Joshua 9:1

The Gibeonites Deceive Israel

9:1 When the news reached all the kings on the west side of the Jordan ¹  – in the hill country, the lowlands, ²  and all along the Mediterranean coast ³  as far as ⁴  Lebanon (including the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites) –

Joshua 6:1-27

6:1 Now Jericho ⁵  was shut tightly ⁶  because of the Israelites. No one was allowed to leave or enter. ⁷  6:2 The Lord told Joshua, “See, I am about to defeat Jericho for you, ⁸  along with its king and its warriors. 6:3 Have all the warriors march around the city one time; ⁹  do this for six days. 6:4 Have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns ¹⁰  in front of the ark. On the seventh day march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the horns. 6:5 When you hear the signal from the ram’s horn, ¹¹  have the whole army give a loud battle cry. ¹²  Then the city wall will collapse ¹³  and the warriors should charge straight ahead.” ¹⁴ 

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.” 6:7 And he told ¹⁵  the army, ¹⁶  “Move ahead ¹⁷  and march around the city, with armed troops going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”

6:8 When Joshua gave the army its orders, ¹⁸  the seven priests carrying the seven rams’ horns before the Lord moved ahead and blew the horns as the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed behind. 6:9 Armed troops marched ahead of the priests blowing the horns, while the rear guard followed along behind the ark blowing rams’ horns. 6:10 Now Joshua had instructed the army, ¹⁹  “Do not give a battle cry ²⁰  or raise your voices; say nothing ²¹  until the day I tell you, ‘Give the battle cry.’ ²²  Then give the battle cry!” ²³  6:11 So Joshua made sure they marched the ark of the Lord around the city one time. ²⁴  Then they went back to the camp and spent the night there. ²⁵ 

6:12 Bright and early the next morning Joshua had the priests pick up the ark of the Lord. ²⁶  6:13 The seven priests carrying the seven rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord marched along blowing their horns. Armed troops marched ahead of them, while the rear guard followed along behind the ark of the Lord blowing rams’ horns. 6:14 They marched around the city one time on the second day, then returned to the camp. They did this six days in all.

6:15 On the seventh day they were up at the crack of dawn ²⁷  and marched around the city as before – only this time they marched around it seven times. ²⁸  6:16 The seventh time around, the priests blew the rams’ horns and Joshua told the army, ²⁹  “Give the battle cry, ³⁰  for the Lord is handing the city over to you! ³¹  6:17 The city and all that is in it must be set apart for the Lord, ³²  except for Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house, because she hid the spies ³³  we sent. 6:18 But be careful when you are setting apart the riches for the Lord. If you take any of it, you will make the Israelite camp subject to annihilation and cause a disaster. ³⁴  6:19 All the silver and gold, as well as bronze and iron items, belong to the Lord. ³⁵  They must go into the Lord’s treasury.”

6:20 The rams’ horns sounded ³⁶  and when the army ³⁷  heard the signal, ³⁸  they gave a loud battle cry. ³⁹  The wall collapsed ⁴⁰  and the warriors charged straight ahead into the city and captured it. ⁴¹  6:21 They annihilated with the sword everything that breathed in the city, ⁴²  including men and women, young and old, as well as cattle, sheep, and donkeys. 6:22 Joshua told the two men who had spied on the land, “Enter the prostitute’s house ⁴³  and bring out the woman and all who belong to her as you promised her.” ⁴⁴  6:23 So the young spies went and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and took them to a place outside ⁴⁵  the Israelite camp. 6:24 But they burned ⁴⁶  the city and all that was in it, except for the silver, gold, and bronze and iron items they put in the treasury of the Lord’s house. ⁴⁷  6:25 Yet Joshua spared ⁴⁸  Rahab the prostitute, her father’s family, ⁴⁹  and all who belonged to her. She lives in Israel ⁵⁰  to this very day because she hid the messengers Joshua sent to spy on Jericho. ⁵¹  6:26 At that time Joshua made this solemn declaration: ⁵²  “The man who attempts to rebuild ⁵³  this city of Jericho ⁵⁴  will stand condemned before the Lord. ⁵⁵  He will lose his firstborn son when he lays its foundations and his youngest son when he erects its gates!” ⁵⁶  6:27 The Lord was with Joshua and he became famous throughout the land. ⁵⁷ 

