[13:19] 1 tn Heb “The towns of the Negev will be shut.”
[13:19] 2 tn Heb “There is no one to open them.” The translation is based on the parallel in Josh 6:1 where the very expression in the translation is used. Opening the city would have permitted entrance (of relief forces) as well as exit (of fugitives).
[13:19] 3 sn The statements are poetic exaggerations (hyperbole), as most commentaries note. Even in the exile of 587
