the other, whether there has ever been such a great thing as this, or even a rumor of it. 4:33 Have a people ever heard the voice of God speaking from the middle of fire, as you yourselves have, and lived to tell about it? 4:34 Or has God ⁸  ever before tried to deliver ⁹  a nation from the middle of another nation, accompanied by judgments, ¹⁰  signs, wonders, war, strength, power, ¹¹  and other very terrifying things like the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? 4:35 You have been taught that the Lord alone is God – there is no other besides him. 4:36 From heaven he spoke to you in order to teach you, and on earth he showed you his great fire from which you also heard his words. ¹²  4:37 Moreover, because he loved ¹³  your ancestors, he chose their ¹⁴  descendants who followed them and personally brought you out of Egypt with his great power 4:38 to dispossess nations greater and stronger than you and brought you here this day to give you their land as your property. ¹⁵ 

Joshua 2:9-11

2:9 She said to the men, “I know the Lord is handing this land over to you. ¹⁶  We are absolutely terrified of you, ¹⁷  and all who live in the land are cringing before ¹⁸  you. ¹⁹  2:10 For we heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt and how you annihilated the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, on the other side of the Jordan. ²⁰  2:11 When we heard the news we lost our courage and no one could even breathe for fear of you. ²¹  For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below!

Joshua 9:6-9

9:6 They came to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land. Make a treaty with us.” 9:7 The men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live near us. ²²  So how can we make a treaty with you?” 9:8 But they said to Joshua, “We are willing to be your subjects.” ²³  So Joshua said to them, “Who are you and where do you come from?” 9:9 They told him, “Your subjects ²⁴  have come from a very distant land because of the reputation ²⁵  of the Lord your God, for we have heard the news about all he did in Egypt ²⁶ 

Joshua 9:1

The Gibeonites Deceive Israel

9:1 When the news reached all the kings on the west side of the Jordan ²⁷  – in the hill country, the lowlands, ²⁸  and all along the Mediterranean coast ²⁹  as far as ³⁰  Lebanon (including the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites) –

Joshua 10:1-13

Israel Defeats an Amorite Coalition

10:1 Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, ³¹  heard how Joshua captured Ai and annihilated it and its king as he did Jericho ³²  and its king. ³³  He also heard how ³⁴  the people of Gibeon made peace with Israel and lived among them. 10:2 All Jerusalem was terrified ³⁵  because Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities. It was larger than Ai and all its men were warriors. 10:3 So King Adoni-Zedek of Jerusalem sent this message to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon: 10:4 “Come to my aid ³⁶  so we can attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.” 10:5 So the five Amorite kings (the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon) and all their troops gathered together and advanced. They deployed their troops and fought against Gibeon. ³⁷ 

10:6 The men of Gibeon sent this message to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, “Do not abandon ³⁸  your subjects! ³⁹  Rescue us! Help us! For all the Amorite kings living in the hill country are attacking us.” ⁴⁰  10:7 So Joshua and his whole army, including the bravest warriors, marched up from Gilgal. ⁴¹  10:8 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them, for I am handing them over to you. ⁴²  Not one of them can resist you.” ⁴³  10:9 Joshua attacked them by surprise after marching all night from Gilgal. ⁴⁴  10:10 The Lord routed ⁴⁵  them before Israel. Israel ⁴⁶  thoroughly defeated them ⁴⁷  at Gibeon. They chased them up the road to the pass ⁴⁸  of Beth Horon and struck them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 10:11 As they fled from Israel on the slope leading down from ⁴⁹  Beth Horon, the Lord threw down on them large hailstones from the sky, ⁵⁰  all the way to Azekah. They died – in fact, more died from the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.

10:12 The day the Lord delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua prayed to the Lord before Israel: ⁵¹ 

“O sun, stand still over Gibeon!

O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon!”

10:13 The sun stood still and the moon stood motionless while the nation took vengeance on its enemies. The event is recorded in the Scroll of the Upright One. ⁵²  The sun stood motionless in the middle of the sky and did not set for about a full day. ⁵³ 

Joshua 10:24

10:24 When they brought the kings out to Joshua, he ⁵⁴  summoned all the men of Israel and said to the commanders of the troops who accompanied him, “Come here ⁵⁵  and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came up ⁵⁶  and put their feet on their necks.