Joshua 1:1-18

The Lord Commissions Joshua

1:1 After Moses the Lord’s servant died, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant: 1:2 “Moses my servant is dead. Get ready! ⁵⁸  Cross the Jordan River! ⁵⁹  Lead these people into the land which I am ready to hand over to them. ⁶⁰  1:3 I am handing over to you every place you set foot, as I promised Moses. ⁶¹  1:4 Your territory will extend from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north. It will extend all the way to the great River Euphrates in the east (including all of Syria) ⁶²  and all the way to the Mediterranean Sea ⁶³  in the west. ⁶⁴  1:5 No one will be able to resist you ⁶⁵  all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not abandon you or leave you alone. 1:6 Be strong and brave! You must lead these people in the conquest of this land that I solemnly promised their ancestors I would hand over to them. ⁶⁶  1:7 Make sure you are ⁶⁷  very strong and brave! Carefully obey ⁶⁸  all the law my servant Moses charged you to keep! ⁶⁹  Do not swerve from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful ⁷⁰  in all you do. ⁷¹  1:8 This law scroll must not leave your lips! ⁷²  You must memorize it ⁷³  day and night so you can carefully obey ⁷⁴  all that is written in it. Then you will prosper ⁷⁵  and be successful. ⁷⁶  1:9 I repeat, ⁷⁷  be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, ⁷⁸  for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do.” ⁷⁹ 

Joshua Prepares for the Invasion

1:10 Joshua instructed ⁸⁰  the leaders of the people: 1:11 “Go through the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your supplies, for within three days you will cross the Jordan River and begin the conquest of the land the Lord your God is ready to hand over to you.’” ⁸¹ 

1:12 Joshua told the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh: 1:13 “Remember what Moses the Lord’s servant commanded you. ⁸²  The Lord your God is giving you a place to settle and is handing this land over to you. ⁸³  1:14 Your wives, children and cattle may stay in the land that Moses assigned to you east of the Jordan River. But all you warriors must cross over armed for battle ahead of your brothers. ⁸⁴  You must help them 1:15 until the Lord gives your brothers a place like yours to settle and they conquer the land the Lord your God is ready to hand over to them. Then you may go back to your allotted land and occupy the land Moses the Lord’s servant assigned you east of the Jordan.” ⁸⁵ 

1:16 They told Joshua, “We will do everything you say. We will go wherever you send us. 1:17 Just as we obeyed ⁸⁶  Moses, so we will obey you. But ⁸⁷  may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses! 1:18 Any man who rebels against what you say and does not obey all your commands will be executed. ⁸⁸  But ⁸⁹  be strong and brave!”

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

[9:1]  ² tn Or “foothills”; Heb “the Shephelah.”

[9:1]  ³ tn Heb “all the coast of the Great Sea.” The “Great Sea” was the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.

[9:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “in front of.”

[6:1]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[6:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “was shutting and shut up.” HALOT 2:743 paraphrases, “blocking [any way of access] and blocked [against any who would leave].”

[6:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “there was no one going out and there was no one coming in.”

[6:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “I have given into your hand Jericho.” The Hebrew verb נָתַתִּי (natatti, “I have given”) is probably best understood as a perfect of certitude, indicating the certainty of the action. The Hebrew pronominal suffix “your” is singular, being addressed to Joshua as the leader and representative of the nation. To convey to the modern reader what is about to happen and who is doing it, the translation “I am about to defeat Jericho for you” has been used.

[6:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “and go around the city, all [you] men of war, encircling the city one time.” The Hebrew verb וְסַבֹּתֶם (vÿsabbotem, “and go around”) is plural, being addressed to the whole army.

[6:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “rams’ horns, trumpets.”

[6:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “and it will be at the sounding of the horn, the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn.” The text of Josh 6:5 seems to be unduly repetitive, so for the sake of English style and readability, it is best to streamline the text here. The reading in the Hebrew looks like a conflation of variant readings, with the second (“when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn”) being an interpolation that assimilates the text to verse 20 (“when the army heard the sound of the horn”). Note that the words “when you hear the sound of the ram's horn” do not appear in the LXX of verse 5.

