Joshua 5:14

5:14 He answered, ¹  “Truly I am the commander of the Lord’s army. ²  Now I have arrived!” ³  Joshua bowed down with his face to the ground ⁴  and asked, “What does my master want to say to his servant?”

Joshua 7:6

7:6 Joshua tore his clothes; ⁵  he and the leaders ⁶  of Israel lay face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening ⁷  and threw dirt on their heads. ⁸ 

Joshua 8:21

8:21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the city was going up in smoke, ⁹  they turned around and struck down the men of Ai.

Joshua 10:10

10:10 The Lord routed ¹⁰  them before Israel. Israel ¹¹  thoroughly defeated them ¹²  at Gibeon. They chased them up the road to the pass ¹³  of Beth Horon and struck them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.

Joshua 11:17

11:17 from Mount Halak on up to Seir, as far as Baal Gad in the Lebanon Valley below Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and executed them. ¹⁴ 

[5:14]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “Joshua fell on his face to the ground and bowed down.”

[7:6]  ⁵ sn Tearing one’s clothes was an outward expression of extreme sorrow (see Gen 37:34; 44:13).

[7:6]  ⁶ tn Or “elders.”

[7:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “and fell on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel.”

[7:6]  ⁸ sn Throwing dirt on one’s head was an outward expression of extreme sorrow (see Lam 2:10; Ezek 27:30).

[8:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “and that the smoke of the city ascended.”

[10:10]  ¹³ tn Or “caused to panic.”

[10:10]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “struck them down with a great striking down.”

[10:10]  ¹⁶ tn Or “ascent.”

[11:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and struck them down and killed them.”