Joshua 10:2

10:2 All Jerusalem was terrified ⁵⁷  because Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities. It was larger than Ai and all its men were warriors.

Joshua 2:11-12

2:11 When we heard the news we lost our courage and no one could even breathe for fear of you. ⁵⁸  For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below! 2:12 So now, promise me this with an oath sworn in the Lord’s name. ⁵⁹  Because I have shown allegiance to you, show allegiance to my family. ⁶⁰  Give me a solemn pledge ⁶¹ 

Joshua 2:2

2:2 The king of Jericho received this report: “Note well! ⁶²  Israelite men have come here tonight ⁶³  to spy on the land.”

Joshua 9:23

9:23 Now you are condemned to perpetual servitude as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” ⁶⁴ 

Lamentations 2:15

ס (Samek)

2:15 All who passed by on the road

clapped their hands to mock you. ⁶⁵ 

They sneered and shook their heads

at Daughter Jerusalem.

“Ha! Is this the city they called ⁶⁶ 

‘The perfection of beauty, ⁶⁷ 

the source of joy of the whole earth!’?” ⁶⁸ 

[4:6]  ¹ tn Heb “it is wisdom and understanding.”

[4:6]  ² tn Heb “wise and understanding.”

[4:8]  ³ tn Or “pure”; or “fair”; Heb “righteous.”

[4:8]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew phrase הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת (hattorah hazzo’t), in this context, refers specifically to the Book of Deuteronomy. That is, it is the collection of all the חֻקִּים (khuqqim, “statutes,” 4:1) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim, “ordinances,” 4:1) to be included in the covenant text. In a full canonical sense, of course, it pertains to the entire Pentateuch or Torah.

[4:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “place before.”

[4:32]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term אָדָם (’adam) may refer either to Adam or, more likely, to “man” in the sense of the human race (“mankind,” “humankind”). The idea here seems more universal in scope than reference to Adam alone would suggest.

[4:32]  ⁷ tn The verb is not present in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarification. The challenge has both temporal and geographical dimensions. The people are challenged to (1) inquire about the entire scope of past history and (2) conduct their investigation on a worldwide scale.

[4:34]  ⁸ tn The translation assumes the reference is to Israel’s God in which case the point is this: God’s intervention in Israel’s experience is unique in the sense that he has never intervened in such power for any other people on earth. The focus is on the uniqueness of Israel’s experience. Some understand the divine name here in a generic sense, “a god,” or “any god.” In this case God’s incomparability is the focus (cf. v. 35, where this theme is expressed).

[4:34]  ⁹ tn Heb “tried to go to take for himself.”

[4:34]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “by testings.” The reference here is the judgments upon Pharaoh in the form of plagues. See Deut 7:19 (cf. v. 18) and 29:3 (cf. v. 2).

[4:34]  ¹¹ tn Heb “by strong hand and by outstretched arm.”

[4:36]  ¹² tn Heb “and his words you heard from the midst of the fire.”

[4:37]  ¹³ tn The concept of love here is not primarily that of emotional affection but of commitment or devotion. This verse suggests that God chose Israel to be his special people because he loved the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) and had promised to bless their descendants. See as well Deut 7:7-9.

[4:37]  ¹⁴ tc The LXX, Smr, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate read a third person masculine plural suffix for the MT’s 3rd person masculine singular, “his descendants.” Cf. Deut 10:15. Quite likely the MT should be emended in this instance.

[4:38]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “(as) an inheritance,” that is, landed property that one can pass on to one’s descendants.

[2:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “has given the land to you.” Rahab’s statement uses the Hebrew perfect, suggesting certitude.

[2:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “terror of you has fallen upon us.”

[2:9]  ¹⁸ tn Or “melting away because of.”

[2:9]  ¹⁹ tn Both of these statements are actually subordinated to “I know” in the Hebrew text, which reads, “I know that the Lord…and that terror of you…and that all the inhabitants….”

[2:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and what you did to the two Amorite kings who were beyond the Jordan, Sihon and Og, how you annihilated them.”

[2:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “And we heard and our heart[s] melted and there remained no longer breath in a man because of you.”

