Discovery BoxJoshua 2:11
Context2:11 When we heard the news we lost our courage and no one could even breathe for fear of you. 1 For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below!
Joshua 14:6
Context14:6 The men of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said about you and me to Moses, the man of God, at Kadesh Barnea. 2
Joshua 22:20
Context22:20 When Achan son of Zerah disobeyed the command about the city’s riches, the entire Israelite community was judged, 3 though only one man had sinned. He most certainly died for his sin!’” 4
[2:11] 1 tn Heb “And we heard and our heart[s] melted and there remained no longer breath in a man because of you.”
[14:6] 2 tn Heb “You know the word which the
[22:20] 3 tn Heb “Is it not [true that] Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful with unfaithfulness concerning what was set apart [to the
[22:20] 4 tn The second half of the verse reads literally, “and he [was] one man, he did not die for his sin.” There are at least two possible ways to explain this statement: (1) One might interpret the statement to mean that Achan was not the only person who died for his sin. In this case it could be translated, “and he was not the only one to die because of his sin.” (2) Another option, the one reflected in the translation, is to take the words וְהוּא אִישׁ אֶחָד (vÿhu’ ’ish ’ekhad, “and he [was] one man”) as a concessive clause and join it with what precedes. The remaining words (לֹא גָוַע בַּעֲוֹנוֹ, lo’ gava’ ba’avono) must then be taken as a rhetorical question (“Did he not die for his sin?”). Taking the last sentence as interrogative is consistent with the first part of the verse, a rhetorical question introduced with the interrogative particle. The present translation has converted these rhetorical questions into affirmative statements to bring out more clearly the points they are emphasizing. For further discussion, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 240.
