Joshua 3:3

3:3 and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God ¹  being carried by the Levitical priests, you must leave here ²  and walk ³  behind it.

Joshua 3:6

3:6 Joshua told the priests, “Pick up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they picked up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.

Joshua 3:14

3:14 So when the people left their tents to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ⁴  ahead of them.

Joshua 4:10

4:10 Now the priests carrying the ark of the covenant were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people was accomplished, in accordance with all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people went across quickly,

Joshua 4:18

4:18 The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord came up from the middle of the Jordan, and as soon as they set foot on dry land, ⁵  the water of the Jordan flowed again and returned to flood stage. ⁶ 

Joshua 6:6

6:6 So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and instructed them, “Pick up the ark of the covenant, and seven priests must carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.”

Deuteronomy 31:9

The Deposit of the Covenant Text

31:9 Then Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests, who carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and to all Israel’s elders.

Deuteronomy 31:25

31:25 he ⁷  commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant,

Deuteronomy 31:1

Succession of Moses by Joshua

31:1 Then Moses went ⁸  and spoke these words ⁹  to all Israel.

Deuteronomy 15:11-15

15:11 There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open ¹⁰  your hand to your fellow Israelites ¹¹  who are needy and poor in your land.

Release of Debt Slaves

15:12 If your fellow Hebrew ¹²  – whether male or female ¹³  – is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let that servant ¹⁴  go free. ¹⁵  15:13 If you set them free, you must not send them away empty-handed. 15:14 You must supply them generously ¹⁶  from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress – as the Lord your God has blessed you, you must give to them. 15:15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore, I am commanding you to do this thing today.

[3:3]  ¹ sn The ark of the covenant refers to the wooden chest that symbolized God’s presence among his covenant people.

[3:3]  ² tn Heb “set out from your place.”

[3:3]  ³ tn Or “march.”

[3:14]  ⁴ tn The verb, though not in the Hebrew, is added for clarification.

[4:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the soles of the feet of the priests were brought up to the dry land.”

[4:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and went as formerly over their banks.”

[31:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “Moses.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[31:1]  ⁸ tc For the MT reading וַיֵּלֶךְ (vayyelekh, “he went”), the LXX and Qumran have וַיְכַל (vaykhal, “he finished”): “So Moses finished speaking,” etc. The difficult reading of the MT favors its authenticity.

[31:1]  ⁹ tn In the MT this refers to the words that follow (cf. NIV, NCV).

[15:11]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “make sure.”

[15:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your brother.”

[15:12]  ¹² sn Elsewhere in the OT, the Israelites are called “Hebrews” (עִבְרִי, ’ivriy) by outsiders, rarely by themselves (cf. Gen 14:13; 39:14, 17; 41:12; Exod 1:15, 16, 19; 2:6, 7, 11, 13; 1 Sam 4:6; Jonah 1:9). Thus, here and in the parallel passage in Exod 21:2-6 the term עִבְרִי may designate non-Israelites, specifically a people well-known throughout the ancient Near East as ’apiru or habiru. They lived a rather vagabond lifestyle, frequently hiring themselves out as laborers or mercenary soldiers. While accounting nicely for the surprising use of the term here in an Israelite law code, the suggestion has against it the unlikelihood that a set of laws would address such a marginal people so specifically (as opposed to simply calling them aliens or the like). More likely עִבְרִי is chosen as a term to remind Israel that when they were “Hebrews,” that is, when they were in Egypt, they were slaves. Now that they are free they must not keep their fellow Israelites in economic bondage. See v. 15.

[15:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “your brother, a Hebrew (male) or Hebrew (female).”

[15:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “him.” The singular pronoun occurs throughout the passage.

[15:12]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew text includes “from you.”

[15:14]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “generously.”