[6:5]  ²² tn Heb “all the people will shout with a loud shout.”

[6:5]  ²³ tn Heb “fall in its place.”

[6:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and the people will go up, each man straight ahead.”

[6:7]  ²⁵ tn An alternative reading is “and they said.” In this case the subject is indefinite and the verb should be translated as passive, “[the army] was told.”

[6:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the people.”

[6:7]  ²⁷ tn Heb “pass by.”

[6:8]  ²⁹ tn Heb “when Joshua spoke to the people.”

[6:10]  ³³ tn Heb “the people.”

[6:10]  ³⁴ tn Or “the shout.”

[6:10]  ³⁵ tn Heb “do not let a word come out of your mouths.”

[6:10]  ³⁶ tn Or “the shout.”

[6:10]  ³⁷ tn Or “the shout.”

[6:11]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and he made the ark of the Lord go around the city, encircling one time.”

[6:11]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and they entered the camp and spent the night in the camp.”

[6:12]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Joshua rose early in the morning and the priests picked up the ark of the Lord.”

[6:15]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “On the seventh day they rose early, when the dawn ascended.”

[6:15]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and they went around the city according to this manner seven times, only on that day they went around the city seven times.”

[6:16]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “the people.”

[6:16]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “the shout.”

[6:16]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “for the Lord has given to you the city.” The verbal form is a perfect, probably indicating certitude here.

[6:17]  ⁵³ tn Or “dedicated to the Lord.”

[6:17]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “messengers.”

[6:18]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “Only you keep [away] from what is set apart [to the Lord] so that you might not, as you are setting [it] apart, take some of what is set apart [to the Lord] and make the camp of Israel set apart [to destruction by the Lord] and bring trouble on it.”

[6:19]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “it is holy to the Lord.”

[6:20]  ⁶⁵ tc Heb “and the people shouted and they blew the rams’ horns.” The initial statement (“and the people shouted”) seems premature, since the verse goes on to explain that the battle cry followed the blowing of the horns. The statement has probably been accidentally duplicated from what follows. It is omitted in the LXX.

[6:20]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “the people.”

[6:20]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “the sound of the horn.”

[6:20]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “they shouted with a loud shout.”

[6:20]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “fell in its place.”

[6:20]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “and the people went up into the city, each one straight ahead, and they captured the city.”

[6:21]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “all which was in the city.”

[6:22]  ⁷³ tn Heb “the house of the woman, the prostitute.”

[6:22]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her as you swore on oath to her.”

[6:23]  ⁷⁷ tn Or “placed them outside.”

[6:24]  ⁸¹ tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”

[6:24]  ⁸² tn Heb “the treasury of the house of the Lord.” Technically the Lord did not have a “house” yet, so perhaps this refers to the tabernacle using later terminology.

[6:25]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “kept alive.”

[6:25]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb the house of her father.”

[6:25]  ⁸⁷ tn Or “among the Israelites”; Heb “in the midst of Israel.”

[6:25]  ⁸⁸ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[6:26]  ⁸⁹ tn Normally the Hiphil of שָׁבַע (shava’) has a causative sense (“make [someone] take an oath”; see Josh 2:17, 20), but here (see also Josh 23:7) no object is stated or implied. If Joshua is calling divine judgment down upon the one who attempts to rebuild Jericho, then “make a solemn appeal [to God as judge]” or “pronounce a curse” would be an appropriate translation. However, the tone seems stronger. Joshua appears to be announcing the certain punishment of the violator. 1 Kgs 16:34, which records the fulfillment of Joshua’s prediction, supports this. Casting Joshua in a prophetic role, it refers to Joshua’s statement as the “word of the Lord” spoken through Joshua.

[6:26]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “rises up and builds.”

[6:26]  ⁹¹ tc The LXX omits “Jericho.” It is probably a scribal addition.

[6:26]  ⁹² tn The Hebrew phrase אָרוּר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה (’arur lifney yÿhvah, “cursed [i.e., condemned] before the Lord”) also occurs in 1 Sam 26:19.