[9:7]  ²² tn Heb “in our midst.”

[9:8]  ²³ tn Heb “we are your servants.”

[9:9]  ²⁴ tn Or “servants.”

[9:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “name.”

[9:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the report about him, all that he did in Egypt.”

[9:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “When all the kings who were beyond the Jordan heard.”

[9:1]  ²⁸ tn Or “foothills”; Heb “the Shephelah.”

[9:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “all the coast of the Great Sea.” The “Great Sea” was the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.

[9:1]  ³⁰ tn Heb “in front of.”

[10:1]  ³¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:1]  ³² map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[10:1]  ³³ tn Heb “as he had done to Jericho and to its king, so he did to Ai and to its king.”

[10:1]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and how.”

[10:2]  ³⁵ tn This statement is subordinated to v. 1 in the Hebrew text, which reads literally, “When Adoni-Zedek…they feared greatly.” The subject of the plural verb at the beginning of v. 2 is probably the residents of Jerusalem.

[10:4]  ³⁶ tn Heb “Come up to me and help me.”

[10:5]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and they camped against Gibeon and fought against it.”

[10:6]  ³⁸ tn Heb “do not let your hand drop from us.”

[10:6]  ³⁹ tn Heb “your servants!”

[10:6]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “have gathered against us.”

[10:7]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “And Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the brave warriors.”

[10:8]  ⁴² tn Heb “I have given them into your hand.” The verbal form is a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of the action.

[10:8]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and not a man [or “one”] of them will stand before you.”

[10:9]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “Joshua came upon them suddenly, all the night he went up from Gilgal.”

[10:10]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “caused to panic.”

[10:10]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “he.” The referent is probably Israel (mentioned at the end of the previous sentence in the verse; cf. NIV, NRSV), but it is also possible that the Lord should be understood as the referent (cf. NASB “and He slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon”), or even Joshua (cf. NEB “and Joshua defeated them utterly in Gibeon”).

[10:10]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “struck them down with a great striking down.”

[10:10]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “ascent.”

[10:11]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “on the descent of.”

[10:11]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “heaven” (also in v. 13). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[10:12]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day the Lord placed the Amorites before the sons of Israel and he said in the eyes of Israel.” It is uncertain whether the phrase “before the sons of Israel” modifies the verb “placed” (as in the present translation, “delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites”) or the verb “spoke” (“Joshua spoke to the Lord before the sons of Israel in the day the Lord delivered over the Amorites”).

[10:13]  ⁵² tn Heb “Is it not written down in the Scroll of the Upright One.” Many modern translations render, “the Scroll [or Book] of Jashar,” leaving the Hebrew name “Jashar” (which means “Upright One”) untranslated.

[10:13]  ⁵³ tn Heb “and did not hurry to set [for] about a full day.”

[10:24]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “Joshua.” The translation has replaced the proper name with the pronoun (“he”) because a repetition of the proper name here would be redundant according to English style.

[10:24]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “Draw near.”

[10:24]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “drew near.”

[10:2]  ⁵⁷ tn This statement is subordinated to v. 1 in the Hebrew text, which reads literally, “When Adoni-Zedek…they feared greatly.” The subject of the plural verb at the beginning of v. 2 is probably the residents of Jerusalem.

[2:11]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “And we heard and our heart[s] melted and there remained no longer breath in a man because of you.”

[2:12]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “Now, swear to me by the Lord.”

[2:12]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “with the house of my father.”

[2:12]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “true sign,” that is, “an inviolable token or pledge.”

[2:2]  ⁶² tn Or “look.”

[2:2]  ⁶³ tn Heb “men have come here tonight from the sons of Israel.”

[9:23]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “Now you are cursed and a servant will not be cut off from you, woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”

[2:15]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “clap their hands at you.” Clapping hands at someone was an expression of malicious glee, derision and mockery (Num 24:10; Job 27:23; Lam 2:15).

[2:15]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “of which they said.”

[2:15]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “perfection of beauty.” The noun יֹפִי (yofi, “beauty”) functions as a genitive of respect in relation to the preceding construct noun: Jerusalem was perfect in respect to its physical beauty.

[2:15]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “the joy of all the earth.” This is similar to statements found in Pss 48:2 and 50:2.