[6:26]  ⁹³ tn Heb “With his firstborn he will lay its foundations and with his youngest he will erect its gates.” The Hebrew verb יַצִּיב (yatsiv, “he will erect”) is imperfect, not jussive, suggesting Joshua’s statement is a prediction, not an imprecation.

[6:27]  ⁹³ tn Heb “and the report about him was in all the land.” The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”) may also be translated “earth.”

[1:2]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “Get up!”

[1:2]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “this Jordan”; the word “River” has been supplied in the translation for clarity (likewise in v. 11).

[1:2]  ⁹⁹ tc Heb “Cross over this Jordan, you and all these people, to the land that I am giving to them, to the children of Israel.” The final phrase, “to the children of Israel,” is probably a later scribal addition specifying the identity of “these people/them.”

[1:3]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “Every place on which the sole of your foot walks, to you I have given it, as I said to Moses.” The second person pronouns in vv. 3-4 are plural, indicating that all the people are addressed here. The verbal form נְתַתִּיו (nÿtattiv, “I have given it”) is probably a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of the action. Another option is to translate, “I have already assigned it.” In this case the verb would probably refer to the Lord’s decree to Abraham that he would give this land to his descendants.

[1:4]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “all the land of the Hittites.” The expression “the land of the Hittites” does not refer to Anatolia (modern Turkey), where the ancient Hittite kingdom of the second millennium b.c. was located, but rather to Syria, the “Hatti land” mentioned in inscriptions of the first millennium b.c. (see HALOT 1:363). The phrase is omitted in the LXX and may be a scribal addition.

[1:4]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.

[1:4]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “From the wilderness and this Lebanon even to the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, even to the great sea [at] the place where the sun sets, your territory will be.”

[1:5]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “A man will not stand before you.” The second person pronouns in this verse are singular, indicating Joshua is the addressee.

[1:6]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “For you will cause these people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give to them.” The pronoun “them” at the end of the verse refers to either the people or to the fathers.

[1:7]  ¹¹⁷ tn Or “Only be.”

[1:7]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “so you can be careful to do.” The use of the infinitive לִשְׁמֹר (lishmor, “to keep”) after the imperatives suggests that strength and bravery will be necessary for obedience. Another option is to take the form לִשְׁמֹר as a vocative lamed (ל) with imperative (see Isa 38:20 for an example of this construction), which could be translated, “Indeed, be careful!”

[1:7]  ¹¹⁹ tn Heb “commanded you.”

[1:7]  ¹²⁰ tn Heb “be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.

[1:7]  ¹²¹ tn Heb “in all which you go.”

[1:8]  ¹²¹ tn Heb “mouth.”

[1:8]  ¹²² tn Heb “read it in undertones,” or “recite it quietly” (see HALOT 1:237).

[1:8]  ¹²³ tn Heb “be careful to do.”

[1:8]  ¹²⁴ tn Heb “you will make your way prosperous.”

[1:8]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “and be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.

[1:9]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “Have I not commanded you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes the importance of the following command by reminding the listener that it is being repeated.

[1:9]  ¹²⁶ tn Or perhaps, “don’t get discouraged!”

[1:9]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb “in all which you go.”

[1:10]  ¹²⁹ tn Or “commanded.”

[1:11]  ¹³³ tn Heb “to enter to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving to you to possess it.”

[1:13]  ¹³⁷ tn Heb “remember the word which Moses, the Lord’s servant, commanded you.”

[1:13]  ¹³⁸ tn Heb “is providing rest for you and is giving to you this land.”

[1:14]  ¹⁴¹ tn Heb “But you must cross over armed for battle before your brothers, all [you] mighty men of strength.”

[1:15]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “Then you may return to the land of your possession and possess it, that which Moses, the Lord’s servant, gave to you beyond the Jordan toward the rising of the sun.”

[1:17]  ¹⁴⁹ tn Heb “listened to.”

[1:17]  ¹⁵⁰ tn Or “Only.” Here and in v. 18 this word qualifies what precedes (see also v. 7).

[1:18]  ¹⁵³ tn Heb “any man who rebels against your mouth and does not listen to your words, to all which you command us, will be put to death.”

[1:18]  ¹⁵⁴ tn Or “Only.” Here and in v. 17 this word qualifies what precedes (see also v. 7).